On my way into work today, I saw notes posted on all the entrances of the university’s buildings indicating that because of a decision by the Council of State to stay the order allowing the Islamic headscarf on campuses, students would not be allowed to wear headscarves on campus until further notice.
This very tiny victory has me feeling a very tiny bit less glum. It shows that there are still a few people in positions of power willing to stand up against fundamentalist forces. The Council of State is one of the most difficult areas for government to make appointments into, so maybe it only makes sense that the last holdouts should be found there. But it should also come as no surprise that it is only a matter of time before those in the Council of State are also replaced by the fundamentalist-friendly.
And then there’s this. Strange days.
I have begun to think that the only thing that can really save Turkey from this ongoing spiral into fundamentalism is a major economic crisis. It may be the only thing that can reverse the tide of support for this government—which has had the support of middle-liners because they have managed to give the appearance of what is for Turkey a stable economy. The main reason for this is that for the first time in a gazillion years, annual inflation in Turkey has been running at less than 10%. Yet, interestingly, when I talk to people they all seem to complain that years ago they were better able to look after their families, have decent holidays, etc.
But I fear the chances of an economic crisis of the degree needed to get people sufficiently annoyed at the government to demand a change are slim due to the gazillions in support they are allegedly getting from external sponsors. And then there’s the question of the replacement. Would they return to securing secularism here or would they be even more fundamentalist-friendly?
0 Responses to “A small victory”