Abdullah Gul news stories on Newser

US Armenians Slam Obama Over Genocide

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:35:00 CDT

US Armenians criticized President Obama today for refusing to acknowledge the Armenian genocide while visiting Turkey, Politico reports. Obama “missed a valuable opportunity to honor" a campaign pledge, said one advocate, after Obama mentioned “the terrible events of 1915” but avoided saying whether he had pressed Turkey's president on the...

Obama Touts Turkey Ties, Parries Genocide Issue

Kevin Spak — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:00:00 CDT

Barack Obama reaffirmed the strength of US-Turkish ties at a press conference in Ankara this morning, touting Turkey as a nation with “similar principles” to the US, and asking for its help in ending the Iraq war. But things got awkward when talk turned to Armenian genocide, which Obama has...

Court Could Outlaw Turkey's 'Islamist Government'

Rob Quinn — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:35:00 CDT

Turkey's top court has agreed to hear a case that could outlaw the nation's ruling party and bar its president and prime minister from politics, Reuters reports. The AK Party is accused of trying to undermine Turkey's secular constitution and establish an Iran-style Islamic state. The case pits Turkey's popularly...

Turkish Army Blasts Incoming President

Jason Farago — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:50:57 CDT

Turkey is heading for a showdown over the relation of the state and Islam as Abdullah Gul, who has been the subject of bitter protests, was named president of Turkey in a parliamentary election today. The nomination of Gul, the foreign minister and a practicing Muslim whose wife wears a...

Foes Gear to Fight New Bid By Ex-Islamist to Lead Turkey

Colleen Barry — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 02:22:54 CDT

Turkish secularists are bracing for another clash over the presidential candidacy of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a devout Muslim and one-time Islamist party member who critics fear plans to enforce extreme religious principals in public life. The last time he was nominated as the ruling party's candidate, just three months...

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

NewsDude — Mon, 07 May 2007 07:53:26 CDT

If the choice is between somewhat more religion in public life and democracy in Turkey, choose the latter, argues the Economist. The ruling party's choice of an Islamist candidate, Abdullah Gul, for president set off a familiar confrontation between the Turkish military and the political establishment. The Economist asks, "if...

Turkish Candidate Bows Out

Dustin Lushing — Mon, 07 May 2007 07:46:50 CDT

Turkish presidential candidate Abdullah Gul threw in the towel yesterday after secularist legislators boycotted the election for the second time in nine days in reaction to Gul's pro-Islamist record. The partisan standoff portends a bitter clash between secularists who generally populate Turkey's urban areas and the ruling AK party in...

Turkish PM Backs Election Overhaul

J. Kelman — Tue, 01 May 2007 19:38:05 CDT

Turkey's prime minister put his weight behind a new, popular presidential vote, hours after a court invalidated Friday's election by parliament. The secular opposition had boycotted that vote because of the Islamist background of the lone candidate, foreign minister Abdullah Gul.

Million Turks Rally for Secularism

Peter Fearon — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 06:35:01 CDT

Secular Turks staged an enormous rally yesterday amid a constitutional crisis over the election of the next president, the BBC reports. As many as a million protesters turned out in Istanbul to oppose ruling-party candidate Abdullah Gul, who they're afraid is orchestrating an Islamic coup in the country even as...