secularism – News Stories About secularism - Page 2

ANALYSIS

Jun 20, 2008 7:16 PM CDT

Turkey's PM Could Fall Over Headscarves

Attack by 'extreme' secular judges will hopefully fall short

(Newser) - Turkey's secular judges want to oust the ruling party for its moderate, and popular, stance on religion freedoms, Mustafa Akyol writes in the American. On paper, the judiciary seeks to punish the incumbent AKP party for crimes such as nepotism and corruption. In reality, Akyol writes, the AKP's support for...

Court Could Outlaw Turkey's 'Islamist Government'

Apr 1, 2008 3:35 AM CDT

Court Could Outlaw Turkey's 'Islamist Government'

Explosive trial could bar ruling party, prez and prime minister

(Newser) - Turkey's top court has agreed to hear a case that could outlaw the nation's ruling party and bar its president and prime minister from politics, Reuters reports. The AK Party is accused of trying to undermine Turkey's secular constitution and establish an Iran-style Islamic state. The case pits Turkey's popularly...

More Americans Cut Church Ties

Feb 26, 2008 6:00 AM CST

More Americans Cut Church Ties

50% have switched denomination, and 16% have no affiliation

(Newser) - Americans are swapping religious affiliations at an accelerating rate, with 50% choosing a different denomination than the one they were raised in, and 16%—double the number 20 years ago—saying the have no ties to a particular church, a new survey of religious life finds. That doesn't mean they're...

Turkish Army Blasts Incoming President

Aug 28, 2007 8:50 AM CDT

Turkish Army Blasts Incoming President

Fears of a coup return as former Islamist ascends to top job

(Newser) - Turkey is heading for a showdown over the relation of the state and Islam as Abdullah Gul, who has been the subject of bitter protests, was named president of Turkey in a parliamentary election today. The nomination of Gul, the foreign minister and a practicing Muslim whose wife wears a...

Foes Gear to Fight New Bid By Ex-Islamist
to Lead Turkey

Aug 14, 2007 2:22 AM CDT

Foes Gear to Fight New Bid By Ex-Islamist to Lead Turkey

Critics fear extreme religious shift for nation

(Newser) - Turkish secularists are bracing for another clash over the presidential candidacy of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a devout Muslim and one-time Islamist party member who critics fear plans to enforce extreme religious principals in public life. The last time he was nominated as the ruling party's candidate, just three months...

Turkish Elections
Boost PM

Jul 22, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Turkish Elections Boost PM

Islamist-rooted, pro-EU ruling party sees mandate in results

(Newser) - Turkey’s ruling party dominated parliamentary elections today despite its perceived threat to the nation’s entrenched secularism. The elections were moved up after the secular opposition foiled PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to install an ex-Islamist ally as president. The results, seen as a mandate for the AKP, also...

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

May 23, 2007 7:28 AM CDT

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Ankara attack may prompt move against Kurdish militants on Iraqi border

(Newser) - An explosion shocked the Turkish capital yesterday, killing six and injuring at least 100 in a busy marketplace. The bombing comes at a delicate time for the country, the New York Times observes, as Parliament clash with the governing party over the place of Islam in the secular democracy.

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

May 7, 2007 7:53 AM CDT

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

Tension between secularism, democracy roils Turkey

(Newser) - If the choice is between somewhat more religion in public life and democracy in Turkey, choose the latter, argues the Economist. The ruling party's choice of an Islamist candidate, Abdullah Gul, for president set off a familiar confrontation between the Turkish military and the political establishment. The Economist asks, "...

Turkish Candidate
Bows Out

May 7, 2007 7:46 AM CDT

Turkish Candidate Bows Out

Dispute over presidential election highlights serious rifts

(Newser) - Turkish presidential candidate Abdullah Gul threw in the towel yesterday after secularist legislators boycotted the election for the second time in nine days in reaction to Gul's pro-Islamist record. The partisan standoff portends a bitter clash between secularists who generally populate Turkey's urban areas and the ruling AK party in...

Turkish PM Backs Election Overhaul

May 1, 2007 7:38 PM CDT

Turkish PM Backs Election Overhaul

Court annuls vote with sole Islamist candidate for president

(Newser) - Turkey's prime minister put his weight behind a new, popular presidential vote, hours after a court invalidated Friday's election by parliament. The secular opposition had boycotted that vote because of the Islamist background of the lone candidate, foreign minister Abdullah Gul.

Million Turks Rally for Secularism

Apr 30, 2007 6:35 AM CDT

Million Turks Rally for Secularism

(Newser) - Secular Turks staged an enormous rally yesterday amid a constitutional crisis over the election of the next president, the BBC reports. As many as a million protesters turned out in Istanbul to oppose ruling-party candidate Abdullah Gul, who they're afraid is orchestrating an Islamic coup in the country even as...