Word: seculars
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...Turkey is a Muslim country where the clout of conservative Muslim voters has been steadily growing, as demonstrated by the AKP's landslide sweep to power in the 2002 elections. Whereas the secular middle class can be found almost exclusively in coastal cities like Istanbul and Izmir, the AKP, led by the former semipro soccer player and Islamist Erdogan, has its roots in the conservative Central Anatolian heartland, as well as among millions of poorer migrants from those areas. Despite secularists' warnings, a poll conducted last year by a leading Istanbul think tank found that only 8.9% of the population...
...year. It strengthened rights for the Kurdish minority and convinced the European Union to launch membership talks last year. Joost Lagendijk, a Dutch member of the European Parliament who chairs an E.U.-Turkey delegation, says the party "has done more for the modernization of Turkey than all the secular parties in previous years. They were willing to open up the system, to challenge the élite...
...widespread such practices are is hard to measure. But secularist Turks have been quick to raise the alarm. An overwhelming majority distrusted Erdogan anyway, despite his repeated insistence that he supports a secular, democratic state. As evidence against him, these skeptics cited comments he made before he was elected that democracy is "like a streetcar-you ride it to the end and then you get off." The party has often been judged less for its performance than for what it represents. Secularists feel this is "an existential issue," explains Altinay, "and therefore that any route to stopping them is acceptable...
...tradition of political protest. But nearly a million of them poured into the streets of Istanbul--some chanting "We don't want another Iran!"--to demonstrate against the country's Islamic-leaning but democratically elected government. The protest was part of a larger revolt by Turkey's "secular establishment," which includes the army and parts of the judiciary, against a political party that has been in power for five years. The ostensible reason was that the ruling party nominated Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a conservative Muslim, for President. But by attacking Gul, the country's urban élite runs...
...nearly 80 years, Davis enforced a strict behavior code (he once fined himself $20 for playing a racy Muddy Waters tune on a jukebox instead of a religious song) and oversaw such musical innovations as the use of electric guitar. Although the Birds' fresh harmonies and passionate gesticulating drew secular fans, Davis declined an offer to tour with Paul Simon after singing backup on Simon's 1973 hit Love Me like a Rock. Why rebuff the megamoney? The group had previous commitments to play at churches. "As far as I was concerned," said Davis, "our word was our word...