Is Turkey heading towards becoming an Islamic state?

[ronthenekred]

How anyone can argue that we're a secular nation while we still hold the Act of Settlement is beyond me.

 

They can't unless they define secularism as religious tolerance.

[callippo]

you guys just need some lessons about what de facto means, and also what operational legislative law means, and how far away any religous division, is remotely close to implementing it. You are living in the clouds. The last thing Britain needs is some showy secular 'revolution'. It has been achieved already, on the quiet.

[flamingjimmy]

you guys just need some lessons about what de facto means, and also what operational legislative law means, and how far away any religous division, is remotely close to implementing it. You are living in the clouds. The last thing Britain needs is some showy secular 'revolution'. It has been achieved already, on the quiet.

 

No. Not whilst there is an official state religion whose preachers get to have a say in making laws for all of us.

 

It is indefensible, as evidenced by the fact you aren't even attempting to defend it you're basically just saying we should ignore it because it doesn't seem like a big deal to you.

 

It is completely absurd, a throwback to the dark ages. The fact that we achieved most of our rights 'on the quiet' as you put it is a damn shame, if only we'd had a proper revolution during the enlightenment, then maybe this stupid archaic madness would have been tossed out.

[johncocker]

I don't know wether its got anything to do with secularism or not but I do see a lot of young modern people in those protests,who are living in a strong economy which makes the uk look lame, and they dont want to be dragged down into some backward thinking islamic medieval nonsense

[callippo]

Erdogan is like Thatcher in the more secular UK. Good politican with high skill, but divisive. He's been there for 10 years in most liberal democracies that is more than enough and people will wamt ypu out. However I would be reluctant to slag off Erdogan. He's good and very talented politcian if maybe now for some Turks, rather dated. I am not looking on this Turkey story, anything especially negative.

[Anna Glypta]

I don't know wether its got anything to do with secularism or not but I do see a lot of young modern people in those protests,who are living in a strong economy which makes the uk look lame, and they dont want to be dragged down into some backward thinking islamic medieval nonsense

 

Well not really. They have a population 10% higher than ours but with half the GDP. Their average wage is less than one third of the average wage in the UK, but they really knock spots off us when it comes to making leather covered bottles.

[callippo]

I would go so far as to say what the constitution of the country actually says on church vs. state hardly matters in de facto reality. The world is littered full of examples. Take Israel, or the Philippines. Neither country has any official religion, and church and state are indivisible in both. If you were merely to look at their constitutions, you would think that both of them are totally secular countries with no input from religous authority in government at all. However that is not the way it plays at in both of those countries, as religion affects nearly everybody in one way or another on a daily basis. The Philippines is the only country in the world where divorce is still illegal and it is all down to the effect of the church on state. You might think, provided you were a total idiot, that this would be impossible given its secular consitution.

 

it's not difficult. All you have to do is take a walk on a main street in just about any of the UK's cities to realise that this is one of the most secular countries you are likely to find anywhere.

[Old Tom]

I would go so far as to say what the constitution of the country actually says on church vs. state hardly matters in de facto reality. The world is littered full of examples. Take Israel, or the Philippines. Neither country has any official religion, and church and state are indivisible in both. If you were merely to look at their constitutions, you would think that both of them are totally secular countries with no input from religous authority in government at all. However that is not the way it plays at in both of those countries, as religion affects nearly everybody in one way or another on a daily basis. The Philippines is the only country in the world where divorce is still illegal and it is all down to the effect of the church on state. You might think, provided you were a total idiot, that this would be impossible given its secular consitution.

 

it's not difficult. All you have to do is take a walk on a main street in just about any of the UK's cities to realise that this is one of the most secular countries you are likely to find anywhere.

 

I'm not sure what drum you are attempting to bang here. There aren't too many freedoms that we don't have in this country as a result of religious interference from the Church of England. Most of the freedoms we have lost are because of the state not wanting to offend other religions.

Islamic states on the other hand restrict many freedoms and make few concessions to people of other faiths. If Turkey becomes an Islamic state the people can say goodbye to democracy and the freedoms we enjoy in the west and say hello to being told, what to wear, what to eat, what to say, how to dress and generally have their lives taken over by religion.

 

Personally I'm all for it, because if it happens Turkey can also kiss goodbye to EU membership so we won't have to tip £billions into propping up the cart making or oil lamp industries.