The spirit of Turkey’s Gezi Park protests has brought the profane world to its knees — down to Ramadan "iftars" (dinners to break day-long fast) on the sidewalk. The protests, sparked by anger against the government’s patronizing and majoritarian policies, continue to add novelties to Turkey’s political and social landscape. And each time, we are baffled to see what the Gezi spirit is capable of. The divine grace and mercy of this year’s Ramadan is upon the rebels of the leftist, atheist or secular world! The “religion card” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used in his black propaganda campaign to discredit the protesters is slipping through his fingers!

When protesters took refuge in the Valide Sultan Mosque to escape the police’s pepper spray and water cannon vehicles, or TOMAs, Erdogan exploited the mosque politically, accusing the protesters of having entered it with their shoes on and imbibing booze inside. The most powerful answer he got are the “earth tables” set in the streets for iftar. And that’s Gezi’s irony of fate.

The first “earth table” was set on Istiklal Avenue, the city’s main and best known shopping avenue, starting from Galatasaray Lycee and stretching all the way to Taksim Square, where pepper spray and water cannon vehicles waited — lean and mean — to spray protesters. People came with modest food packets for the meal, responding to calls by the “Anti-Capitalist Muslims” and “Revolutionary Muslims” groups. Fasters were joined by many who fasted for the first time in their lives or were not fasting at all. In Nilay Vardar’s words, “The menu included ‘reasonable’ portions of everything — from burghul salad and stuffed vine leaves to pizza and dates.” The second “earth table” was set at Sarachane Park in the Fatih district, while the third was set at the Sarigazi Cemevi to show solidarity with the Alevi community, long ostracized by conventional Sunnis. “Earth tables” will be set at different locations each evening throughout Ramadan.

Contrasting iftars