BY CUNEYT ULSEVER
HURRIYET- Walker Connor, a researcher on nationalism focusing on the stance of nations, individuals and groups of people, argues that it's not the facts, but people's beliefs which guide their behavior. I guess we can't or don't want to see that we can see concepts differently. For example, with headscarves, some people certainly use it for political ends, while others wear them as a requirement of faith. But a great many people who are highly sensitive about secularism see headscarves only as political symbols, and almost don't want to see that some people wear then out of faith, and also don't want to tolerate those who wear them as political symbols.
On the other hand, those who wear headscarves or who are highly sensitive about religion fail to consider that even if they wear them due to their beliefs, headscarves might be seen as a threat by the opposite side. For example, people who say that the headscarf isn't a political symbol don't tell the opposite side: `If you consider the headscarf a political symbol, I will knot it differently to dispel your fears.' They believe doing so would be a concession to the other side. In addition, very few women say, `I don't cover my head, but I wouldn't interfere with women who do, and I even oppose the headscarf ban at universities.'
Recently I've been arguing two things: Political parties shouldn't be closed as long as they don't use, praise or incite violence, and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) can't ignore or belittle people who see headscarves as a threat. On the contrary, as the government has to serve all citizens of the Turkish Republic, dispelling this perception of a threat is its duty. Towards both ends, while guaranteeing in the Constitution the right to wear headscarves at universities, the AKP should also make a constitutional guarantee that headscarves can't be worn either during the performance of public duties or by minors. In addition, the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) should support making the necessary changes to the Constitution and relevant laws, including limiting party closures to the above cases.
Since expressing these views for a couple of weeks, I've gotten a lot of criticism from supporters of both the AKP and MHP. So now I can see that neither side has any real intention of looking at and understanding each other's beliefs and views."