Fears of Islamic revolution in Turkey are 'nonsense'

ISTANBUL - Allegations that the reelection of a conservative, Islamic-based party in Turkey mark the beginning of an Islamic revolution is nonsense, according to Janqiz Chandar, a senior journalist and professor at one of Istanbul's universities.

Monday, Justice and Development party (AKP), led by incumbent prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won 47 percent of the popular vote, and was projected to win 341 of the 550 parliament seats.

"Turkey has proven that it is a mature democracy and almost half of the population voted for the ruling party. The elections were a public referendum on many issues, foremost among them, should we continue the way we're going or revert to past behavior?" Chandar told Ynet.

Opponents of Erdogan believe, however, that the fundamental question at hand is the relationship between religion and state.

AKP's reelection "won't affect Turkey's foreign policy, but it will affect Turkey's internal policy. Closet Muslims will come out in the open. It's reasonable to believe that there will be an effort to allow people to enter Istanbul universities with head-coverings, something that is currently prohibited," sources said.

Turkey, a republic since 1923, has a strict separation of religion and state, with laws in place to protect the secular nature of the country. These laws have sometimes been forcefully protected by the traditionally secular military: In 1997 the army forced AKP's predecessor, the Welfare Party, out of power, after it passed religious legislation.

Chandar believes that AKP's reelection is "a message from the people to the military not to get involved in politics" as it has in the past.

Easier to pass Islamic law?

Erdogan, a devout Muslim, raised fears of a slide towards Islam when he nominated Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul of AKP to the post of president. If an Islamist is appointed president, a position which holds substantial authority, it would be easier for an AKP government to pass Islamic laws.

Opponents have said appointing Gul would remove the last obstacle to an Islamic takeover of government and indicate a slow trend of appointing religious politicians to positions of power currently and traditionally held by secular representatives.

The early elections were an attempt to defuse tensions following Gul's nomination, which led to several secular rallies around Turkey, and vows by the military to protect the nation's secular values.

But, following this election, sources inside Turkey do not believe a military takeover will take place, estimating that armed forces will most likely wait to see who Erdogan will now nominate for the presidency.

Most sources posit that the prime minister will choose a moderate presidential candidate, acceptable to all three of Turkey's largest parties, including the secular CHP.

Erdogan has repeatedly denied accusations of his desire to undermine secularism. In his victory speech, he told supporters that he would preserve pluralistic democracy and work towards national unity.

AKP "is a conservative party, similar to many other around the world. This is not a fundamentalist party and it won't work to promote Islamic religious law," several sources told Ynet.

They said that the choice of AKP also points to the population's approval of economic trends undertaken by the government in its last four years in office. It also indicates support for additional reforms to promote Turkey's attempts to join the European Union, a cause that the Erdogan government has repeatedly championed.

"Turkey remains a bridge between the East and West," Chandar said. He mentioned that, in this capacity, Turkey had expressed willingness to serve as a mediator in any future talks between Israel and Syria.  

The Associated Press and Noa Levanon contributed to this report