They even accused him of being a coup plotter and threw him in jail!

We are a society that is not on good terms with paper and pen…

Especially with books… Not at all!

Moreover, even though the first command of Islam, the religion of a large part of our people, is “Read”…

Our religious people memorize a few verses but do not know their meaning.

Because the translation of the Quran into Turkish, the recitation of the call to prayer in Turkish, and the performance of prayers in Turkish have been declared a “sin” by some bigots.

Our believing citizens pray five times a day, but… they do not know what the verses, surahs, and prayers they mumble mean.

Because they are all in Arabic.

In a period where it has emerged that even the President of Religious Affairs does not know Arabic and therefore uses an interpreter, it would not be quite right to blame our people.

And what would happen if they “read” anyway?

Religion has been distorted so much by various so-called scholars over the centuries that it has become almost impossible to determine what is true…

*

Religion is like that… Is politics any different?

For example, “social democracy…”

Or “democratic left!”

Of course, “liberal democracy…”

Socialism or… Communism! And fascism!

How many books have we read about these?

On what basis did we choose the party we will vote for!

Is it because we like and internalize these ideologies that we keep going and voting for the same party?

*

Ask those who say “I am a conservative” what they want to conserve!

The bride price?

The marriage of young girls at an early age?

The tradition of blood feuds?

Violence against women?

Is temporary marriage (muta) also within the scope of conservatism?

*

One cannot poke others with a goad without being tested by a needle!

Let us also come to our Atatürkists!

Unfortunately, the situation is no different among Atatürkists, who stand out as the most enlightened segment of our people…

If you ask; everyone definitely has a copy of “Nutuk” (The Speech) in their home.

Well, ask them, “Have you read it?”

The answer you will get will be, “Um, er…”

* 

In other words, just like those of us who are Muslims without reading the Quran…

There are those of us who are Atatürkists without reading Nutuk.

That is why we are marking time. 

We cannot overcome our problems, we cannot move forward at all.

*

Today, I will tell you about a very important book by 12punto.com.tr writer dear Aydın Keleşoğlu.

The title of the work is, “The Immortal Turks Who Founded the Republic.”

My dear friend Keleşoğlu is a name who has dedicated his life to explaining Atatürk’s system of thought…

He has made it his duty to warn the segments who pose as Atatürkists but cannot see the dangers awaiting him… 

In this book, which he wrote and published at the end of last year, he tells of the unknown or little-known aspects of Atatürk’s life.

For example, did you know that immediately after graduating from the War Academy, Mustafa Kemal was arrested in 1904 on charges of “forming an organization to overthrow Abdülhamit, seize power, and save the homeland by stopping the destruction,” and that he was subjected to torture and torment for ten days?

Or that dozens of baseless reports were made against him, and it was claimed that he was preparing for an “uprising”…

Have you heard that because of these allegations, he was always assigned to places far from Istanbul?

*

As I said, it does not work without reading…

In order to stand behind our beliefs and thoughts, we must know what we are defending.

I recommend this book by Aydın Keleşoğlu to everyone who is curious about “everything related to Atatürk.”

Since you will not be able to find it in all bookstores, the ordering address is as follows:

Ilgaz Yayınları, phone 0224 493 24 67…

I wish you pleasant reading in advance.