What's Up With Turkey?

[Kathianne]

Are they going Islamic?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...?nav=rss_world

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Turkish Rulers Backtrack on Head Scarves

Associated Press
Friday, August 1, 2008; A13

ANKARA, Turkey, July 31 -- Turkey's ruling party has dropped for now its attempts to lift a decades-old ban on wearing Islamic head scarves in universities, a campaign that infuriated defenders of the country's secular principles and nearly brought down the government.

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek signaled Thursday that the government would not push for a fresh round of legislation to lift the head scarf ban, a day after the country's top court narrowly decided not to shut down the ruling party on grounds that it was trying to impose an Islamic regime.

"The head scarf issue is not on our agenda now," Cicek told NTV television in an interview.

Turkey's constitution enshrines a secular system introduced by the country's modern founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, which has its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement, is locked in a power struggle with secularists backed by the military and the judiciary who claim the government is trying to roll back secular traditions.

A recent attempt by the ruling party to lift the head scarf ban was rebuffed by the country's highest court on grounds it was anti-secular.

Then on Wednesday, the Constitutional Court turned down a case brought by Turkey's chief prosecutor asking the high court to disband Erdogan's Justice and Development Party and bar him and 70 other party members from joining any other political party for five years.

Also Thursday, Erdogan assured Turks that his government was loyal to Ataturk's secular principles.

[Gaffer]

I posted in another thread to watch for events in Turkey, possibly even a civil war. The hardcore islamists are trying to take over there. It's caliphate time in the ME.

[Kathianne]

I posted in another thread to watch for events in Turkey, possibly even a civil war. The hardcore islamists are trying to take over there. It's caliphate time in the ME.

I think you are unto something here. Lots going on.