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Erdogan, not religion, divides Turkey

Turkey’s political scene is not divided on ideology anymore, but between pro- and anti-Erdogan camps.
An election campaign banner of Turkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan is seen near a mosque in Istanbul August 9, 2014. Erdogan is set to secure his place in history as Turkey's first popularly-elected president on Sunday, but his tightening grip on power has polarised the nation, worried Western allies and raised fears of creeping authoritarianism. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY  - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41T1P
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In the last decade, many observers of Turkey underlined the division between secular and religious Turks as the main fault line in politics. Accordingly, the more secular, Westernized Turks were represented by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) represented the more religious, conservative folks. Some bones of contention between the two sides, such as the longtime ban on the Islamic headscarf in state institutions, were also reflective of this “culture war.”

However, if you look at Turkey now, you can see that politics is not divided between pro-religion and pro-secularism lines anymore. It's divided between the pro-Erdogan and anti-Erdogan ones, with both religious and secular voices on each side.

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