Baykal criticizes Erdoğan’s headscarf comments
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal criticized recent comments from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had suggested that even if the Islamic headscarf was indeed a "political symbol" as some claim, there was still no reason to ban it. Wearing the Islamic headscarf is not allowed in universities in Turkey on the grounds that this would be a violation of the nation's secular principles since it is a political and religious symbol. Prime Minister Erdoğan had said in Madrid on Monday: "Even if it is worn as a political symbol, can you consider wearing a political symbol a crime? Can you bring in a ban on symbols?" He had also stressed that there was no such ban at universities in the US or European countries.
