Word: turkishly
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...subvert the Turkish state? On July 14, Istanbul's top prosecutor, Aykut Cengiz Engin, gave one grave and tantalizing answer. He announced indictments against 86 people, including military officers and prominent journalists, for allegedly "attempting to overthrow the Turkish government by force." The "Ergenekon" coup plotters apparently named their hard-core nationalist group after an idyllic valley evoked in the Turkish people's pre-Islamic founding myth. The prosecution claims they were out to unseat the Islamic-leaning government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by sowing chaos to provide a pretext for the army to step...
...dueling court cases underscore a quickening ideological clash over Turkey's future. The country's secularist establishment - the army, judiciary and urban élite - wants to preserve its vision of Turkey's modern destiny by keeping religion separate from government. But the AKP, the most successful party in recent Turkish history, is rooted in faith and has risen to power as more conservative and religious Turks find a political voice. On the question of how democracy, Islam and modernity can coexist under the rule of law, the two sides have radically - perhaps irreconcilably - different views...
Secularists like Ozkan are convinced the AKP wants to Islamicize Turkish society over time. Since the AKP came to power, its critics contend, senior civil servants have begun demanding that those seeking high-level positions have Muslim credentials. Many Turks report an increase in mahalle (neighborhood) pressure to adhere to conservative norms. Newspaper ads are being Photoshopped to lengthen sleeves and skirts. Rowers on a university team were recently beaten up by unidentified assailants for wearing shorts. Meanwhile, Erdogan has called on women to have at least three children, and his cabinet includes just one woman. Under...
Banning the AKP won't neutralize the attraction its positions hold for millions of Turkish voters. And the mere threat of a ban has already drawn international condemnation, and has contributed to a slowdown in foreign investment as well as a weakening of Turkey's currency. That said, political Islam would indeed pose a future threat to the modern lifestyles of many Turks - and, despite the AKP's protestations, it's not unreasonable to suspect that the party might want to strengthen Islam's role in political life. Still, it's worth keeping such worries from spiraling out of control...
...Syria is back in style. The invitation to Paris is ostensibly a reward for the the start of indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel (through Turkish mediation.) But it's also recognition that attempts to isolate Syria have failed, and that the West needs Syrian help for resolving some of the biggest problems in the Middle East. For its part, Syria wants to come even further out of the cold. While in Paris, President Assad told French television that in the event of direct talks under American sponsorship, there could be peace between Syria and Israel within two years...