Turkey Faces Constitutional Crisis over Islamist President

Turkey tried to elect a new president over the week-end. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, the ruling Islamist-rooted AK party [AK] candidate, got 357 votes in parliament, which chooses the president. That was just 10 short of the 2/3 majority needed. The problem lies in Turkey’s official secularism. The army has expressed its concern over his possible election, and yesterday, roughly 1 million people marched through Istanbul’s streets in opposition to his election. The secularist Republican People’s Party [CHP] has brought a lawsuit to cancel the presidential election because there was not a quorum present in parliament for Friday’s vote. If that succeeds, a general election may result. Outsiders, as well as Turks, are appropriately concerned and confused.

First, the good news. Turkey is a successful example of a nation whose people are wedded to two ideas: a secular state and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be unto him. Even with a million protesters in the streets, the nation continues to function as a relatively open state. While it is true that the currency and equities markets have tumbled, massive violence and oppression in the name of saving Turkey haven’t happened. Sometimes, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, the dog that doesn’t bark is significant.

That said, every nation that tries to live by democracy’s rules comes to a point where the will of the majority conflicts with the rights of the rest. Getting the balance right is a challenge few statesmen can meet, let alone mere politicians. Usually, it is done clumsily and ad hoc, and no one should blame the Turks if they stumble in finding the balance – every other democratic and would-be democratic nation has the same difficulty.

Whether the AK is committed to Islam more than secularism, though, strikes at the very foundations of modern Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who played George Washington to the republic built on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, believed Islam would hold Turkey back from regaining its status as a great nation. Rightly or wrongly, this is the path the Turks have been on for about 90 years, and they are on the verge of joining the EU, they have been good and faithful NATO allies, and they have proved that Islam and modernity do not exclude one another. Dropping some of the trappings of secularism, like the prohibition of the headscarf for women, may be harmless. Still, it is a symbol of a change many see as dangerous to the country’s progress.

Historically, the military has been the protector of the secular order. Many fear that an Islamic president is itself a step too far. In a statement Friday as translated by the BBC, the armed forces showed their intentions, “The problem that emerged in the presidential election process is focused on arguments over secularism. Turkish Armed Forces are concerned about the recent situation. It should not be forgotten that the Turkish Armed Forces are a party in those arguments, and absolute defender of secularism. Also, the Turkish Armed Forces is [sic] definitely opposed to those arguments and negative comments. It will display its attitude and action openly and clearly whenever it is necessary.” Nervous anyone?

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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