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Beyond Belief

Religion & Ethics

Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world

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Beyond Belief: Turkey

26/09/2016

Turkey

BBC Radio 4 - Beyond Belief, Turkey

Ernie Rea and guests discuss religion in Turkey.

What do recent events say about the place of religion in Turkey? How strong is the tension between secularism and Islamism? Ernie Rea and guests discuss.

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed July's failed military coup on the exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers. Since a 3-month state of emergency was declared, more than 50,000 people have been rounded up, sacked or suspended from their jobs in the military, educational institutions, the judiciary and the media. Gulen has denied involvement in the attempted coup.

Turkey is around 97% Muslim. However, there have been growing concerns among many who see the conservative religious reforms of Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party as being in opposition to the modern secular republic established in the 1920s by nationalist leader Kemal Ataturk. 

What do recent events say about the place of religion in Turkey? How strong is the tension between secularism and Islamism? What does the future hold for religious freedom in Turkey? 

Ernie Rea discusses religion in Turkey with Bill Park, senior lecturer at King's College London and policy advisor for the Centre for Turkey Studies; Ozcan Keles, Muslim chairperson of the Gulen-inspired UK charity, the Dialogue Society; and Hakan Camuz; Muslim international legal consultant and supporter of the Turkish government. 

Producer: Dan Tierney
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.

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