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Uneasy neighbors in Turkey: atheism and Islam

http://www.dw.de/uneasy-neighbors-in-turkey-atheism-and-islam/a-18475178

The latest polls show that Turkey's President and former Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have to form a coalition government following the June 7 elections. In its unlucky 13th year in rule, Erdogan's AKP has suffered several image attacks in recent months, triggering defections among erstwhile supporters to other parties, especially within Turkey's minorities.
Among his opponents, a newly-formed group of "Istanbullu" - those born and raised in Istanbul - has grown steadily over the past year and now numbers around 150 individuals across Turkey. Without a party-political agenda, the country's first official atheism league, Ateizm Dernegi, says that it wants to create a platform for like-minded people amid the AKP-driven climate of political Islam.
"Being an atheist in Turkey is not exactly a desirable label. We few are wearing it proudly and we refuse to be silenced by the fear and threats," Morgan Romano, vice-president of the association, said at the group's first public conference in Germany on Sunday.
"The term 'atheist' is used as a harsh insult - one of the harshest in the country. Furthermore, atheists are commonly and publicly discriminated against and are subjects of public and private hate speech in Yeni Turkiye all the time."
Morgan Romano says that atheists in Turkey suffer from persecution and discrimination
Morgan Romano says that atheists in Turkey suffer from persecution and discrimination
Romano repeatedly referred to present-day Turkey as 'yeni Turkiye' - the 'new Turkey', and its "booming Islamism growing at a rate unlike any other nation". Born and raised in the US, Romano described how she considered herself part of the old Turkey before the AKP's rise to power.
Legal recognition
The association is the first of its kind to be legally recognized in the Turkish republic, and also the only known atheist organization tolerated in any nation across the Muslim world. However, Romano stressed that the legal acceptance of Ateizm Dernegi did not grant her and her associates any genuine protection.

Atheism and Turkey are not two things I usually associate with one another. But of course, just like every nation on Earth, Turkey is going to have an atheist community- whether they are open or not. It's good that Turkey is recognizing the legal rights of religious minorities like atheists, but it has a long way to go before true equality happens.

Reply 1

generic_man

I wish those Turkish atheists and secularists the best of luck in trying to save Turkey from Erdogan's attempts to turn it into an Islamist theocracy; they can set an example to the rest of the Muslim world if they succeed.

Reply 2

YesAllMen

Lol quite strange something like this pops up because I was thinking about the division between religious people and non-religious in Turkey for a while today (based on something I read a while ago).Agree with your OP