Turkey Stands Up For Secularity In Government
“Turkey’s constitutional court ruled nine to two to block the government’s move to lift the ban on the wearing of Islamic head scarves at universities. In a written statement, it said the proposal would go against the secular nature of the learning institutions. It did not give details of its reasoning.
Deputy leader of the ruling AK Party Bekir Bozdag attacked the decision. He said the constitutional court made an unconstitutional decision. He said the decision is so broad it opens every legislation to possible attack.”
Why is this important? Because Turkey is virtually the only secular, non-Islamic nation left with an almost 100% Muslim population. Their new president has been trying to move Turkey toward becoming an Islamic government, and the repeal of this little headscarf ban was a first feint in that direction.
If Turkey should become Islamic it will become an enemy of the West instead of an ally, and will be one more haven for terrorists, right on Europes Eastern border.
The Islamic-rooted AK party proposed the head scarf amendment last February in response to a strong pressure from its religious grassroots supporters. It met with equally strong opposition from secular groups and the influential military.
Political analysts here say the court’s decision to reject the government’s proposal to make the wearing of head scarves at universities a matter of personal choice does not bode well for the government.
The chief prosecutor, in a separate case filed with the Constitutional Court, is already seeking to disband the ruling AK party on the grounds that it is undermining secularism in Turkey. The prosecutor is using the government’s head scarves proposal as evidence of the party’s anti-secular nature.
Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim, but its founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, rooted the government on strict principles of separation from Islam.
The head of the powerful Turkish army, General Yasar Buyukanit, in a speech Thursday criticizing the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He said, “We follow with concern certain centers that want to change Turkey’s structure in recent years. He said the secular state created by Ataturk is respected across the region and the judiciary of Turkey will never allow this change.
The secularity of Turkey is vested in its military, which is aggressively secular and guards Turkey’s secular status vigorously. Turkey’s army is semi-autonomous and has disbanded previous governments for their Islamic leanings. This one may not be far behind. I viewed the reversal of the head scarf ban with alarm and I’m happy to see it repealed. For Turkey, this seemingly small thing is truly major.