Turkish press divided over headscarf ruling

The headscarf ban is seen by some as a cornerstone of the secular state

The decision by Turkey's Constitutional Court to overturn a parliamentary amendment allowing students to wear Muslim headscarves in universities has divided opinion writers.

Some see the ruling as a vital defence of Turkey's secular constitution, while pro-Islamic writers feel the court has overstepped the mark.

In the view of one commentator, the decision now increases the chances that the courts will ban the ruling AK Party altogether.

The Constitutional Court has made the right choice and declared once again that it will not allow anybody to meddle with the fundamental principles of the constitutional regime.

The Court has said "Stop" to the attempts to change the most fundamental articles in Turkey's constitution. Now these articles should be committed to memory by everybody.

For Islamic circles, the Constitutional Court's decision is the worst of all outcomes. Because there are those who think that it could affect the trial of the AKP, and strengthen the possibility that the party will be closed down.

The cancellation by the Constitutional Court is against the law... in Turkey, the official ideology, and also the understanding of secularism among the judiciary, is "illiberal".

The Constitutional Court blocked the freedom to wear headscarves in universities by cancelling an amendment which had great public support, and which only enforced basic rights. In order to do this, it enlarged the borders drawn up for itself in the constitution.

The decision... has been another example of the abuse of authority... We can no longer talk about a parliamentary democracy which relies on the separation of powers. We can view this decision as the declaration of a judicial coup.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version