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Turkish students' Jedi temple protest

Students in Turkey are mobilizing anonymously by using clever online petition tools to advocate for the construction of Buddhist and Jedi temples on campus.
University students shout anti-government slogans during a protest against Turkey's High Education Board in Istanbul November 6, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS EDUCATION) - RTX152FB

“The nearest Buddhist temple is 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) away. I cannot pray during my lunch break. So please build a temple on campus.” This was one of the messages a student at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) wrote for an online petition.

Surely the number of Buddhists in Turkey do not warrant such a request. So what drives the overwhelmingly Muslim student body to demand a Buddhist temple on their university campus?

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