"EU ignores growing fissures in Turkish society at its peril
THE recent shootings of highcourt judges have exposed the fissures in Turkish society and thrown into relief the war of “world views” – the battle for hearts and minds – playing out in this ancient land. The proximate cause for the attack was apparently – though not necessarily – the outrage of the shooter, a lawyer in his late 20s, over the recent decision of the judges against a female school teacher wearing a Muslim headscarf.
The issue of headscarves has become a potent symbol: a badge of honour to some Turks and an anathema to others. The effects are permeating and splintering Turkish society at multiple levels. Under the current conservative, Islamist AK regime, it is said to be impossible for a man to gain promotion within the government unless his wife wears a headscarf. But his wife can never enter state buildings or attend state functions since the headscarves are illegal in those settings. This applies to the wife of Recep Erdogan, the Prime Minister, who wears a headscarf. "
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