Word: turkeys
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...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...
...41/2 years of majority rule, the AKP has to its credit several undeniable accomplishments. After years of political uncertainty that saw Turkey's economy limp from crisis to crisis, the party's economic reforms and fiscal discipline have fueled growth averaging 7% a 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...
...Still, the party has also made its share of missteps. Last year Erdogan nominated a specialist in Islamic banking with no expert knowledge of interest rates to lead the country's central bank (the decision was vetoed). The party also introduced (and subsequently dropped) a law banning adultery. Turkey's newspapers are filled with stories of attempts by local AKP officials to introduce Muslim mores by, for example, creating separate bathing areas at public swimming pools or banning drinking in public spaces...
...battle has moved to the presidency. In Turkey, the President possesses little legislative or executive power, other than wielding a veto. But the office carries huge symbolic importance, especially for the Turkish military, since one of the President's titles-albeit a ceremonial one-is commander-in-chief. The incumbent President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, is a staunch secularist who was only too willing to wield his veto power to quash legislation and appointments he deemed too Islamist. As the ruling party, the AKP had a constitutional right to appoint one of its own to replace Sezer, and Erdogan came close...
...Widely considered the more moderate of the two politicians, Gul speaks English, unlike Erdogan, and is even rumored to have a sense of humor. He is also well-known to Turkey's allies in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere, and played a key role in presenting Turkey's case for membership to the E.U. Still, like most top AKP officials, Gul got his start in parties that were banned in the 1990s for flirting with political Islam. And secularists could not abide the idea that, as Turkey's First Lady, Gul's wife Hayrunnisa would be wearing the traditional Muslim...