Sunday May 27, 2007

I've Been Thinking:

Sometimes, an Islamic democracy and the modern world can actually coexist.
Sometimes, despite the obvious tensions and serious difficulties, they actually blend and result in a successful, working country.
Take Turkey, for example.

Since April there have been steady protests against the Islamification of Turkey.
Protests have taken place in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Samsun.
Saturday another such protest took place, this time in Denizeli, where thousands of participants took to the streets.

Since the establishment of modern Turkey the country has been secular with Islamic culture.
Until now the army and the government have always been able to keep the Islamic forces in check.
Now the situation is changing, the current prime minister is from an Islamic party and he is trying to ease more Islamic laws into Turkey.

Hopefully the Turks will be able to maintain their precarious balance.
If they fail there will be serious backlash - secular forces will not tolerate too much Islamic encroachment into their lives.