Article claims rise in anti-Semitic feelings in Turkey

An article published on the BBC website today, says that 'Mein Kampf', Adolf Hitler's autobiography has become Turkey's best-seller. The article discusses fears that Turkey is developing anti-Semitic feelings, following reports of ant-Americanism. The article says that analysts fear the Middle East conflict and the US-led war on Iraq might have fueled extremist ideology in Turkey. According to sources there are approximately 22,000 Jews living in harmony with Turks in Turkey, mainly in Istanbul. And Turkey has always welcomed the Jewish, dating back to the 15th century when an Ottoman sultan gave Jews fleeing from Europe protection. In the article published by the BBC, Dogul Ergil, a political scientist at Ankara University said that he believed recent developments in Iraq and the Middle-East might have fomented anti-Semitic and anti-American feelings among right-wing ultra-nationalists and extremist Islamists. Ergil was also quoted as saying that there has been no objective reason for anti-Semitic feelings to crop up in Turkey and that Hitler had always been considered a 'criminal' and a 'maniac' by Turkish people at large. Ergil also said that conspiracy theories were circulating led by the crusaders (the U.S), the West in general and the Zionists. A publisher, Oguz Tektas, who released the book, was quoted as saying that the 500-page book written by Hitler had always been a best-seller in Turkey. And that they were just 'bringing it out of the closet'. Â