Religious Tension Mounts in Turkish Politics

Posted on Apr 27, 2007

Turkey’s leading presidential candidate has Islamist roots, a cause for concern among the country’s many secularists. The Turkish military has even weighed in on the issue, saying the armed forces were troubled by the election and would display their “positions and attitudes” as “a staunch defender of secularism” at the appropriate time.

BBC:

The army said it was following the election process “with concern”.

“It should not be forgotten that the Turkish armed forces are a side in this debate and are a staunch defender of secularism,” the statement said.

“The Turkish armed forces are against those debates… and will display their position and attitudes when it becomes necessary. No one should doubt that.”

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