Fjordman: The Government's Attempt to Move Turkey From Secularism to Islamism

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

The Government's Attempt to Move Turkey From Secularism to Islamism

The AKP Government's Attempt to Move Turkey From Secularism to Islamism

Columnist Tufan Turenc of the mainstream, high circulation, centrist Turkish daily Hurriyet wrote: [4] "[…] From the first day [of their rule,] the AKP government wanted to take over the universities and change these institutions of knowledge to conform to their own view of the world. "The goal was to turn the Republic's [state] universities into madrassas. "Their goals are to permit [Islamic] head coverings for women [on campuses], to accept into all faculties the graduates of the [Islamic] Imam Hatip schools, [and] to fill the academic positions with backward-thinking [religious] staff members. Their dream is to raise new generations with belief in and knowledge of their religion [Islam], and then to place them in all the key positions of the state.

Greek PM casts doubts on Turkey's EU accession

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Monday sent a strong message to Turkey on its European Union accession hopes, saying EU values "are not compatible" with war threats and the occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish troops. "Turkey can become an EU member when and if it fully meets EU rules and values," Karamanlis told a parliamentary debate on foreign policy. "And these values are not compatible with (threats) and the occupation of European soil." Karamanlis' declaration marks a departure from carefully-worded Greek statements on Turkey, which in past months had expressed full backing of the neighbouring country's EU accession prospects, provided it recognises the Republic of Cyprus. Turkey is the only nation to accept the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the breakaway administration formed in the wake of the 1974 invasion of the island by Turkish troops.

French insurer caught between Armenians, Turks

A powerful Turkish civil servants' trade union has decided to boycott French insurer AXA after the company agreed to indemnify heirs of victims of the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians, the head of the union said Monday. "We must put an end to business relations with AXA. It is not possible for us to do business with a company that tramples the rights of our country," Ahmet Aksu, the head of the Memur-Sen union, told AFP. He said that Memur-Sen had appealed to its 200,000 members not to take out policies from AXA.