Are we turning our backs on modernity?
The week's news at a glance.
Turkey
TurkeyAre we turning our backs on modernity?Metin Munir
Milliyet
This could be the beginning of the end of modern Turkey, said Metin Munir in Istanbul’s Milliyet. For the first time since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, we have a prospective president “whose Arabic language skills are stronger than his English.” Compared with the conservative Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was supposed to be the more moderate choice. But make no mistake, Gul, like Erdogan, is a committed member of the Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party. Under his stewardship, Turkey would “enter a process of Islamism and rightism the end of which cannot be predicted.” Gül may claim he wants to lead Turkey into the European Union. But his party has appointed “only religious people to all high-level state positions.” And it has championed values “of the lower class,” such as wearing head scarves. Turkey will never join the E.U. with such practices. Keep this in mind: “The West begins at the place where secularism begins, and ends where it ends.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 low ratings cartoons about the Late Show cancellation
Cartoons Artists take on early warning signs, the Gen Z stare, and more
-
Connie Francis: Superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
Crossword: July 26, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle