Word: gul
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...stakes, the more pressing the desire to avoid past errors. Considering the ravages that followed the introduction of Islamic law, or Shari'a, in places like Iran in 1979 and Afghanistan in the 1990s, Westerners can be forgiven for worrying about the election of a former Islamist, Abdullah Gul, to the presidency of Turkey, the one Muslim democracy that seemed to have avoided Islamic extremism...
...Originally nominated in April by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, co-founder with Gul of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Gul's name on the slate evoked thinly veiled threats of a coup by Turkey's staunchly secularist military. Seeking a public mandate, Erdogan defiantly called early elections and, in what was widely seen as a popular snub to the military, the AKP was swept back into power with a resounding 47% of the vote. Erdogan then pushed ahead with Gul's nomination, despite calls to name a more centrist candidate to stand for a position which...
...Gul's presidency heralds the start of a new era for Turkey, it's far from clear what that new era is going to hold. "Is this the beginning of a new period of compromise, or the start of secularist-Islamist strife?" wrote columnist Mehmet Ali Birand. A former foreign minister, Gul is widely known as a coalition builder who played a key role in Turkey's European Union membership bid, but his background in political Islam makes him unpalatable to secularists...
...Turkey's secularists remain deeply suspicious. Pointing to Gul and Erdogan's background as formerly hard-line Islamists, they argue that the AKP harbors a secret Islamist agenda. As President, Gul has the power to approve or veto legislation, and secularists fear that he will sign into law any bill passed by Erdogan's government without concern for the separation of religion and politics. They are also infuriated by the fact that his wife Hayrunnisa dons a headscarf - Islamic attire is restricted in government offices under laws that date back to Ataturk?s reforms...
...Much now rides on Gul's shoulders. "He will determine developments. Everything depends on his personality, and the attitude he takes," says Birand. Educated in the U.K., Gul has made a name for himself in recent years as a moderate politician, well-liked by diplomats, who is keenly in favor of Turkey's bid to join the E.U. As long as he maintains that demeanor, his election today could yet mark the decisive end of a turbulent chapter in Turkish politics, not the beginning...