AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The dispute over secularism and the role of religion in the public sphere in Turkey has once again intensified. A directive issued by the Ministry of National Education to organize programs centered on the holy month of Ramadan in schools has provoked strong reactions from opposition parties, as well as certain academic and media circles.
The Republican People's Party, the main opposition party, described the measure as contrary to the principles of secularism, claiming that such programs could lead to discrimination among students and deepen social divisions. In contrast, the government and its supporters have characterized these criticisms as manifestations of Islamophobic tendencies disguised as a defense of secularism.
Yusuf Tekin, Turkey’s Minister of National Education, stated that the purpose of the programs is to strengthen social solidarity and national consciousness among students, emphasizing that participation will be entirely voluntary. He further stressed that these measures do not contradict the constitution.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, also defended the policy, accusing critics of opposing citizens’ religious freedoms and asserting that the government has not interfered in people’s lifestyles over the past two decades.
At the same time, more than 160 university professors, writers, and activists affiliated with leftist movements issued a statement calling for a “collective defense of secularism” and warning against what they described as the “imposition of Sharia.” These developments have once again highlighted political and social divisions in Turkey concerning religious identity and the limits of secularism.
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