Do liberal secular muslims in Turkey give you some hope for the middle east?

Question

And yes I know Turkey is not in the middle east. Maybe these guys can show those muslim conservatives over there some common sense.

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ISTANBUL, Turkey --Some 700,000 Turks waving the red national flag flooded central Istanbul on Sunday to demand the resignation of the government, saying the Islamic roots of Turkey's leaders threatened to destroy the country's modern foundations.

"They want to drag Turkey to the dark ages," said 63-year-old Ahmet Yurdakul, a retired government employee who attended the protest.

Sunday's crowd chanted that the presidential palace was "closed to imams."

In the 1920s, with the Ottoman Empire in ruins, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk imposed Western laws, replaced Arabic script with the Latin alphabet, banned Islamic dress and granted women the right to vote.

The ruling party, however, has supported religious schools and tried to lift the ban on Islamic head scarves in public offices and schools. Secularists are also uncomfortable with the idea of Gul's wife, Hayrunisa, being in the presidential palace because she wears the traditional Muslim head scarf.

"We don't want a covered woman in Ataturk's presidential palace," said Ayse Bari, a 67-year-old housewife. "We want civilized, modern people there."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/04/29/turks_protest_islamic_rooted_government/

Harry,

It's a start. By the way, I did do some research and the people who planned the protested were LEFT of center groups.

hubert,

If somebody believes in seperation of religion and state and that there should be no religious tests for office, then they are secular. Secular need not mean atheist.

Answer 1

We can only hope for the bset

Answer 2

I think this is a very well thought out question.
Turkey is one of the few bastions of secular Islam in the world, and its inclusive and considerate behaviour should be a beacon to places like Iran and Pakistan. Their western-friendly foreign policy is also positive.
That said, it's unfair and difficult to force more tribal areas, like the aforementioned Pakistan and indeed Iraq, to subscribe to the western model of politics.
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) said many years ago that the tribal nature of the Arab peoples is less reconcilable with the west.
Admittedly it would be nice if we could all get along and work together as one people, but we all have our little tribal differences, don't we?

Answer 3

How can there be secular Muslims? Secular means free of religion. I have been to Turkey and met some very fine people there. They are not as radical as the Arab Muslims seem to be. Attatürk was a great man. Yes, the bit of Westernization has helped Turkey in relations with many Western Nations and kept them out of trouble. They border the Arab Middle East and are technically part of the Middle East but Turks are not Arabs and they are quick to remind on of that.

Answer 4

A lot of Turkish people admire what Ataturk accomplished. They are one of the most advanced Muslim countries in the region - and have an army that is sworn to protect secularism.

Answer 5

Yes, and one of the reasons The Ottoman Empire fell was too much power in the hands of Religious leaders.
The fact that the Military also had too much power was a contributing factor in the Ottoman downfall as well.

Many Turks know this history and do not want it repeated.

Answer 6

Yes, they give me hope. But I'm concerned about the Muslims who see Shariah law as integral to their faith. There will be no way to progress socially or to adapt to modern life if they cannot recognize some distance between ancient Islamic practices and modern freedoms.

Answer 7

Yes some is the right word. Although I regret it isn't liberalism that's driving most secularists in Turkey but extreme Nationalism and that's reason for concern

Answer 8

so liberal is what they are...to you..I bet any association between what you think and they think would result in a prison sentence
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"Groups advocating equal rights for gay people in Turkey have long hoped their country's bid for membership in the European Union would bring European-style sexual freedoms.

But as Turkey has moved closer to conforming with European legal standards and policies, its movement toward legal parity for gays has been halting.

Social opposition to public depictions of homosexuality dissolved in the 1990s, letting a gay world emerge from hiding, at least in part. The trendy clubs of Istanbul nightlife have gay singers; gay clubs are crowded in the city's funky Beyoglu district on weekends; and one of the most prominent singers of traditional Turkish music is Bulent Ersoy, a transsexual.

But discrimination against gays and simple distaste for the general topic is widespread.

In a rare disclosure of bias crimes, an Istanbul police official, making a speech before an international conference on global security in 2003, said 36 homicides classified as bias crimes involving sexual orientation had occurred from 1996 through 2003; advocates suspect the number is not really representative because victims' families often are hesitant to bring cases to court."

Answer 9

Good For Them....

Laura Bush might as well get a Burka and headscarf too... what has she really done to help anyone?

Answer 10

Beter than average over there, but they still don't give me a warm fuzzy feeling.