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| Europe |
| Turkey army chief reaffirms headscarf stance |
| 2008-01-31 |
| Turkey’s top general on Wednesday tacitly reiterated the army’s opposition to women wearing the Muslim headscarf at university, a day after the religiously oriented government proposed easing a ban on the attire. “All segments of Turkish society know what the military thinks about the headscarf issue. I do not want to speak on this matter,” General Yasar Buyukanit told reporters in his first public comments since the government announced its plans. The army views itself as the guarantor of Turkey’s secular order and has often warned of what it says is creeping Islamisation under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s religiously oriented government. Turkish secularists, including the army, see the headscarf as a threat to the secular order. But it was not immediately clear whether or how the military might try to stop the planned reform. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 This covers a woman's hair, too. So it would be OK, right? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-01-31 19:25 |
| #4 Hah JF! Had this image of all devout muslim women and clerics wearing these. Head is covered so big al' can't see their thoughts so should be good, right? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-01-31 11:38 |
| #3 The Turkish military is clear... if you think your religion requires you to cover your hair... wear a wig |
| Posted by: John Frum 2008-01-31 11:26 |
| #2 Turkish military officers have wives and daughters who are not probably inclined to be 'fundamentalists'. If momma ain't happy, no one is going to be happy. The PM better remember that. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-01-31 07:54 |
| #1 tick tock tick tock . . . . |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-01-31 03:00 |