We luckily can enter both campus and classes with a scarf. I know a few unis that allow it on campus though. Fatih and Bilgi are quite permissive. But nope- I'm not in Ankara. And I don't think I can manage, in any other place in Turkey after living this long in crazy old Istanbul:)
nah you're not:) I'm just too restless, hard to satisfy- even the hugeness of Istanbul isn't enough for me. I badly need to live overseas for a while. And yeah more trains, and speed trains!..
We were 'turning' into Iran before, and it was getting a bit too outdated:) The secularists, had AKP paranoia ('radicals in disguise') and someone had pressed on the scarf debating button again, and Malaysia was too far away, conveniently exotic enough for the media to Compare For The People, ('see Us, and The Other that we'll end up becoming') I remember this one reporter who was standing under a signboard written in jawi and 'explaining' that they spoke arabic in some regions. And the trips to the schools where girls had to wear scarves ('and at such a young age'!). And other people were on the defence like ('see their economy their racial harmony, geez we should be glad if we ever did turn into Malaysia') Having lived in Malaysia for a long time I was either finding the whole thing amusing or infuriating.
Secularism here is understood (by some) that religion has to be not only personal but secret, and if secularism is your policy you have to regulate religion, so it does end up being policy:)
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(Btw someone with good timing just sent me a link- http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-186265-discrimination-a-fact-of-working-life-for-headscarved-women.html)
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Uhh, ouch! I wasn't aware of this. What was up with that?
I thought secularism meant that religion becomes a personal thing and does not affect policy?
This has been a fascinating read. I hope my questions are not asinine! I'm really curious.
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The secularists, had AKP paranoia ('radicals in disguise') and someone had pressed on the scarf debating button again, and Malaysia was too far away, conveniently exotic enough for the media to Compare For The People, ('see Us, and The Other that we'll end up becoming')
I remember this one reporter who was standing under a signboard written in jawi and 'explaining' that they spoke arabic in some regions. And the trips to the schools where girls had to wear scarves ('and at such a young age'!). And other people were on the defence like ('see their economy their racial harmony, geez we should be glad if we ever did turn into Malaysia')
Having lived in Malaysia for a long time I was either finding the whole thing amusing or infuriating.
Secularism here is understood (by some) that religion has to be not only personal but secret, and if secularism is your policy you have to regulate religion, so it does end up being policy:)
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