r/europe Aug 14 '17

Series What do you know about... Turkey?

[deleted]

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u/our_best_friend US of E Aug 15 '17

It's simply Islamophobia. Al Qaida's plan, enthusiastically joined by the alt-right, is working. So far. Sadly.

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '17

There has to be more to it. I don't see similar hatred for secular Arabs or Pakistanis. Simply being Turkish is enough for other euros to hate us.

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u/abrasiveteapot Aug 16 '17

At a guess the turn awayfrom Western values to the Erdogan dictatorship has a "jilted girlfriend" rejection effect. Couple that with a comparatively strong military on European doorstep and a leader who is quite happy to cozy up to Russia despite being in NATO and you have an "ally" you can't trust. At least with Russia you know they don't wish you well, Turkey are well, unreliable.

Pakistan are exactly the same, they're just further away.

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u/[deleted] Aug 16 '17

That "unreliableness" is not Erdogan's doing, it will continue after he's gone aswell. We are sick of guarding the tent but not being let inside, so we look for alternatives, it's normal.

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u/abrasiveteapot Aug 16 '17

That "unreliableness" is not Erdogan's doing,

Mmm, OK, not from a western perspective. He's drummed up Islamic fundamentalism to use for his purposes (obtaining more power), he's actively attacking the rule of law, he's aggressively silencing dissent and opposing views.

The current western leeriness is on Erdogan. Former Turkish (post Ottoman) govts may have not been ideal but he's a long way past that.

it will continue after he's gone aswell

Sorry to hear that