A country’s capital rarely represents it.

Google a map of Turkey and while you’re at it, Google a map of the regions of Turkey that voted AKP. Here’s a little help:

http://www.iha.com.tr/iste-2014-yerel-secim-sonuclari-gundem-344902

Results are early but Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP), the Kemalist “Republican People’s Party”, won only 13 out of 81 provinces. AKP won a whopping 49 of 81 provinces between the 5 major parties running, AKP, CHP, BTP, MHP and BDP.

Istanbul, a Western tourist hub and Turkey’s unofficial de facto capital (Ankara is the official capital), may be what the Kemalists would like you to think represents the whole of Turkey, but the rest of the country is far more conservative and, in many cases, rural. Likewise, there’s more to Egypt than Cairo. The rest of Egypt is much more conservative than Cairo and their political stances are a lot less black and white than the news outlets may find sensational enough to report on. There’s more to Afghanistan than Kabul. The rest of Afghanistan is fiercely conservative and, regardless of what we think of the Taliban, they preferred them over any other alternative. They didn’t like them (nor do I), but they weren’t kidnapping their women and children like the warlords we’ve been supporting have done over the past 30 years. These are just two examples of how our media misguides us by presenting a small, often affluent, sliver of society in another country to spuriously represent the whole.

Nonetheless, the Kemalists’ CHP lost Istanbul to Erdoğan‘s AKP. Ouch.

“It doesn’t matter that our leaders are corrupt. YOURS better not be!”

This is patently absurd and ridiculous. We have presidents guilty of, and getting away with, impeachable offenses. We have a president who has presided over the NSA hijacking your smartphone camera and watching you take a shower as it rests on the counter. Yet, Erdoğan blocks YouTube and Twitter and we act like he committed genocide against peace loving Ewoks. Yes, blocking Twitter and YouTube was utterly stupid and a travesty for any free democratic society, but let’s look at our own government and put things into perspective. We Americans have perfected double standards and hypocrisy into an Olympic sport.

Democracy is when a society elects their leaders. It is not when a society elects leaders that America approves of.

Recent reports (concurring with reports trickling out since July of last year) indicate that we were the ones who funded the Tamarod protests in Egypt last year in the first place. Someone find that “Shut up your mouse, Obama” woman and let her know that Obama’s mouse is actually her friend.

So you can imagine what other “revolutions” we have orchestrated. As if the laundry list of democratically elected governments we overthrew covertly isn’t bad enough as it is. These recent reports support my personal theory, which I held from the beginning, that this farcical so-called “Arab Spring” is totally a concoction of our own intelligence agencies. The Arabs are simply incapable of pulling off something like that on their own. Hopefully, one day they will be without foreign manipulation but they definitely aren’t capable of it in their current socio-political condition.

What this all points to is that America needs to focus a whole lot more on interests within her own borders which have been morosely neglected. Our economy, employment, healthcare, crime, vice, social services, civil and constitutional rights are not in any state that we should even be involved in the affairs of any other nation that doesn’t directly impact us. We just don’t have the bandwidth for board games of global domination.

This is somewhat related to a serious issue that impacts the entire region. From the bungled and baseless war in Iraq to our covert ops orchestrating government overthrows in Egypt (successful) and Turkey (failure) we need to look at whom Erdoğan has been speaking out against and who has been behind each and every one of these overseas operations that are in no interest of the American people. Israel. Recipient of THREE FREAKING BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR of our American tax dollars. If they are “God’s chosen people” —who happen to have an undisclosed and unofficial nuclear arsenal that at up to 400 warheads would make them the third largest nuclear power in the world after the USA and Russia— they’ll do just fine without us. If they’re in danger after we cut the umbilical cord then maybe they’re not “God’s chosen people”. Maybe they’re just like the rest of us. And maybe, like the rest of us, they need to take care of themselves now and the entire planet shouldn’t be subject to their interests. Maybe the future of Turkey, and the rest of the world, shouldn’t need to conform to what makes Israel comfortable. Think about it and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t change it.

A call to balance. Let’s see things in color.

What the Sisi-Morsi debacle in Egypt and the controversies surrounding Erdoğan’s strong-man politics have shown us is that practicing Muslims don’t always support Islamist parties and Secular-leaning parties often have practicing Muslims amongst their supporters. Yet again, we see that the motivations and proclivities of the masses are never as black and white as we are led to believe by an increasingly sensationalist media. Everyone loves The Godfather and Scarface, and loves to see that “tough guy” image in our leaders. But, hello?! Do you remember the end of Scarface? Tony Montana didn’t exactly sail off into the sunset with his little friend. Such attitudes rarely bode any better for politicians. We can’t protest Sisi massacring his people while remaining silent on Erdoğan refusing to address evidences of corruption and doing outlandishly bad things like banning YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to follow. Sure, Erdoğan stopping the Turks from Tweeting pictures of totally awesome Baklava isn’t as bad as Sisi handing out the largest mass death sentence in the history of every civilization of the galaxy, but injustice even on the smallest scale requires outrage from us regardless of how small and regardless of how wronged we, or those we sympathize with, have been. Heed this divine reminder:

“O People of Faith! Be those who stand up for justice, witnessing for God, even if it be against your own selves, your parents or your near and dear. Whether they be rich or poor, God is best a protector over both of them the same. So do not follow your own desires when meting out justice. For if you swerve or falter in that, know that God is most acquainted with what you do.” [The Qur’an 4:135]

Ibn Jarīr al-Tabariī relates in his exegesis of the Qur’an that Ibn `Abbās explained this verse thus:

“God commanded that they speak the truth even if it be against themselves, their fathers, or their sons. The rich are not to be preferred for their wealth, nor are the poor to be excused for their poverty.”

Note in particular “The rich are not to be preferred for their wealth, nor are the poor to be excused for their poverty”. From that, a breakdown can be deduced: Those with the advantage are not to be esteemed for their advantage and those without advantage are not to be excused for their disadvantage. Those in power shouldn’t be blindly respected and adored simply for virtue of being in power and the underdog should never be excused when he overcomes his oppressor, gets in power and then starts to betray justice or, worse, starts taking revenge.

Erdoğan, the world is watching you; but that pales to the fact that, above all, the Lord of the Worlds is watching you even closer. You can be the greatest leader the Muslim world has seen since the Ottomans whom you repeatedly invoke, or you can fall just like them when they lost their way. Which end of their history you resemble is up to you.

Muslims Making a Difference Series

In a world of selfishness and greed, AYEO (which stands for Afghan Youth Education Organization) has introduced a new generation of selflessness and generosity. Comprised of young adults on the west coast of the United States, AYEO began a movement of magnanimity. It has initiated a new way of life which revolves around helping those who cannot help themselves.

Afghan Youth Education Organization was established in 2007 by a group of young adults. An organization once only known to the members has surpassed all expectations and received international recognition.  Every year AYEO offers many different fundraisers which prove extremely beneficial for poor and homeless men, women, and children of the war-torn country of Afghanistan. The prime objective of AYEO is to instill education in the minds and hearts of the youth of Afghanistan. It believes that the majority of the focus should be set on the youth because they are the future.

Afghanistan is a country that has been ravaged by war for decades and has been altered from its original state of beauty. We pray that as long as Allah (swt) wills, we, as a team, will be able to assist the poor with food, clothes, and of course, the ability to further their education by providing means to a proper education.  Despite no governmental assistance and no aid for the outcry of the poor and homeless, AYEO will do as much as possible through the good graces and constant help from our supporters.

AYEO supplies thousands of children with school supplies in Afghanistan as well as feeds thousands of people. With the help of amazing supporters and generous donors, AYEO is even able to give orphans presents and new clothes in celebration of Eid (Islamic Holiday).  Its latest fundraiser began in the beginning weeks of Ramadan this year (August 2011). AYEO was fortunate enough to have one of its members, Mahmood Ahmadi, in Afghanistan all throughout Ramadan to express to fellow AYEO members that there are families without food or water, children walking around barefoot because they have no shoes, and elders living on the street, praying for any bit of help.

As word spread that help is critical, a team was organized to do an emergency fundraiser. The  goal of the fundraiser was to attain monetary donations to be sent directly to the director in Afghanistan who could immediately distribute the funds. We began with a goal of $100 the first day, not knowing what the response would be from our supporters. To our surprise, we received an extreme amount of support.  By the second day we had over $1,000; we exceeded our goal. One hundred dollars a day was too small of a goal with the ideas we had in store for the homeless, so we increased our goal to $1000 a day. As the days rolled by, we saw an abundant amount of donations from all over the world.  AYEO has raised over $22,000 in a matter of 2 weeks. It was able to feed thousands of men, women, and children on the streets of Kabul for Iftar (when fasting breaks for the day) and supplied many children with presents, school supplies, and new clothes in celebration of Eid. As Eid quickly approached, AYEO hosted an Eid feast for all the poor and homeless in the area so they could enjoy at least one unforgettable Eid.

The outcome of the Emergency fundraiser surpassed any expectations, and it isn’t stopping there. AYEO is a force to be reckoned with. We have pledged to continue this momentum year round. We hope to make it a tradition to always feed the homeless during Iftar in Ramadan, supply children with school materials, provide warm clothes during the winter, and give general assistance throughout the year so the people of Afghanistan will always remember that they are not forgotten.

AYEO is here to stay and without the support of our amazing supporters,  we couldn’t have done half the things we have accomplished already. AYEO thanks everyone who has helped in every way. We have saved lives and have given new hope to those who most view as hopeless. In the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Thank you & God bless.

For all those who want to help please contact AYEO at ayeo.org@gmail.com

To donate please go to our website www.ayeorg.org and click on the paypal link in the fundraiser tab.

To track AYEO’s progress throughout the year, follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ayeo_org