AP News, May 3rd, 2007
Turkey's secular circles rocked the government by portraying its leaders as Islamists intent on imposing religion on society. But the ruling party, an advocate of European Union membership, has done more than most of its predecessors to introduce Western reforms to the country.
So is there a secret government agenda to impose Islamic law? Or are the secularists stirring up fears about political Islam to win more power? In a debate fueled by suspicion and acrimony, there are no clear-cut answers.
But this is plain: the dispute has exposed a deepening divide in Turkey, a NATO member and traditional ally of the West.
Parliament on Wednesday approved general elections on July 22 as a way to ease the tension after Turkey's highest court sided with the secularists and annulled a parliamentary vote that looked certain to lead to a president rooted in political Islam.
But the Islam vs. secularism discourse could define voting patterns and exacerbate the rift.
Even so, few expect a scenario in which Turkey turns its back on the West and aligns itself with Islamic governments such as the one in neighboring Iran. Turkey has a strong secular tradition, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government _ for all its Islamic credentials _ has bound its reputation to the bid for entry into the EU.
Besides, the military is the self-declared guardian of secularism and said last week that it would step in if the ideals of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded modern Turkey from the vestiges of the Ottoman Empire, come under threat. The armed forces have ousted four governments since 1960.
Many Turks, shocked by the military's warning, view the current uncertainty as a sharp turn toward the instability of past decades, even if the economy is on a more solid footing this time. The conflict in Turkey, whose 75 million people are mostly Muslims, also feeds into a broader debate about whether Islam and democracy are compatible.
On the face of it, Erdogan has spent much of the past five years in power trying to prove the two can go together. He has repeatedly cast Turkey as a bridge between East and West, a mediator between Islam and Christianity.
For the moment, those visions of Turkey's global role are more rhetorical than real. But the government has been working hard, too. It pursued privatization and other reforms backed by the International Monetary Fund, and scrapped the death penalty and made other changes for entry into Europe's club. Membership is still a long way off, however.
Erdogan and his close ally and presidential candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, wear Western-style business suits and are clean-shaven, in keeping with laws that bar Islamic dress in public offices. During their party's rise to power in 2002, some of its candidates publicly shaved off their Islamic-style beards.
Still, Erdogan built his career in political Islam, whose adherents believe their religious values can shape a nation's political path.
He was an active member of the National Salvation Party and served as Istanbul mayor in the Welfare Party, but both Islamist groups were shut down as threats to the state. As prime minister, Erdogan has cultivated a moderate image, careful to avoid confrontation with the establishment.
That changed with the presidential nomination of Gul, a move that alarmed secularists who thought an Islamic-rooted government in control of Parliament, the prime minister's office and finally the presidency would no longer face checks on its authority. The current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, has blocked many government bills and appointments with his veto.
After years of keeping its agenda under wraps, the secularists speculated, the government would have a green light to introduce an Islamic agenda.
The opposition boycotted the first round of presidential voting and appealed for its annulment to the nation's highest court, arguing that a quorum was not present. The court, a strongly secular body, agreed. The ruling party plans to hold another presidential vote on Sunday, but it will probably face another boycott and a halt to the process.
Erdogan's foes cite a lot of perceived transgressions to support their argument that he and his party are bent on turning Turkey into a more Islamic place, however long it takes:
_ The ruling party has tried to ban adultery and forbidden the sale of alcohol in cafes run by its municipalities. It has encouraged religious schools and has spoken of ending the prohibition on Islamic head scarves in public offices and schools. Gul's wife, Hayrunisa, wears a head covering, a garment that secularists say would sully the presidential palace.
_ Erdogan was jailed for four months in 1999 on a charge of inciting religious hatred after reciting an Islamic poem with the line: "Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets, believers our soldiers."
_ Long before he was prime minister, Erdogan said: "Democracy is not an aim but a means to an end."
But the opposition, which is divided and has struggled to offer a forward-looking vision to its constituents, has seemed strident at times.
One leader described Gul's candidacy as an attempt by the ruling party to elect a "sultan," a reference to the authoritarian leaders of the Ottoman period who based their legitimacy partly on their role as the guardians of Islam.
For their part, government leaders label the secularists as the ones with a poor understanding of democracy, implying that they run to the coattails of the military and sympathetic judges whenever they feel their share of power is dwindling.
Gul, the presidential candidate, says he is a victim.
"A columnist wrote about me having allegedly attended a panel discussion where I insulted the secular system. I never attended such a panel! It's a lie," he told Turkish journalists this week. "They claim I tore Ataturk's photographs. These slanders are perpetrated by certain people. We know very well who they are."
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Christopher Torchia is the Associated Press chief of bureau in Istanbul.
