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Turkey's AKP Official Ignites New Concerns Over Secularism Principle

By Howard M. Friedman

After narrowly avoiding court-ordered dissolution for undermining Turkey's secularism (see prior posting), Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) is again embroiled in controversy. After the court verdict, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said that he would try to avoid polarizing Turkey's society. Today's Zaman reports, however, that the party's Deputy Chairwoman Edibe Sözen recently introduced a bill calling for places of worship for all children to be built in schools and for strong new rules against pornography. The bill was withdrawn after the Party publicly rebuked Sözen. However opposition parties say this shows the AKP still has a hidden Islamist agenda.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 14, 2008 (boomark / email).