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| Europe |
| Turkish Govt Pushes Islamic Education Bill |
| 2004-05-10 |
| Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government on Monday brushed aside strong criticism from the country’s staunchly secular military, deciding to send a draft bill over religious high schools to parliament for approval. The move by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is likely to further anger the military, which last week warned that proposals that would make it easier for graduates of religious high schools to study at universities violated the country’s secular principles. "Turkey is a democratic state and the constitution clearly empowers the parliament to decide on this issue," Government spokesman Cemil Cicek told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. "Today, the parliament will decide on this issue and everyone should respect its will, because it is the place representing the will of the nation." The parliament is expected to debate the bill as early as Wednesday. However, pro-secular President Ahmet Necdet Sezer might veto the bill if it is passed by the parliament, news reports speculated on Monday. Cicek, meanwhile, issued a thinly veiled warning to the military, which forced Turkey’s first Islamic government out of power in 1997 and staged three coups, the last in 1980. "Everyone should refrain from attitudes that could cast a shadow over the democratic view of Turkey," Cicek said, noting the nation’s aspirations to join the European Union. Secular critics claim the government is seeking to raise the profile of Islam in this predominantly Muslim but strictly secular country. The government says the proposals, which were approved by a parliamentary committee last week, would ease hurdles for graduates of a number of vocational schools who want to enter university. But the secular establishment, led by the military, is wary that the proposals are aimed at high schools that train Islamic preachers and chaplains and are designed to allow their graduates to study at universities and become lawyers, teachers, or governors and hold other key state posts. Erdogan strongly denies that his party seeks any Islamic agenda. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |
| #4 The move by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is likely to further anger the military, oh pleeease...how long are we going to live in this past? This idea that the military is somehow going to step in and save Turkey from itself is so YESTERDAY. Just like the terrorists keep thinking of us as America pre-911, we need to get over thinking of Turkey as secular and of having a military that will save the day. |
| Posted by: B 2004-05-11 1:06:18 AM |
| #3 They'd better be careful, or they might find themselves in the midst of a constitutionally approved coup. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-05-10 11:19:14 PM |
| #2 Ahhhh Affirmative Action for Islamonuts... |
| Posted by: Mr Ed 2004-05-10 11:03:02 PM |
| #1 Actions like this are why Turkey will never be part of the EU. The only reason that Turkey is a cut above the third world fever swamp that is the Islamic world is because Kemal Attaturk had the vision to force a secular regime in which a meritocracy could flourish. This bill is but one more step down the slippery slope that will lead Turkish society into a dark age of 7th century islamofascism. Madrassa graduates don't know how to do anything except try and force other people to conform to their memorized strictures. Too bad, Turkey could have been a contender. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-05-10 10:47:21 PM |