'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Daniel Pipes should be congratulated for his clear exposition of the desirability of a dictator over a radical Islamist in the Middle East and in particular, Egypt ("Islamists are worse than dictators," Commentary, Tuesday). While Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Morsi's predecessor, was a dictator, he was a pragmatic president sensitive to international opinion and aid from the United States. Though Mr. Mubarak was certainly not liberal, under him, the Coptic Christian population was protected from militant Islamists, and the military was able to act as a counterbalance in extreme cases.
Unlike Daniel Pipes, I couldn't care less whether President Obama is Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Hindu ("Obama: 'My Muslim faith,'" Commentary, Wednesday). My major concern is whether his religion governs his actions in domestic and foreign policy. Undoubtedly the president's pronounced hostility toward Israel and its leaders does not prove that Mr. Obama is a Muslim, nor does it disprove that contention.
Editor's Note: In this final segment of a five-part series, Middle East and Islam specialist Daniel Pipes looks at Barack Obama's possible religious syncretism and then draws conclusions from the information presented in this series.
Editor's Note: In this fourth of a five-part series, Middle East and Islam specialist Daniel Pipes focuses on perceptions that Barack Obama is a Muslim, first by those close to him, then by Muslims and finally by the American public.
Editor's Note: In this third of a five-part series, Middle East and Islam specialist Daniel Pipes continues his documentation of Barack Obama's close ties to the Islamic religion, focusing here on statements he made as an adult.
Editor's Note: In this second of a five-part series, Middle East and Islam specialist Daniel Pipes documents evidence from Barack Obama's childhood years that points to his Muslim identity.
Editor's Note: In this first of a five-part series, Middle East and Islam specialist Daniel Pipes begins his inquiry into Barack Obama's early Muslim connections by noting the president's autobiographical inaccuracies.
The July 26 letter "Cyprus is not Gaza," by the representative of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which attempts to criticize Daniel Pipes' well-written, factual July 19 Opinion column, "Turkey in Cyprus vs. Israel in Gaza," is quite futile. Despite what the letter writer thinks of the comparisons, the facts relating to Turkey's invasion and occupation in Cyprus are indisputable.
Hilmi Akil's Monday letter to the editor, "Cyprus is not Gaza," is a shameful attempt to falsely distance the Turkish government from responsibility for May's Gaza flotilla incidents. Of the dozens of boats that set sail for Gaza, it was only on the Mavi Marmara ferry - organized by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's terrorist-classified IHH charities - that violence occurred.
Daniel Pipes is wrong to draw a parallel between Cyprus and Israel ("Turkey in Cyprus vs. Israel in Gaza," Opinion, Tuesday). He apparently is cross with Turkey over the flotilla incident and is reaching for what he believes will hurt that country most, as Cyprus is a national issue all Turks feel strongly about.
Black vs. brown
