Stephan:   About three years ago I was in Turkey for several weeks presenting at a medical conference there and had the pleasure to traveling through much of the country. Having lived in Egypt for most of two years, and having visited a number of Arab cities I thought I knew what to expect in an Islamic country and was stunned to discover that Turkey was something quite different. I loved Turkey, the people, the absence of the constant burden of religion one feels in Islamic countries, the equality of the women, great food and extraordinary history. Much of that is now coming to an end, as Turkey sinks into fundamentalist religiosity under President Erdogan, an authoritarian and fundamentalist. For instance, I have begun seeing reports of ancient Christian communities being persecuted, academics being jailed for non-Islamic teaching and all the other toxic nonsense that goes with fundamentalism. American media cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, by which I mean they seem capable of only covering one story line, or at most two, so none of this is getting any coverage, although it is of enormous geopolitical significance. De Spiegel in Germany in contrast to American media does follow events in Turkey closely, perhaps because there are so many ethnic Turks in Germany, and here is what I think is a pretty reasonable take on what President Erdogan and his minions are doing to Turkey. It is a great tragedy with powerful implications.