Turkey’s ruling party fighting for existence

The AK Party’s 98-page defense reiterates the point that the case is political rather than legal and also says the indictment is filled with hypothetical charges and violates the rights of the majority that voted for the AK. This analyst says that history has shown the majority doesn’t always know best and cites Adolph Hitler as an example. He says the AK Party works against the founding principles of the country. the principle he’s talking about is a law passed by the AK earlier this year which admits women to wear traditional Islamic headscarves in university, something which is banned by the country’s constitution out of secularism. Many thought this was a sign that the AK Party wants to do away with Turkey’s secularism. This party secretary says that isn’t the case, and the headscarf issue is a populist one. This commentator says many people are fine with freedom of choice but they’re not convinced the AK Party would stop at headscarves. Pro-government analysts suggests this problems comes from pro-secularist fanaticism. This analyst says this debate is good for the country’s democracy in general. US officials familiar with the country are also optimistic about the situation. If the party is closed down, it would be the fifth time that an Islamic party has been shut out of office with the secular army doing the pushing.