US embassy cable - 05ANKARA5281

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU, OSCE 
SUBJECT: PM, MINISTER CRITICIZE STATE OF ISLAMIC WORLD 
 
Classified by A/DCM James R. Moore; reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
1. (U) Summary: PM Erdogan and State Minister Aydin recently 
made public statements criticizing the state of the Islamic 
world and calling on Muslims to uphold the values of their 
faith.  Using strikingly similar language, the GOT leaders 
said the Islamic world lags behind the West in terms of 
social justice; asserted that Muslims need to look at 
themselves to find the cause of their problems; and urged 
Muslims to do more to uphold the values promoted by their 
religion, such as justice, peace, morality, and knowledge. 
They also said Muslims need to examine why the world 
associates Islam with terrorism.  End Summary. 
 
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PM Addresses Eurasian Meeting 
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2. (U) PM Erdogan on September 5 delivered a speech at the 
6th Eurasian Islamic Council meeting in Istanbul in which he 
called on Muslims to take responsibility for their problems 
and strive to uphold the values of their faith.  "If 
oppression is rampant in the Islamic world, if the word 
'Muslim' is used in the same sentence with the word 
'terrorist' anywhere in the world, if any one of us leaves an 
orphan hungry and without shelter, and if a person dies of 
hunger, then we must first look at ourselves and make an 
accounting," Erdogan said. 
 
3. (U) Erdogan told audience members they belonged to a 
religion promoting "justice against oppression, human rights 
against the use of force, peace against conflict, moral 
values against materialism, science and knowledge against 
ignorance, morals against ambition, and generosity against 
selfishness."  The problems of the world today stem from a 
failure to uphold these values.  The Islamic nations of 
Eurasia, he averred, can find the solutions to these problems 
in their cultural/historical roots. 
 
4. (U) Erdogan further indicated that the Islamic world has a 
history of tolerance toward other religions.  He acknowledged 
that in recent times some Muslims may have taken actions that 
undermined this tradition.  Muslims must address this by 
"strengthening goodness, beauty, and brotherhood."  If the 
Islamic world today is failing to uphold the values of Islam, 
he said, it is largely the fault of its politicians.  "The 
burden we are shouldering is heavy," he stated. 
 
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Aydin Gives Press Interview 
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5. (U) State Minister Aydin, as if speaking from shared 
talking points, made strikingly similar comments in an 
interview with the newspaper Milliyet, published September 8. 
 Aydin, who oversees the GOT's Religious Affairs Directorate, 
called the state of social justice in the Islamic world 
"pathetic" and said Muslims must "courageously admit" that 
the West has done a better job of implementing certain 
values.  At the same time, he opined that the West should 
adopt a less condescending approach to the Islamic world. 
"Nobody should lecture another about justice and respect for 
human dignity," he said, "That would be shameful." 
 
6. (U) Like the PM, Aydin also urged Muslims to think about 
why Islam today is associated with terrorism.  "It means that 
we have not been successful," he said.  He also asserted that 
Islam promotes tolerance among religions.  "The Holy Koran 
centuries ago stated that each person's religion is sacred 
for that person.  There is no need for us to fight because we 
have different religions," he said. 
 
7. (U) Aydin also directly addressed the issue of gender 
discrimination in the Islamic world.  He noted that when he 
was a child, many believed that girls did not need to attend 
school.  The situation has improved since then -- today there 
are campaigns (note: in Turkey) aimed at encouraging girls to 
go to school.  Still, he said, Muslims have not done enough 
to encourage a re-interpretation of their religion.   Many 
"archaic" beliefs remain widespread. 
 
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Comment 
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8. (C) This is a different rhetoric than we have heard 
before.  So far they are words, not deeds - but they are 
words uttered in country - not abroad, for consumption by a 
Western audience.  It is not clear to what extent Erdogan and 
Aydin meant to include Turkey in their critical analysis of 
the Islamic world, but it is worth noting that high-level GOT 
leaders are now taking this approach.  Erdogan in the past 
has not been willing to examine the relationship between 
Islam and terrorism -- he has said repeatedly that the term 
"Islamic terrorism" made his "blood boil."  As a result, his 
latest speech marks more than a subtle shift in emphasis. 
 
 
 
MCELDOWNEY