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Will Turkey become a Muslim extremist nation?

Melensdad

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Turkey has been a government that wants to enter the west. Looking to become good members of the European Union (not yet) and a member of NATO. However it has its own internal struggles and the debate between remaining a secular, non-religious state and being taken over as a Muslim ruled religious nation remains its biggest problem.

It may also be one of the next places that erupts into violence? If & when it does, its strong ties to the western nations may create a big problem because it borders several mid-Eastern nations.
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Thousands of Turks protest government


By BENJAMIN HARVEY, Associated Press Writer 55 minutes ago

More than 100,000 secular Turks gathered in Istanbul Sunday, chanting slogans against the pro-Islamic government that has faced severe criticism from the country's powerful military.
It was the second large demonstration against the government in just two weeks and shows a deepening division between secular and Islamist camps in Turkish society. More than 300,000 secular Turks staged a similar rally in Ankara two weeks ago.

"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," shouted thousands of flag-waving protesters, who traveled to Istanbul from across the country overnight.

The demonstrators sang nationalist songs and demanded the resignation of the government, calling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "traitor."

"This government is the enemy of Ataturk," said 63-year-old Ahmet Yurdakul, a retired government employee, in reference to the founder of the modern republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. "They want to drag Turkey to the dark ages.

Aerial television footage showed a sea of red flags in the packed meeting area in Caglayan district. Turkish flags were seen everywhere, draped on people like capes, cars, motorcycles and also hanging from buildings.

The rally was organized more than a week ago but it came a day after Erdogan's government rejected a stern warning from the military over the country's disputed presidential election, calling its interference unacceptable in a democracy. The ruling party candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, failed to win a first-round victory Friday in a parliamentary vote marked by tensions between secularists and the pro-Islamic government. Most opposition legislators boycotted the vote and challenged its validity in the Constitutional Court.

Gul has promised to uphold the country's secular traditions amid concerns that his victory will strengthen the role of Islam in politics.

The military, which regards itself as the guardian of the secular system and has staged three coups since 1960, said Friday night it was gravely concerned and indicated it was willing to become more openly involved in the process — a statement some interpreted as an ultimatum to the government to rein in officials who promote Islamic initiatives.

Starting in 1923 in the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, Ataturk, a soldier, set about a series of secular reforms that imposed Western laws, replaced Arabic script with the Latin alphabet, banned Islamic dress and granted women the right to vote.

The ruling party, however, has supported religious schools and tried to lift the ban on Islamic head scarves in public offices and schools. Secularists are also uncomfortable with the idea of Gul's wife, Hayrunisa, being in the presidential palace because she wears the traditional Muslim head scarf.

"We don't want a covered woman in Ataturk's presidential palace," said Ayse Bari, a 67-year-old homemaker. "We want civilized, modern people there."

The election has contributed to a sense of polarization in a country that has enjoyed relative economic and political stability for years and is seeking entry into the European Union. The EU has been pressing Turkey to curb the influence of its armed forces in politics.
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Associated Press Writer Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara contributed to this report.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
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It's one of those things that Mark Steyn wrote about in his last book. Basically, the hard core muslims are going to take over by breeding their way into the majority. It's just a matter of time for that majority to take over and boot out the "civilized modern people".
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
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Ah, but the military has a history in Turkey of being involved in throwing out the religious leaders.

Seems to me we have a huge chance for some serious violence. And because Turkey is adjacent to religious Muslim nations, while militarily and economically linked to the secular west, the chances of it becoming an international issue seem to be huge!
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
Re: Will Turkey became a Muslim extremist nation?

Turkey is the muslim world's gateway to the west. It is going to be interesting.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
Re: Will Turkey became a Muslim extremist nation?

I read an article somewhere that the Kurds of northern Iraq are more concerned about an invasion from Turkey than they are about dealing with the Shiites and Sunnis from the south.

Lots more potential for chaos over there. Maybe we should just let them all have nukes and short range missiles. They can resolve it between themselves.
 

ImInnocent

New member
Re: Will Turkey became a Muslim extremist nation?

The next?
Who was the first?

I didn't know that there was an entire nation filled with only extremists?
Quite a dogmatic statement to say a nation is filled with exptremists. I live in a cosmopolitan city filled with muslins and I have never seen nor heard of any 'extreme' problems from them.
 

ImInnocent

New member
Re: Will Turkey became a Muslim extremist nation?

Edinburgh, Scotland.
Many of my friends who live in Shetland Scotland travel and vacation in Turkey each summer. They have a brilliant time and often beg me to go with them.
 

Melensdad

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Staff member
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I didn't know that there was an entire nation filled with only extremists?
Quite a dogmatic statement to say a nation is filled with exptremists.
Clearly you failed to read not only what I wrote, but also what was in the article. Talk about intolerance!
I live in a cosmopolitan city filled with muslins and I have never seen nor heard of any 'extreme' problems from them.
And this has what to do with the topic at hand?
 

Melensdad

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Staff member
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Here is an update on Turkey
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Tough test for Turkey's democracy
By Chris Morris
World affairs correspondent, BBC News
These are tense times in Turkey, as the country enters uncharted political waters.

Never before has the constitutional court annulled a presidential election. Never before has a sitting prime minister accused the country's leading judges of firing "a bullet aimed at democracy".

The court ruling, coming just a few days after an ominous warning from the military about the government's plans for the presidency, means Turkey's political system has reached deadlock.

An early general election, producing a new popular mandate, is probably the only way out of the impasse.

The government wants the election as early as 24 June and the campaign will certainly be passionate. There are big issues at stake.

It is possible that the governing AK Party could emerge with an even bigger majority than it has now. There will be much talk of opposition alliances to try to prevent that from happening.

But this is part of a longer term political battle about what kind of country, what kind of democracy, Turkey should be.

The army, the main opposition party and powerful vested interests in the bureaucracy and the judiciary all believe that secularism is Turkey's founding principle, and its guarantee of modernity.

But the government argues, in effect, that too strict a definition of secularism damages democracy, and restricts personal freedoms.

Although his opponents doubt him, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he too is committed to secularism. But he does not think it should be at the expense of Turks who want to express their religious beliefs more openly.

"The essential problem is to find a way to stay united, preserving our differences", he says. "Rights and freedoms are necessary for everybody."

And "everybody" includes women who wear the Islamic-style headscarf - women who include his own wife and the wife of Abdullah Gul, Mr Erdogan's choice for president.

But the idea of a "covered woman" in the presidential palace is seen by staunch secularists as an unacceptable symbol.

That is especially true of the armed forces, which have intervened directly in Turkish politics on several occasions in the past.

Do not expect tanks on the streets and soldiers surrounding parliament again - that will only happen if things really spiral out of control.

This time, the generals simply posted a statement on the internet (an e-coup was one impolite description).

The statement accused the government of tolerating rising Islamist activity and threatened to take unspecified action.

Any military interference in politics, though, even a statement on a website, does nothing for Turkey's image abroad, particularly in Europe.

The European Commission has already warned that "the supremacy of democratic civilian power over the military" is a prerequisite for any country hoping to join the EU.

But nationalists in Turkey (some but not all of them secular) have already become increasingly critical of EU demands for reform.

Many Turks fear that Islamists are using the EU accession process for their own ends - trying to dismantle the secular system under the guise of democracy.

There is no doubt that both Mr Erdogan and Mr Gul held fairly radical Islamist views in their youth.

But they both insist they have changed, and for the past five years they have led a government which has reformed and modernised the country faster and more effectively than most of its predecessors.

That has led many Western leaders - George Bush and Tony Blair among them - to argue that Mr Erdogan's government can become a powerful example for Turkey's neighbours in Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Proof, they say, that Islam and democracy can go hand in hand. But that cuts no ice with the prime minister's domestic critics. They distrust him fundamentally. On this central issue he leads a nation divided. Now he will ask the people to show where they stand.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6617223.stm

And another:
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Turkey set for early election to end crisis


By Paul de Bendern1 hour, 7 minutes ago

Turkey headed on Wednesday for early parliamentary elections on July 22 to settle a standoff between the Islamist-rooted government and the secular elite over the country's strict separation of mosque and state.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan proposed the early poll a day after Turkey's highest court ruled that the first round of a presidential election was invalid, a defeat for the ruling AK Party that Erdogan labeled "a bullet aimed at democracy."

The opposition boycotted the first round of the vote in parliament, preventing the required quorum and forcing the country towards early elections. The court ruled that without a quorum the election was invalid.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, an AK party member and the only presidential candidate, is a former Islamist whose wife wears an Islamic headscarf.

Opponents fear that Gul as president and Erdogan as prime minister would push Turkey towards an Islamist agenda, something they both deny.

"We made a decision which will end all of the controversies and give the word to the nation. Our dear nation will present its preference of the future," Erdogan said.

Parliament's constitutional committee proposed holding the vote on July 22 rather than June 24 as proposed by the AK Party, and CNN Turk quoted Erdogan as saying he had no objection. Parliament's general assembly was expected to approve the date. The election was originally slated for November 4.

Erdogan and his AK Party are expected to win a second term after five years of strong economic growth since coming to power in 2002.

The party also announced a plan to hold a referendum, perhaps on election day, if it fails to get the opposition's backing to amend the constitution so that the president would be elected by popular vote, not by parliament.

Deniz Baykal, leader of the secularist main opposition Republican People's Party, said it was too late for this parliament to overhaul the constitution.

POWER STRUGGLE

"This is about a fundamental power struggle. Erdogan is saying 'OK, you're using everything in order to stop me, then I am going to the public and I will ask them (what they want)'," said Mehmet Ali Birand, a leading Turkish commentator.

A threat by the army, which regards itself as the guardian of the secular system, to intervene in the presidential poll, the opposition boycott of the first round vote and an anti-government rally of up to one million people on Sunday sharply increased tension in Turkey.

The decision to bring forward the election brought relief to financial markets which had suffered their biggest fall in a year over the previous two days on fears of instability.

The European Commission welcomed the planned early election. Italy said recent events in Turkey showed caution was justified over its admittance to the 27-nation European Union.

Turkey, constitutionally secular and its 74 million people predominantly Muslim, began EU membership talks in 2005.

Erdogan, in a largely symbolic gesture, vowed to press on with the presidential vote on May 6 despite the court ruling. The opposition has vowed to boycott the vote again. The court has been accused of siding with the secularist elite.

"The Constitutional Court decision is a bullet aimed at democracy," Erdogan said in televised remarks to his party. He later said his remark was aimed at opposition leader Baykal, who led the boycott that pushed the issue before the court.

The presidency carries symbolic significance in Turkey because it was first held by the revered founder of the modern republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The president also has veto and appointment powers and is head of the army.
Pointing out the fact that not all people that were born and reside in Turkey are extemists, as your title insinuates. that's all.
You are making an obvious exaggeration to no good end, especially when taken in context with the text of what I wrote, and the text of the news report.

Further, you wrote
ImInnocent said:
I didn't know that there was an entire nation filled with only extremists?
and that was never implied in the title. Iran is generally considered to be an extremist Muslim nation but it does not imply that it is filled "with only extremists" Similar things can be said about Syria and Lybia, but it does not imply that either of those nations are filled "with only extremists."
 
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