An off-the-cuff response by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to a question by a journalist has unexpectedly reignited the long-running debate in Turkey over the Islamic headscarf by triggering a furious reaction from Turkish secularists. The headscarf has long been one of the main... MORE

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is scheduled to pay an official visit to Turkey. The upcoming visit has renewed suspicions that the foreign policy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is partly driven by ideological considerations, particularly feelings of Muslim solidarity. Since the... MORE

In a sign of their continuing suspicions of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), representatives of Turkey’s Alevi religious minority spurned what the government claimed was an olive branch by boycotting a banquet organized for them in Ankara on January 11. No reliable statistics... MORE

The infamous Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which outlaws “humiliating Turkishness,” has been the focal point of criticism that the country lacks decent legislation allowing free speech. Knowing that, Turkey’s pro-EU government is working to amend that article, but in a way that... MORE

The January 4 bomb attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey has increased the pressure on the members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) to distance themselves from the PKK’s violent campaign. But they... MORE

The Turkish media have hailed the five-day visit of President Abdullah Gul to the United States as consolidating a new era in ties between the two countries. But some commentators remain uncertain about how long-lived the new rapprochement is likely to be. Reports of Gul’s... MORE

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has announced plans to amend the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, that provides for custodial sentences for anyone who insults “Turkishness.” The EU has repeatedly cited Article 301 as evidence of Turkey’s failure to... MORE

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is finally expected to announce details of a new Turkish constitution later this month. A provisional draft has been submitted to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his approval prior to it being made public. The current expectation... MORE

Although Ankara reduced its defense budget in recent years due to economic restraints, on December 11 Turkey’s parliament approved a 1.7% increase for the Ministry of Defense (MD) budget for fiscal year 2008. The budget, which includes the land, air, and naval commands, as well... MORE

On the night of December 16-17, Turkish F-16 warplanes, using U.S.-provided intelligence, bombed the headquarters of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), deep inside northern Iraq, in the first large-scale cross-border offensive on the rebel hideouts (Today's Zaman, December 17). Turkey's military hailed the night... MORE