Do you consider yourself a fundamentalist or a secularist?
I'm with JFK in supporting the seperation of religion and the state. So are these secular muslims in Turkey:
The fight between the fundie right and secular left is worldwide.
ISTANBUL, Turkey - At least 700,000 people marched Sunday in a massive protest against the possible election of an observant Muslim as president, a conflict that is pitting Turkey's religiously oriented ruling party against the deeply secular military and civilian establishment.
Many, including powerful generals, fear Gul would use the presidency — a post with veto power over legislation — to assist his ally, Erdogan, in chipping away at the separation of state and religion.
"This government is the enemy of Ataturk," said 63-year-old Ahmet Yurdakul, a retired government employee among the demonstrators on Sunday. "It wants to drag Turkey to the dark ages."
Comments
If you aren't Christian, you are only a "heathen" to Christians...you do not call yourself a heathen. To call yourself secular implies a religious basis to both labels
You're almost right. It's not "secularism" as such--its anyone, including highly religious people--who respect their fellow human beings and their right to find God in their own way. Or not--that's their choice.
Its all decent human beings against groups of religious fanatics that want nothing but power and to hurt andhate their fellows. The labels don't matter-whether you're Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, etc. Decent people are decent people and fanatics are fanatics.
And in a world with such terrible destructive weapons in it, the fanatics are right about one thing: its us or them. There can be no compromise.
In the US,being secular does not automatically mean that you are left wing. That's left speak using those terms. There are many people on the right who are secular as well.
Secular. Atheist. Have been ever since I got thrown out of Sunday school for "asking too many questions."
~X~
There is a difference between being faithful and being a governor; while one aspect should (I repeat SHOULD) inform the other, there's no guarantee that everyone will be governed with equality.
That is the biggest problem with theocracies, in my opinion: Too often, their mandate is provided by an earthly perversion of the ideals of their faith. That leads to wars, persecution, murder...
Independent.
"It wants to drag Turkey to the dark ages."
Come here to America we are already there