Where There Is Love, There Is Bound

To Each His Own Way And His Own Prayer. God Does Not Take Us At Our Word. He Looks Deep Into Our Hearts. It Is Not The Ceremonies Or Rituals That Make A Difference, But Whether Our Hearts Are Sufficiently Pure Or Not.

We're Stuck. We're Stuck Between The East And The West. Between The Past And The Future. On The One Hand There Are The Secular Modernists, So Proud Of The Regime They Constructed, You Cannot Breathe A Critical Word. They've Got The Army And Half Of The State On Their Side. On The Other Hand There Are The Conventional Traditionalist, So Infatuated With The Ottoman Past, You Cannot Breathe A Critical Word. They've Got The General Public And The Remaining Half Of The State On Their Side.

One Night, A Group Of Moths Gathered On A Shelf Watching A Burning Candle. Puzzled By The Nature Of The Light, They Sent One Of Their Members To Go And Check On It. The Scouting Moth Circled The Candle Several Times And Came Back With A Description: The Light Was Bright. Then A Second Moth Went To Examine It. He, Too, Came Back With An Observation: The Light Was Hot. Finally A Third Moth Volunteered To Go. When He Approached The Candle He Didn't Stop Like His Friends Had Done, But Flew Straight Into The Flame. He Was Consumed There And Then, And Only He Understood The Nature Of The Light.

Turkey In General Became Too Involved With What Is Happening In Egypt And In Syria. Some Politicians With Neo-ottoman Dreams Developed This Idea Of Being A Major Player In The Middle East, Which Hasn't Gone As Expected.

Sometimes I Feel I Have More Faith In European Ideals Than Some Of My British Or French Friends. For Them, It's A Financial Burden. For Me, Europe Is Primarily About Values, About Fundamental Rights, Freedom, Women's Rights.