There is no such 'Islamic spirit'

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev have just issued a joint declaration on "Islamic convergence." While I was reading it, I thought about what kind of dream world our political Islamists in Turkey are living in.

The second decade of the 21st century is nearing its end but our dreamers are still in search of a single political platform for the Islamic community. Thus, they assume they can solve global issues with an "Islamic solidarity spirit," particularly issues in Islamic countries.   

How much do the realities of our time match up with such an expectation? 

The history of Islam has witnessed that the biggest murders were easily committed when power struggles were in question. What happened after the death of Prophet Muhammad? Is it not in the curriculum of our ?mam Hatip religious vocational schools? 

Those who are strangling each other in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain are all Muslims. There is no such thing as "Muslim fraternity."

In international relations, similarly, there are different interests and targets. States cannot just be brothers only because they belong to the same religion. 

In fact, our Islamists also know this. But because they are living in a dream world, they still assume they will be able to solve complicated political and economic issues of today with this concept. The main reason is that they are not equipped with the body of knowledge to understand the world or see the source of today's problems. 

The PM's instructions 

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu convened with mayors from across the country the other day and told them that the Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOK?) would build buildings in harmony with...