Poland: Thugs attack Turkish kebab shop

Poland: Thugs attack Turkish kebab shop

 

Via The Austrian Times:

Black and Asian England football fans at next month's Euro 2012 are at risk from racist thugs in host country Poland after a series of attacks on ethnic fast food eateries, police fear.

In one attack - filmed on CCTV - the white thugs are seen beating the Turkish-born owners of a kebab shop in Opole with sticks and a chair in a frenzied attack.

(source)

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Turks in Germany, ‘We won’t allow a cover up’

Turks in Germany, ‘We won’t allow a cover up’


Via Hürriyet Daily News (h/t Turkish Digest):

The discovery of a neo-Nazi cell that was apparently able to go on a nationwide spree of racially motivated murders of 9 immigrants over several years, under the noses of the German intelligence services, has sent shock waves across the country.

“German ministers said they were shocked. We told them we are surprised that they are surprised,” said Hilmi Kaya Turan, deputy head of the Turkish Community in Germany, or ATT, one of the hundreds of nongovernmental organizations representing the 3 million-strong Turkish-German community. “The fact that they are surprised actually frightens us,” he told a visiting Turkish parliamentary group, invited by the German government.

(source)

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Netherlands: Turkish singer goes back home after Schiphol questioning

Netherlands: Turkish singer goes back home after Schiphol questioning

Via DutchNews:

A Dutch concert by popular Turkish singer Arif Sag was cancelled this weekend after he gave up an returned home after lengthy questioning by officials at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

According to the Telegraaf, Sag was furious at being questioned and made to wait for so long that he took the first plane back home. Turkish papers described his treatment as 'scandalous', the Telegraaf said. 

(source)

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Cyprus: Gov't accuses Turks of politicizing mosque arson

Cyprus: Gov't accuses Turks of politicizing mosque arson

Via the Cyprus Mail:

POLICE have been given “clear instructions” to fully investigate what is thought to have been an arson attack on the Haji Ibrahim Aga mosque in Limassol in the early hours of last Saturday, Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday.

The mosque was one of the targets of the holiday weekend vandalism spree. The perpetrators set the veranda's roof and entrance on fire. Part of the entrance was damaged in the arson attack, which happened at around 3.30am.

Despite the fact there were numerous acts of vandalism and arson attacks over the weekend, a number of which were on schools in Nicosia, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu used the incident to gain political capital.

 “Our mosques have been demolished in the past as well, our people who prayed have been shot. This is the Greek Cypriot mentality,” Eroglu reportedly said.

Stefanou condemned the arson attack but denounced the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s efforts to politicise the issue by making “arbitrary and unfounded accusations”.

Stefanou said and in turn slammed Turkey for the destruction of religious monuments in the north “in an attempt to alter our country’s cultural heritage and history”.

(source)

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Cyprus: OIC welcomes Turkish Cypriot request to join

Cyprus: OIC welcomes Turkish Cypriot request to join

Via AFP (h/t DW)

The head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference welcomed Saturday a request by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to open a permanent mission to the pan-Muslim body.

"The organisation welcomes this and is in contact with the host state (Saudi Arabia) to study and implement it," OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who is a Turkish national, told reporters after meeting Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.

(source)

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Germany: Elderly Germans 'cause more trouble than Turks'

Germany: Elderly Germans 'cause more trouble than Turks'

Via the Local:

Germans are more annoyed by old people and teenagers in their area than their Turkish neighbours a new study shows – contradicting the image of communities consumed by ethnic strife.

When asked, “Which group of people are responsible for problems in your neighbourhood,” by a social research group, nearly a quarter of Germans pointed the finger at teenagers.

Next were the elderly, whose penchant for complaining about noise drove nearly 10 percent to despair. Closely behind came drunkards.

Less than four percent of the 4,600 people interviewed across Germany for the Social Science Research Centre in Berlin (WBZ) answered “Turks”. Around the same share put a more general “foreigners.”

(source)

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Netherlands: Dutch-Turkish boat to take part in Gay Pride

Netherlands: Dutch-Turkish boat to take part in Gay Pride

Via RNW:

A Turkish boat will take part in the 2012 Amsterdam Gay Pride boat parade known as Canal Pride.
This will the first time a Turkish boat takes part in Canal pride, which is scheduled to take place on 4 August.

(source)

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Germany: Judge applies Sharia to dowry case

Germany: Judge applies Sharia to dowry case

Via De Stentor:

A German court settled a dispute Monday by applying Shariah law. The case in question involved a Turkish father who demanded the return of gold jewelry worth 12,000 euro from his ex-daughter-in-law. He had given her the jewelry as a dowry, but she divorced two months after the wedding.

The judge in Limburg an der Lahn, between Bonn and Frankfurt, ruled that the woman may keep the jewelry. He said the dowry enables a woman to be financially independent after a divorce, regardless of how long the marriage lasted. He said this ruling is based on the rulings of Turkish courts.

The court said that the rationale of keeping a divorced woman from poverty is in accordance with the German constitution. A spokesperson did not rule out that the ruling would have been different for a similar dispute between Germans.

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Mannheim: Neighborhood looking for Turkish name

Mannheim: Neighborhood looking for Turkish name

Via Sabah (h/t PI)

A Turkish-majority quarter in Mannheim is looking for a new Turkish name. Community members and representatives of Turkish associations are working together to find a name for the quarter.

Dr. Peter Kurz, mayor of Mannheim, suggested 'Little Istanbul' (in English). Other names suggested at the meeting were "Beyoglu" (district in Istanbul) and "“Kücük Istanbul" (In Turkish: Little Istanbul). The group decided to narrow the list to three names and conduct a vote.

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Cologne: Row threatens mega mosque

Cologne: Row threatens mega mosque



Via the Guardian:

Architect and developers of multimillion euro project in dispute over everything from soaring costs to colour of facade

It was conceived as a project that would foster dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims and act as a bridge between Islam and Christianity. But the completion of a controversial multimillion euro mosque and culture complex is under threat after a prolonged row between its German architect and its Turkish developers.

The Cologne Central Mosque, which was due for completion this summer, has been dogged by controversy since its inception in 2006. But it is now at the centre of a row over everything from soaring building costs and the colour of its facade to allegations that Christian symbols have been secretly hidden in its construction.

(source)

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Netherlands: Turkish woman candidate for Labour Party leader

Netherlands: Turkish woman candidate for Labour Party leader

Via Sunday's Zaman (h/t Turkish Digest):

One of the five candidates is Nebahat Albayrak, who moved to the Netherlands in 1970 after being born in Sarkışla in 1968. For years now, Albayrak has been the most visible and successful Dutch politician with Turkish roots. She was a member of parliament from 1998 until 2007 before becoming a junior minister responsible for Justice in the last Balkenende cabinet. In 2010 she was the number two on the Labour Party list behind Cohen. Now she wants to go for number one.

Polls show that two of her male competitors are doing better but because of the peculiar voting system used, some analysts predict that Albayrak stands a good chance of ending up on top. That is because members will not only be asked to indicate who their favorite party leader is, but also who their second and third options are. Albayrak most probably will not get the most number one votes, but will gather a lot of second preferences. These might bring her victory in the end because with five candidates running, it is not likely that any candidate will get more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round.

Having a Dutch Turkish woman as the leader of one of the established parties would be a welcome answer to the rising tide of Islamophobia that is so often associated with the Netherlands these days.

(source)

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Netherlands: We must be crazy to want for Turkey to enter EU – Dutch MP

Netherlands: We must be crazy to want for Turkey to enter EU – Dutch MP

Via news.am (h/t DW)

In an interview with Hurriyet daily of Turkey, Dutch MP Barry Madlener, who attended an international conference in Istanbul, yet again stressed that Turkey has no place in the European Union.

He noted that Turkey is a Muslim country, and many Dutch do not feel safe because of the thousands of Muslims living in the Netherlands. He added that the immigrants have contributed to the escalation of crime in the country.

(source)

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Turkey: Parliamentary Speaker warns against xenophobia in Europe

Turkey: Parliamentary Speaker warns against xenophobia in Europe



Via the Hurriyet Daily News:

Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek has warned that racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia have escalated in Europe and threaten global values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, adding that political parties with extremist tendencies had recently increased their popular support.

“As people in North Africa and Middle East risk their lives to fight an honorable struggle that highlights the joint values of humanity; in Europe racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia are on the rise with the economic crisis. It is of great concern that political parties portraying migrants as a source of security concern, unemployment, crime, poverty and other social problems are increasing their support,” Cemil Çiçek told a session on intercultural dialogue as part of the Third Consultation Meeting of the Parliamentary Speakers of the G20 Countries in Riyadh.

(source)

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France: Politician angered by attack on Zaman office

France: Politician angered by attack on Zaman office

Zaman's offices in Paris

Via Today's Zaman:

European politicians have been continuing to voice their condemnation of an attack on the Zaman daily's office in France last week by terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) supporters.

A group of PKK supporters attacked Zaman's offices in Paris and Cologne last Wednesday, threatening newspaper staff and causing property damage to the buildings.

Jean Philippe Maurer, the deputy chairman of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) ruling party and deputy for the Bas-Rhin region, condemned the attack on Wednesday, saying it was the third attack the newspaper had suffered in the past six months.

(source)

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Denmark: Protest march for Danish-Turk murder victim

Denmark: Protest march for Danish-Turk murder victim

Hundreds of people marched in Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus and Istanbul (Turkey) against the senseless death of Cem Aydin. Various politicians participated in the protest march.

Cem Aydin (21) was beaten to death a month ago by 8-10 youth in the Copenhagen suburb of Frederiksberg. The Turkish media say the murder was racially-motivated, but Danish police say they have no idea who are the attackers, or what was the motive to the attack.

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Germany: Neo-Nazi victim's girl slams police racism

Germany: Neo-Nazi victim's girl slams police racism



Via the Local:

Just a few days before a national memorial service is due to be held for the victims of a neo-Nazi terror cell, the daughter of one of those killed has criticised the racist attitudes of the police.

Semiya Simsek said she and her family were treated badly by police investigating the murder of her father who was the first of nine Turkish and Greek shopkeepers to be shot to death in the string of killings between 2000 and 2006.

(...)

“For years the police tried to get something out of us that was not there. We were accused of keeping quiet because we are Turks. We were not believed because are Turks,” Simsek, who was 14 when her father Enver was shot dead in 2000.

Speaking to the Tagesspiegel on Saturday, Simsek said the actions of the investigating authorities had been so unpleasant that she, “lost my trust in this state, although I was born here.”

(source)

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Greece: Court set to review fines levied against Turkish papers

Greece: Court set to review fines levied against Turkish papers

Via Today's Zaman:

The case concerns a case filed against the two dailies by Greek teacher Hara Nikopoulou, who worked between 2005 and 2010 in a Turkish minority primary school in the village of Büyük Derbent (Megalo Derio). Nikopoulou allegedly asked the children to draw pictures of God. Both weeklies published a story about the incident, reporting that several of the children were Muslim and refused to comply with the teacher’s request and complained to their parents as Islam prohibits depictions of God.

The teacher subsequently sued both newspapers.

(source)

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Germany: Outrage over ‘prime-time racism’ against Turks

Germany: Outrage over ‘prime-time racism’ against Turks

Via the Local:

A Turkish newspaper and the Foreigners’ Advisory Council in the German state of Hesse have expressed outrage at a televised Karneval monologue that made several jokes at the expense of Turkish Germans.

“Humour is when you laugh despite yourself – but in this case the laughs stuck in our throats,” said Corrado Di Benedetto, head of the Foreigners’ Advisory Council in Hesse. “The freedom of the Karneval is valuable. And satire is allowed to do anything – except degrade others. This violated all the rules of decency.”

(source)

READ MORE - Germany: Outrage over ‘prime-time racism’ against Turks

Netherlands: "Turkey Now" festival to introduce Turkish art and culture

Netherlands: "Turkey Now" festival to introduce Turkish art and culture


The 4th "Turkey Now" festival will begin in the Netherlands on February 23. The festival aims to introduce Turkish art and culture to Dutch people. (via Turkish Digest)

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Belgium: Mixed Kebab, the story of a gay Belgian Turk

Belgium: Mixed Kebab, the story of a gay Belgian Turk

Ibrahim chooses to fall for young and handsome Kevin over marrying his cute but expensive cousin Elif while kid brother Furkan converts to Islamic fundamentalism.

READ MORE - Belgium: Mixed Kebab, the story of a gay Belgian Turk