Turkish Parliament OKs Education Law to Promote Secular Curriculum

ANKARA, Turkey — Trying to curb the influence of Islam on Turkey’s youth, parliament on Saturday approved a measure that curbs attendance at the country’s religious schools.

The new law, fiercely opposed by Islamists, requires students to go to secular-oriented private and public schools for eight years instead of five.

The measure means that religious high schools, which now offer a six-year curriculum, will be limited to three years, making it less likely students will undergo their brand of religious training.

Turkey’s powerful military views the religious schools as breeding grounds for activists seeking to establish an Islamic regime in this predominantly Muslim but officially secular nation.

Former Premier Necmettin Erbakan, who was forced to resign by the military in June because of his anti-secular moves, called the new law unconstitutional and vowed to challenge it in court.

Under the new law, which passed by a vote of 277 to 242, children will receive Western-type education for eight years starting at age 7. Proponents hope the length of this curriculum will firmly ground students in Turkey’s secular traditions and inoculate them against the appeals of the religious schools.

Under the previous system, children as young as 11 could enroll at religious schools where they received up to eight hours a week of Arabic and Koran classes.

The bill has sparked nationwide protests by pro-Islamic demonstrators in the past few weeks.