Reina attack spotlights Turkey's need to combat hatred

It is dreadful to have one's worst predictions for the incoming year confirmed so quickly and in such an inhumane manner. However, one does not need the ability to predict the future to understand why this is happening to us; nothing comes from a void.

Islamist vilification of New Year's celebrations involving singing, dancing and drinking - in other words all the things that normal civilized people around the world do on this occasion - had fouled the already tense atmosphere in Turkey. A small group of ultra-nationalist Islamists dressed in traditional garb in the city of Aydın had even staged a protest by holding a gun to the head of one of them dressed as Santa Claus, striking a general pose reminiscent of Mafia executions

In Turkey, Santa Claus is associated with New Year, which for ultra-conservatives is a despised Christian holiday celebrated by secular Turks who they claim deny their own traditions.

Although the group was small, the shocking protest in Aydın got nationwide coverage, which is no doubt what they were hoping. There is also no doubt that many across the country enjoyed this ugly display.  

We also have the example of a soccer referee from the city of Kütahya who gloated in a tweet after the Reina massacre that "Santa does not always come bearing gifts." He was clearly referring mockingly to initial reports that the killer in Reina had come dressed as Santa Claus. That claim was later denied by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has initiated proceedings against the referee. 

None of this means that these despicable displays of hatred and intolerance from Turkey's ultraconservative Islamic quarters are the cause of the attack on Reina. The massacre clearly has more...