Was Tom Sawyer a Muslim?
By Jim Masters
Here’s something to bring a smile (or a grimace) to your face as you contemplate the education of young people around the world. Turkey’s State Education Ministry (under direction of the AKP religious-right government) has negotiated the publication of 100 ‘essential’ children’s literary works of Western Literature - which, while being translated into Turkish, are also being Islam-itized.
However, because of the liberties taken by the publisher in translation, the books don’t meet international standards, And they won’t carry any sort of Seal of Approval. The unaccredited publisher, Damla Yayinevi, was able to avoid the need for such Approval by printing abridgements of the books — with page counts of less than the 96 pages required for approval.
The children’s books, which appear on the Ministry’s Recommended Reading list for Elementary School students, contain such unlikely story and character representations as:
A) A Prayerful Tom Sawyer — In the Islam-itized abridgement of that namesake classic (which might set Mark Twain a’turning in his grave), Tom devoutly memorizes prayers that he totes around with him — and receives a gift as reward for his efforts.
B) La Fontaine’s Religious Fox — The wily fox that steals fish right off the fisherman’s line doesn’t forget to offer his victim a pious blessing, “May Allah keep your path free. Haydi bana eyvallah!” before he runs off with the man’s catch.
C) A Reverent Pinocchio — In the translation of Carlo Collodi’s children’s classic, when the wooden-boy becomes real he swoons “Ben eskiden ne kadar komik bir haldeymisim. Simdi ise Allah’a sükürler olsun ki, gerçek bir cocugum.” I used to be in such a comical condition. But now… let God be praised, I’m a real boy.
D) A Moralizing Pollyanna — The condensed version of Eleanor Porter’s children’s tale includes the following dialog between the incapacitated Mr. Pendleton and young Pollyanna…
Pendleton: “I’m going to stay in bed till Doomsday.” (Bildigim tek sey kiyamete kadar yatacagim.)
Pollyanna: “You can’t, because according to the Holy Book, Doomsday will strike when you least expect it. Whether Doomsday can actually strike that swiftly is doubtful, but it surely will occur.”
Robin Hood, Gulliver’s Travels, Heidi, Oliver Twist, Treasure Island, and Andersen’s Fairy Tales are among the other famous children’s books of Western Literature that have also been given an Islamic slant in preparation for the new school year.
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Jim and (co-author) Perihan Masters are a husband and wife team, living on the Aegean Coast of Turkey just 50 miles south of Izmir. Jim was born in Shanghai, China — of American military parentage. Peri was born on the Black Sea coast of Turkey near Trabzon, of Turkish military parentage…Enticed by a Financial Times advertisement, Jim joined a NATO sponsored enterprise in Ankara in 1974 where he met the beautiful and brainy Perihan, a rising young Turkish banking executive. Settled now in the heart of what was once the ancient Ionian Empire — the couple live an idyllic life by the sea.. writing, drawing and painting, teaching English, and providing computing service support to local businesses. They also sponsor the MSNBC award-winning Learning Practical Turkish Website which has built an enthusiastic international following of devoted Turkophiles and inquisitive language students of all ages.
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