Radikal columnist Turker Aklan writes that he receives worried letters from young readers who fear Türkiye is drifting toward religious governance. He cites gender-segregated seating at ruling-party events, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's criticism of newspapers that photographed it, as reasons for concern.
Against that backdrop, Aklan expresses surprise at recent remarks by former President Suleyman Demirel, now 80, who called the headscarf not a freedom but a form of reactionaryism and suggested its proponents consider moving to Saudi Arabia. Aklan notes the irony: Demirel once campaigned holding a Koran and championed religious schools.
The Islamist-leaning daily Yeni Safak pushed back with a headline pointing out that headscarf-wearing women migrate to Europe, not Arabia. Aklan finds that response telling. He draws a parallel: leftists forced out of Türkiye after the 12 September 1980 coup fled to Paris, London, and Vienna rather than to socialist states. Former Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan similarly chose Switzerland over Saudi Arabia when he went into exile.
Aklan concludes that the choices both groups made reveal something deeper: Western civilization has left traces so ingrained that people do not notice them when deciding where to live or seek refuge.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.