Pardon My Turkish: Battle for 'Halal' Words
Being politically correct takes another unexpected turn in Turkey as a new vocabulary permeates the social scene, further deepening political fault lines.
The Muslim world just concluded one of its holiest of celebrations, called Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. In Turkey, for the last couple of years, a battle of “halal” (permitted in Islamic law) words have intensified. If you dare to say “Candy Feast” (Seker Bayrami) instead of Ramazan Bayrami in your greetings you may be scolded by “conservatives” and political Islamists.
Although it has long been a tradition to refer to it as candy or sweets holiday in Turkish because it was seen as sunnah (the practices of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that he taught and followed) to indulge in and share sweets with your family and friends. The Anglo-Saxon world has mostly adopted the Arabic saying of Eid Mobarek, or Eid Said (Blessed or Happy Eid), while Turks could not yet decide what is the most appropriate way to wish happy holidays. Twitter preachers are not shy to tell you “how to greet for the Holy Day” and even when it is appropriate to send your greetings. Those “secular” tweeps who insist on referring to it as “Candy Holiday" are considered unworthy of the celebration because they probably did not even observe the fast. Even a few simple words of greeting have become a political fault line. Hence, one must choose one's words diligently in Turkey to avoid backlash.
