Abdurrahman Dilipak

In a reaction to new measures and an inoculation push, nearly 3,000 Turks on Sept. 11 demonstrated against COVID-19 related mandates in Istanbul, including vaccinations, PCR tests and protective face masks.

Health and medical experts have hailed vaccines as being one of the major achievements in the fight against COVID-19, but the number of people refusing to get vaccinated has increased over the course of the pandemic despite the fact that they can prevent the spread of the highly infectious virus.

A pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) columnist has claimed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an would be the 'caliph,' or leader of Sunni Muslims in the world, under the much-anticipated presidential system.

A ?blame game? has started after political scientist and columnist Mümtazer Türköne wrote an article in daily Zaman 10 days ago with the title ?Is Islamism finished?? referring to the Islamist movement in Turkey.

The massacre of cartoonists coming on the top of vicious terrorism by Islamists has generated two responses among Muslims: 1) "The West asked for it! They deserve it!" 2) "This is not Islam! Islam is a religion of peace."

Let us take a look at these responses, which are sometimes articulated together. Then, let us think about how Islam came to this state and how it can get out of it.