[Aryan_]

Turks elect ex-Islamist president
Abdullah Gul has pledged to respect Turkey's institutions
Reaction to election
Turkey's controversial Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has been sworn in as the country's new president.

He is the first politician with an Islamist background to become head of state since the creation of the deeply secular Turkish Republic in 1923.

His swearing-in follows a third round of voting in parliament, which he won by a clear majority.

Mr Gul took his oath at a ceremony in parliament, pledging loyalty to democracy and to the secular Republic.

"As long as I am in office, I will embrace all our citizens without any bias," he said.

Mr Gul used to belong to an Islamist party, and his candidacy split Turkey for months, inspiring street protests and forcing an early general election.

On Monday the military warned about threats to the secular constitution.

Boost for EU talks

The European Union welcomed Mr Gul's election, calling it a positive step in the country's campaign to join the bloc.

Mr Gul's wife has been criticised for wearing the headscarf

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said the election was "an opportunity to give fresh, immediate and positive impetus to the accession process to the European Union through progress in a number of key areas".

Turkey was made a candidate for EU membership in October 2005, but the talks are blocked on a number of fronts.

Joost Lagendijk, the Euro-MP who leads the EU-Turkey delegation, called on Mr Gul to reassure critics he posed no threat to Turkey's secular order.

Mr Gul, whose wife wears a Muslim headscarf, has pledged to respect Turkey's secular institutions.

The headscarf is currently banned from public institutions in Turkey and Mr Gul has said wearing it is a matter of personal choice.

Mr Gul secured 339 votes in the 550-seat parliament, which is dominated by the AKP, following the party's triumph in an early general election last month. He had needed a simple majority of 276 votes in the third round.

Two earlier rounds after the election had not produced the two-thirds majority that Mr Gul needed.

Mr Gul, who has established himself as a skilled diplomat by steering Turkey towards European Union entry talks, has pledged to be a ruler for all Turks.

Military anxiety

Turkey's military chief warned on Monday that "centres of evil" were trying to undermine the state.

Gen Yasar Buyukanit did not name those he said were "trying to corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic."

But analysts said the statement was clearly aimed at Mr Gul, a devout Muslim.

The army, which sees itself as the guardian of Turkey's secularism, has ousted four governments in the past 60 years.

It was the second warning issued by the military in recent months.

In April, the army expressed its concern after Mr Gul only narrowly failed to gain enough support from MPs to become president in a first round.

Secularist politicians also organised mass demonstrations by their supporters in an effort to block Mr Gul's presidential bid.

The stand-off between the AKP and secularist parties triggered a political crisis that led to snap elections in July.

The AKP won those polls convincingly with 47% and again nominated Mr Gul for the post of president.

Turkey's military and secular establishment suspect he might harbour a secret Islamist agenda.

The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, banished religious influence from public life when he founded the modern Western-style republic on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Turks elect ex-Islamist president

Looks like the people of Turkey have decided being a developed and free society isn't that great and they want to return to the days of being a handchopping middle eastern nation.

Oh well, Turkey isn't really a true turkic nation anyway.

[PhDGirl]

What is "Islamist" anyway? I hate that term.

[Aryan_]

Originally Posted by PhDGirl

What is "Islamist" anyway? I hate that term.

Is·lam·ism (ĭs-lä'mĭz'əm, ĭz-, ĭs'lə-, ĭz'-) pronunciation
n.

1. An Islamic revivalist movement, often characterized by moral conservatism, literalism, and the attempt to implement Islamic values in all spheres of life.

[PhDGirl]

Originally Posted by Aryan_

Is·lam·ism (ĭs-lä'mĭz'əm, ĭz-, ĭs'lə-, ĭz'-) pronunciation
n.

1. An Islamic revivalist movement, often characterized by moral conservatism, literalism, and the attempt to implement Islamic values in all spheres of life.

Right, but in Western media, it's often used to refer to extremists. It's like the term "fundamentalist" - it's an attempt to make it seem that Islam is at fault and needs to be reformed, rather than look at the individual Muslims.

[Gulcin]

Originally Posted by Aryan_

Looks like the people of Turkey have decided being a developed and free society isn't that great

that was one interesting comment I must admit. and the adjectives "developed and free" describing the situation till now deserve a big laugh indeed *sarcasm*

wonder what basis u took for this stance 'cause I started to think Im not dwelling in the country mentioned above. whatever

for what can be assumed for the future of the country, Allahu alam. wish for the better so u may find the best. hope the result would bring khayr.

salaam

[Arabesque]

Good for Turkey. More power to them. I hope they just get over their Ataturk-obsession and openly discuss the Armenian and Kurdish issues.

[Aryan_]

Originally Posted by Gulcin

that was one interesting comment I must admit. and the adjectives "developed and free" describing the situation till now deserve a big laugh indeed *sarcasm*

wonder what basis u took for this stance 'cause I started to think Im not dwelling in the country mentioned above. whatever

for what can be assumed for the future of the country, Allahu alam. wish for the better so u may find the best. hope the result would bring khayr.

salaam

Turkey wasn't the best example of free and developed but it was moving in the right direction. If you think change can't get any worse try visiting Saudi Arabia or Iraq...unless of course you consider those countries role models for your own.

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by Aryan_

Turkey wasn't the best example of free and developed but it was moving in the right direction. If you think change can't get any worse try visiting Saudi Arabia or Iraq...unless of course you consider those countries role models for your own.

I'm sure the "Islamists" in Turkey are incomparable to those in Saudi Arabia. You can judge by their wives and daughters. They're all educated public figures who are active in society and hijabis at the same time. It just shows that being a practicing Muslim doesn't hold you back at all.

Abdullah Gul is a PhD holder and was a professor of economics, if I remember correctly. Turkey's economy only picked up, and the Turkish lira today is equal to the dollar only because of the current "Islamist" government. Before that, I used to have lunch in Turkey for a couple of million liras.

[MossadConspiracy]

this is a political party that has made some of turkey's strongest economic gains since the second world war. this is the party that spearheaded and is going to achieve turkish accession into the European Union

people are paranoid

[Anderson]

Awesome, religious Turks are the best people I've ever met.

[Aryan_]

Originally Posted by MossadConspiracy

this is a political party that has made some of turkey's strongest economic gains since the second world war. this is the party that spearheaded and is going to achieve turkish accession into the European Union

people are paranoid

Lets say a group of nazi Americans who had been convicted of crimes and hate speech against blacks, Muslims and other coloureds have reunion and found a new party which claims to renounce the said views and they only seek "moderate" implementation of anti-immigrant laws. They also claim they love and respect Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Would you believe them or engage them without caution?

Originally Posted by Arabesque

I'm sure the "Islamists" in Turkey are incomparable to those in Saudi Arabia. You can judge by their wives and daughters. They're all educated public figures who are active in society and hijabis at the same time. It just shows that being a practicing Muslim doesn't hold you back at all.

Abdullah Gul is a PhD holder and was a professor of economics, if I remember correctly. Turkey's economy only picked up, and the Turkish lira today is equal to the dollar only because of the current "Islamist" government. Before that, I used to have lunch in Turkey for a couple of million liras.

Only because they've not been able to implement any of their agenda yet. The army have been breathing down their neck, so are forced to "honour" Attaturk and secularism. Their practice of taqiyya no doubt.

The lira lost all the zeros because of a conversion of old lira to new lira a few years ago, it had nothing to do with any appreciation. I real shame, I'll miss the hilarious "win a million" competition my local radio played. Oh well, there's still Zimbabwe

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by Aryan_

Only because they've not been able to implement any of their agenda yet. The army have been breathing down their neck, so are forced to "honour" Attaturk and secularism. Their practice of taqiyya no doubt.

The lira lost all the zeros because of a conversion of old lira to new lira a few years ago, it had nothing to do with any appreciation. I real shame, I'll miss the hilarious "win a million" competition my local radio played. Oh well, there's still Zimbabwe

1 Turkish lira today is equal to 0.7 US dollars, whereas 1 UAE dirham is equal to 0.2. That's a huge difference.

[Anderson]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

1 Turkish lira today is equal to 0.7 US dollars, whereas 1 UAE dirham is equal to 0.2. That's a huge difference.

The actual value doesn't matter, the yen is something like 116.16263 a dollar (I'm guessing), the dirham is pegged to the dollar right? So it's value will never change relative to the dollar. The Turks just removed a hell lot of zeros.

Aryan_ that's the dumbest analogy ever made, neo-Nazis and Islamists are not in the same league.

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by Anderson

The actual value doesn't matter, the yen is something like 600 a dollar, the dirham is pegged to the dollar right? So it's value will never change relative to the dollar. The Turks just removed a hell lot of zeros.

Aryan_ that's the dumbest analogy ever made, neo-Nazis and Islamists are not in the same league.

Yes, the dirham is pegged to the dollar. I wish we followed Kuwait's example on this.

If you've been to Turkey recently, you'll know that the standards of living have risen and people are more comfortable. We've never had so many Turkish tourists before. They now have more money to spend.

When the government employs Westerners, it pays them higher salaries to match their currencies in order to attract them to come over. They now do the same with Turks.

[Aryan_]

Originally Posted by Anderson

Aryan_ that's the dumbest analogy ever made, neo-Nazis and Islamists are not in the same league.

Islamists are much worse