Even football coaches have their hopes in God, why don't jihadists?

As the rule of law in Turkey deteriorates, religion and a sense of “divine justice” are quickly replacing it.

The country’s football community is not immune to this rapid change. During a conference this week, football coaches were asked who would help them if they were subjected to injustice. Three percent of the coaches said the Turkish Football Coaches Association (TÜFAD) would help them, while 5 percent said the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) would come to the rescue and 17 percent said they alone would stand up for their rights.

Three out of four coaches said “God will save us.”

So the coaches do not believe that they can get their rights through institutions and regulations; it is only possible with the intervention of a divine power.

The football coaches are not alone in their pursuit of divine justice.

For example, members of the Gülen movement, who believe that they are being targeted by the government on false and intentional accusations, often refer to divine justice since they have lost hope in the Turkish courts. Many followers of the movement often write on social media that “God’s approval is enough for us.”

The justice system in the country is so messed up that even the secularists “threaten” politicians accused of corruption, saying “God will hold you accountable in the afterlife, even though you avoid prosecution in this life.”

However, some people acting in the name of Islam are not patient enough to wait for divine justice. Gunmen attacked satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo yesterday, killing at least 12 people and wounding many others. Since they were shouting “the revenge of Prophet Muhammad has been taken,” the murderers were most probably radical Islamists who feel offended by the caricatures of Islam’s prophet published by the magazine.

If you believe in the afterlife and divine justice, how can you justify brutal attacks on people just because they do not think alike?

If Islam is really “a religion of peace” as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said yesterday after the attack, how is it possible that many Muslim countries are engaged in violent fights stemming from religion, with even Muslims fighting each other based on sectarian lines?

Also, while calling on Europe to fight “racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia, which is on the rise in many regions of Europe,” even in the wake of a brutal attack by people who claim to be acting in the name of Islam, why doesn’t a single Justice and Development Party (AKP) government official make a similar appeal to Muslim countries, asking them to respect the rights of the followers of other religions and non-believers?

Murders in the name of Islam should be condemned without “buts,” without “ifs,” without picturing the victims of the attacks as those “who crossed the line by ridiculing the sacred values of Muslims.”

A day will come when words are met with words, not swords and Kalashnikovs. Until then, God save Turkish football, along with the economy, education, security and all other things we are too busy to deal with.