LINK Is Turkish secularism under threat? | Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Al Jazeera
Istanbul, Turkey - When Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the Turkish Republic nearly a century ago, the former military leader banished religion from the public sphere and looked westwards to Europe for inspiration.
After replacing Islamic law (sharia) with European civil codes, he installed the principles of secularism into the Constitution, banned the Muslim call to prayer in Arabic and pushed for the social integration of the sexes, reforms which would radically alter the fabric of the Muslim-majority country which only years earlier was the seat of the Ottoman Empire.
And now, as Turkey prepares for crucial presidential and parliamentary elections, the debate as to whether the Muslim world's model democracy is abandoning its secular model has resurfaced.
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You betcha!
fishline79
Level 7
June 7, 2018
1
And I think ours is too, if the Southern Republicans and the Supreme Court have anything to do with it.
A good read on this is Suzy Hansen's book " Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post American World" she delves into more than just your question
AmelieMatisse
Level 8
June 5, 2018
1
Turkish secularism is on life support, and has been for some time. Apparently Al Jazeera is as clueless as CNN.
doug6352
Level 7
June 4, 2018
2
What I find odd is that the people don’t protest these huge numbers of public servants, justiciary and teachers that Erdogan has fired. He has tried to change the character of the public institutions there, and not for the better.
I bet the CIA are crawling around Turkey, trying to turn the clock back.
I feel sorry for the young atheists in Turkey. Turkey is a beautiful country, it's the leaders who spoil it.
Ellatynemouth
Level 8
June 4, 2018
2
That is true for every place on planet earth.
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