In an important article, the current issue of the The Economist provides an excellent summary of what’s behind the current political crisis in Turkey as that nation awaits a high court ruling on whether the current Islamist government and its leaders will be outlawed or not.
In particular, note the role of social class in the conflict (not just religion — see also on this point), the role of urban-rural snobbery and mutual suspicion, and, ask yourself what the significance is of a recent poll suggesting that “most Turks now identify themselves as Muslims, not Turks.”
See, The Economist, “Flags, Veils, and Sharia,” July 19, 2008, 33ff.
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