Turkish PM Backs Election Overhaul

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 ago, the army threatened a coup, and thousands took to the streets. More»

(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 it seeks E.U. membership and modernization. More»

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 headscarves in Turkish universities is what sparked judicial rage. More»

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 elected government against the country's secular elite, including army generals. More»

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 head scarf, led to massive secularist protests across Turkey last spring. More»