According to Time Magazine, on Sunday morning, secular middle class Turks turned revolutionary. Waving red and white Turkish flags and chanting "Turkey will not become Iran," they streamed up the road by the hundreds to join the city's biggest secularist rally. The "White-Turks", fed up with the politics of Turkey's Islamic-rooted government, finally took to the streets. Mine Okcuoglu, a 29-year-old banker, said, "I felt that I had to do something because the government is taking Turkey in a direction I strongly object to."
The breaking point came when Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, insisted on nominating Abdullah Gul, his number two, as Turkey's next President. The presidency is a largely symbolic role that has important veto power. Secular Turks fear that with Gul as President and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) a majority in parliament, the end of Turkey is approaching. They worry that the AKP harbors a secret Islamist agenda and will seek to adopt Sharia-based laws.
The AKP, since taking power in 2002, has tried to distance itself from some of the Islamist rhetoric of its precursor party. In addition, it has done far more for Turkey's European Union membership bid than any other party before. However, their record is erratic in that they have also tried to pass a law that would criminalize adultery, and tried to appoint an Islamic banker as head of the central bank. Everyday, newspapers contain articles on bizarre acts by AKP officials, Such as men and women being segregated at a municipal event, a swimming pool banning women from entering with their young sons (because they are male), and bars being closed down to discourage alcohol consumption.
According to Aygul, a teacher, "Today's rally is not political, it's psychological. We don't want to become another Iran." At least half of Sunday's crowd was female. "This government would like women to wear headscarves and sit at home," says Canan Melis Konca, a 20-year-old university student. "I'm a practicing Moslem, but I can choose whether or not to cover my hair. I'm here to support that choice."
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the country's founding President, inscribed a pro-Western orientation into the political DNA of the state he built on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. Secularism — the strict division between religion and public life — is a lasting Ataturk legacy, as is a ban on wearing headscarves in public buildings.
Powerful generals have come out against Gul's candidacy and the opposition party is seeking court action against Gul based on a constitutional technicality. The resulting uncertainty may prompt the AKP to take the country to early elections as a referendum on its choices.
Additionally, Turkey announced that they will not commit national suicide by joining the US-Iran-Kurdish Axis. According to the Conservative Voice, Turkey will grow stronger while The US-Iran-Kurdish Axis will grow weaker.
