"And finally we come to Turkey, a country oft-cited by apologists due to its relative stability, liberalism, and gender equality. What they consistently choose to ignore is that historically, Turkey was militantly secular. We mean this literally: The country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, created a secular state and pushed Islam out of the public sphere (outlawing polygamy, child marriages, and giving divorce rights to women) through (at times, military) force. He even banned the headscarf in various public sectors and is believed by some to have been an atheist.
Only apologists would ignore the circumstances that led to Turkey's incredible progress and success relative to the Muslim world, and hold it up as an example of "Islamic" advancement of women's rights. In fact, child marriages (which continue to be widespread in rural Turkey), are often hidden due to the practice of "religious" marriages (Nikah) being performed without informing secular authorities. Turkey was recently forced to pass a law banning religious marriages with penalties imposed on imams for violations."
This is a guest post written by Muhammad Syed and Sarah Haider
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendl...ampaign=buffer
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