Turkey's Elephant in the Room: Religious Freedom
Osman Orsal/Reuters
Performing ablution before prayers outside the 17th century mosque in Istanbul, where the state exerts total control over Islam through its Religious Affairs Department.
By SUSANNE GUSTEN
ISTANBUL — With his triumphant tour of the countries of the Arab Spring this month, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has managed to set up Turkey on the international stage as a role model for a secular democracy in a Muslim country — as, in his words, “a secular state where all religions are equal.”
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