Pierre Atlas, director of The Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian College, “Secularism vs. Democracy in Turkey,” Real Clear Politics, June 14, 2008:
“The headscarf issue is just the tip of the political iceberg. The Constitutional Court is soon expected to declare the AKP, an openly Islamic party, to be illegal and ban its members— including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan—from parliament. This may preserve Turkey’s secularism, but it is hard to see how it preserves its democracy. Despite the current constitutional crisis, Turkey is a stable country in an unstable region. … Turkey is a country that welcomes Israeli as well as Iranian tourists—and it is the AKP government that has provided mediation for the Israeli-Syrian peace talks in Ankara. There is a lot to suggest from Turkey’s modern history and its rich Ottoman past that this crisis can be overcome in a way that could strengthen the country’s democracy—if cooler heads prevail, and if the right signals are sent from Washington and the EU."
