The West kills Muslims, puts the blame on clash of civilizations, says author Pamuk

The West kills Muslims, puts the blame on clash of civilizations, says author Pamuk
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun interviewed Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk in its Jan. 17 edition.
Nobel-prize winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has been reported as saying that the West uses Samuel Huntington's thought of the "clash of civilizations" as an excuse to justify the killings of more Muslims, in the Jan. 17 edition of the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun daily

The Yomiuri Shimbun, the most widely circulated newspaper in Japan, featured an interview with Pamuk, Turkey's first Nobel laureate author, in its Saturday edition. Pamuk said the West uses the clash of civilizations as a pretext to justify the killing of more Muslims. "Samuel Huntington's thought [of a 'clash of civilizations'] is an interesting idea. There is some truth in it. But as it is represented by the international media, it has become an idea that only paves the way to more fights and more killings. The West kills more Muslims they are afraid of or embarrassed by and says it is 'a clash of civilizations.' It is not a clash of civilizations. It is just killing people," he remarked.

Pamuk said people of different origins, ethnic backgrounds, opinions, races, religions, and even with a history of fighting each other should and can live together. "This is an ideal I believe in. You may say, 'Oh, naive Orhan, they can only kill each other.' But I don't want to believe that humanity is that bad," he noted. He showed Kurds and Turks living together for several centuries as an example of his theory. "Kurds and Turks have been living [alongside each other]. If the Turkish government is wise, they can continue to live [side by side] for quite a long time. So what I believe sometimes may contradict what happened in history. Cynics do not have ideals. I have ideals. I believe that this is possible, and that's why I want Turkey to join the European Union, which has higher standards of respect for different cultures and multiculturalism," he stated.

Pamuk also focused on the political and social atmosphere in Turkey. He said the clash between conservatives and secularists harms the country. "The representatives of the secularists, who are heavily embedded in the state apparatus, secularists and the army, are clashing with the popular Islamic voters. And this clash is really harming the country. Both sides are responsible for it. And most of the time [the] lower classes and women suffer from it. Islamic boys can go to universities, but women cannot if they wear headscarves. Islamist politicians go into Parliament and enjoy life, but women cannot if they wear headscarves," he remarked.

Pamuk said he is disturbed by army members raising their voices for or against each development in the country and complained about frequent military coups d'état. "Once [every] 10 years we have a military coup. In the last 10 years we have not had one, thank God. But every day, the army says don't do this, don't do that. I don't like that," he said.
He also expressed his will that Turkey join the EU, but with little hope that it will be achieved soon. "I [have] made it clear for the last seven years that I am for Turkey's joining the EU. ... Once [Turkey joins the EU] -- I am now pessimistic, [for] it does not seem it [will be] achieved soon -- it will have a significant meaning. I know from the questions by Iranian and Arab journalists that the liberals and secular intellectuals of the Muslim countries are so much interested in and have so much hope because they also want to have secularism and liberal democracy in their countries. They also want to flourish economically and enjoy freedom and liberty, respect for privacy and minorities in their countries. Turkey's entry into the EU will have a strong impact on world politics, especially in the Middle East and Islamic regions," Pamuk added.