One million Turks protest over 'plans for Islamic state'

Let us all stop for a minute to admire the ordinary
Turks for showing their determination to keep Islam from taking over their country.
I find that admirable and very gutsy and I applaud these brave protesters.
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14 May 2007
One million Turks protest over 'plans for Islamic state'
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The possibility of an observant Muslim president is pitting Turkey's deeply secular military and civilian establishment against its religiously oriented ruling party in a fundamental struggle over national identity.
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At least 700,000 people marched against Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's candidacy in Istanbul yesterday, waving the red national flag and invoking Turkey's long secular tradition. Powerful generals are hinting they may step in. Many Turks are calling for early elections in the hope of replacing the parliament, which elects the president and is dominated by Gul's pro-Islamic party.
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The protesters fear that Gul would use the presidency - a post with veto power over legislation - to assist his ally, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in chipping away at the separation of state and religion. For example, secularists want to preserve a ban on Islamic headscarves in government offices and other public places; Gul's wife, Hayrunisa, once appealed to the European Court of Human Rights for the right to wear the scarf to a university.
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"We don't want a covered woman in Ataturk's presidential palace," said Ayse Bari, a 67-year-old housewife at the Istanbul protest. "We want civilized, modern people there."
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http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2496693.ece