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Headscarves and secularism on the Bosporus By Irfan Husain Wednesday, 20 Oct, 2010 Turkish women wearing headscarves are still the battleground between modernity and religious conservatism. -Photo by AP Late Sunday morning on the Bosporus: hundreds of men lining the water, casting their lines from long fishing rods, more in hope than any serious expectation of success. The lucky ones who do manage to land something are poorly rewarded with tiny fish that are carefully placed in buckets of water. Families walk past these Sunday fishermen; others drink tea in waterside cafes. In the background is the Bosporus itself, crisscrossed with the wake of ferries, cargo ships, pleasure craft and a new breed of water taxis. On the European side, minarets vie with cellphone towers, while the march of office and apartment blocks continues unabated. I have been coming to Istanbul for nearly half a century, and on each visit, I find the city bigger, richer and busier than ever before. The traffic jams on this trip were getting really serious. When I first came here in the early Sixties, one could only cross the Bosporus by ferry; now there are two long bridges, and even they are no longer enough to cope with the growing traffic. Mercifully, a tunnel under the historic waterway is being planned. Another change I noticed is the increasing number of headscarves in the more fashionable parts of the city. Earlier, a conservatively dressed woman would be the object of suppressed amusement among Westernised Istanbul gentry. No longer. Now, scarves - often fashion accessories rather than religious symbols - are taken for granted. And yet, women wearing them are still the battleground between modernity and religious conservatism. A couple of days ago, this newspaper reported that the Turkish Higher Education Board had instructed state universities to take no action against girls covering their heads. Previously, such students had to leave their classrooms unless they removed the offending garment. Private universities were already quietly allowing girls with scarves to attend class, but now officialdom has followed suit. This historic decision comes in the wake of the rising power of the conservative population. The Anatolian middle class is on the move, and increasingly, the urban, secular, Westernised elites are being marginalised. The traditional guardian of the secular foundations of the Turkish state is the military, and this powerful institution is now reeling from a spate of disclosures about its political meddling over the years. Known as 'Ergenekon', the scandal has been rumbling on for the last two years, and has seen several serving and retired generals and admirals locked up. The alleged coup attempt was planned by the so-called Deep State, a shadowy group with uncomfortable parallels with our own creepy spooks and their allies. These startling revelations have shocked large sections of the secular intelligentsia who are now convinced that the military should stay in the barracks. In many ways, the Turkish army has played a role similar to its Pakistani counterpart. The difference, of course, is that the ruling AK Party has provided effective governance, and has overseen nearly a decade of economic growth. This has conferred credibility on the government, and made it more difficult for the military to act against it as it did so often in the past. The last attempt to remove the AK Party came when the Constitutional Court came close to declaring the government to be in contravention of Turkey's secular norms some three years ago. Once the attempt failed, the government called fresh elections, and secured a stronger mandate. Recently, it held a referendum on the issue of reforming the Constitutional Court, and won handily. Poised to win next year's general elections, the mildly conservative AK Party is set to make major constitutional changes. Is Turkey afraid of losing its secular identity? Not according to some journalists and academics I met on my visit. Ahmet Altan, editor of the crusading daily Taraf (the word means 'side' in Turkish, just as it does in Urdu), is dismissive of any changes that would dilute Turkish secularism, or herald any Islamic laws. I asked him if the increasingly visible presence of conservative elements in the cities caused him any concern. "Not at all," he replied. "We forget that these people were always there. Now that the Anatolians are becoming richer and more self-confident, they shop in the fashionable stores, and eat at the expensive restaurants. These white Istanbulis", he said with a grin, pointing at my hosts. "Had simply overlooked them. It's just that these people are no longer invisible. They are making a lot of money manufacturing products they export to the world. And they know how the world works, and that to make money, they need a democratic, peaceful order. So it's not in their interest to create turmoil. Also, remember that Turkish Islam is not extremist." Shahin Alpay, an academic and a well-known columnist for the daily Zaman, Turkey's biggest newspaper, concurs: "Turkey's secular values are too deeply rooted in our history for the government to tamper with them. Sure, religion is more visible in Turkey today, but there is no contradiction between Islamic beliefs and our secular democracy." Both were of the view that while Turkey was playing an increasingly influential role in its region, its pro-Western orientation is unlikely to change. Yasemin Chongar, deputy editor of Taraf, was clear that current tensions with Israel would dissipate only when its leadership modified its hard-line policies. But there would be no break as Turkey was a steady customer for Israel's military hardware. However, the US and Israel remain deeply unpopular with a majority of Turks. This was reassuring talk. Seen from abroad, recent political changes seemed to indicate a rapid erosion of the country's strongly secular values, but the view from Istanbul is very different. Given the conservative nature of Erdogan's government, he is more credible than earlier, more Westernised politicians with most Sunni Muslim nations. The fact that he and his party have no problem with secularism could serve as a powerful example. The Turkish foreign minister's wife, a doctor, has declared her desire to work with Pakistan's flood victims. A couple of months ago, Mrs Erdogan was there to show her support. This kind of outreach could well translate into a more high-profile role in the Muslim world than Turkey has played before. As a friend of Turkey's, I am deeply relieved to see that secularism continues to flourish here despite the growing power of conservative Muslims. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
