Headscarf row mars Turkey festivities

BBC ^ | 4/23/2003 | N/A

[a_Turk]

The wife of the parliamentary speaker in Turkey has decided not to attend one of his official receptions because of a row over her wearing an Islamic-style headscarf.

Earlier, Turkey's powerful military, the president and also several opposition figures - who consider themselves guardians of the secular republic - warned that they would boycott the event if she attended in a headscarf.

The speaker, Bulent Arinc, said Turkey did not need the issue turning into a crisis, adding that "it was extremely saddening that my wife has become the focal point of this debate".

Turkey's parliamentary speaker Bulent Arinc Secular regulations in Turkey - an overwhelmingly Muslim country - ban women from wearing headscarves in public buildings.

But the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Istanbul says that for many Turks the issue is irrelevant, and has been blown out of proportion by both sides of the debate over the role of religion in public life.

'Battle for Turkey'

The row broke out as Mr Arinc was preparing to host a reception marking the 83rd anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Parliament.

He announced that his wife would not attend the function in order to avoid further tension on the issue.

"No-one would benefit from bringing an issue to a point of tension and then carrying Turkey from this tension to a crisis," Mr Arinc said.

Our correspondent says that for the devout and the strictly secular the issue has become a symbol of the wider battle over what kind of state Turkey should be.

The military have already warned the governing Islamist Justice and Development Party against changing the strict regulations on the wearing of headscarves in universities.

Our correspondent says the row is a fresh warning by Turkey's establishment to a government that has been less than sure-footed in recent months.

He says that there are lines that no government - whatever its majority - can cross.

[a_Turk]

As usual, the foreign correspondents have it wrong. As the (moderate) islamist leadership in Turkey have gotten more and more brazen, the others in the establishment have been voicing their objections.

What are the (moderate) islamist's latest doozies?

1- Dropping an islamist organization "National Vision" from the joint German-Turkish terrorist organizations list, although this organization had been on this list for years,

2- Directing the embassies to make contact with the group, which exists external to Turkey's borders..

The President, the General Staff, and the Judicial branch are pretty "pissed.."

Otherwise, the article fails to mention that April 23rd is National Children's Day, held to commemorate the occasion of the first meeting of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1921.


Turkish children wave national flags as they leave the mausoleum of Turkey's founding father Kemal Ataturk, in the background, after paying their respects in Ankara on Wednesday, April 23, 2003. Turks are celebrating the 'Children's Festival Day' on the 80th anniversary of the opening of the National Assembly

Elsewhere in Turkey, St. George's day was celebrated as usual:


Turkish pilgrims flock to a Greek Orthodox monastery, many tying pieces of white and red cloth to trees, on the island of Buyukada in metropolitan Istanbul, to ask favors from St. George, Wednesday, April 23, 2003. Every year, thousands of Muslims and Christians flock to the island to celebrate the popular saint's day. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal)


Police let Turkish pilgrims enter a Greek Orthodox monastery on the island of Buyukada in metropolitan Istanbul, to celebrate St. George's Day

[konaice]

"Earlier, Turkey's powerful military, the president and also several opposition figures - who consider themselves guardians of the secular republic - warned that they would boycott the event if she attended in a headscarf. "

I'm glad to see there is some reisistance to this.

Nothing galls me more than when US tv reporters or worse yet Government officials show up wearing scarfs just because they are in some arab/muslim country. When they come here wearing their nightgowns and tablecloths we don't force them into western dress.

[a_Turk]

ping

[Dog Gone]

I'm becoming more convinced that the Islamist Justice and Development Party are a bunch of clowns.

They certainly did not handle the pre-Iraq war efforts with great skill, and everything else they do seems equally clumsy.

[CdMGuy]

Not to worry. Within 2 years, the military will cease control of Turkey in order to preserve its secular form of government. These Islamists have one goal - to create a theocracy in Turkey. The military will see that they fail.

[Highway55]

Ataturk bump.

[Mortimer Snavely]

"Every year, thousands of Muslims and Christians flock to the island to celebrate the popular saint's day."

Slaying a dragon to rescue a fair maiden makes St. George pretty popular. I don't think religion enters into it.

[ASA Vet]

You were just waiting to post that on SOME thread weren't you?!!

Guilty as charged.

[ASA Vet]

Oops, please disregard my #8.
I clicked the wrong "reply to" box.
That should have been to a different poster on a different tread.

[Nogbad]

ping