Erdogan Fights Ataturk Secularism With Islam Fervor Once Denied
By Selcan Hacaoglu - Nov 15, 2012 7:01 PM ET
When an earthquake toppled a school in eastern Turkey last year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government opened a new one at the same site, with one difference.
It was no longer named after Turkey’s founder and secular hero, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A smiling Erdogan cut a red ribbon and posed for pictures in front of the elementary school, now named after his late mother, Tenzile. A week later on Oct. 29, police used tear gas and water cannons against opposition supporters marching to Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara to celebrate the republic’s 89th anniversary.
More:Erdogan Fights Ataturk Secularism With Islam Fervor Once Denied - Bloomberg