Sex, Religion, and Politics

The three things we're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table happen to be three of the most interesting things to discuss when in a new country. People have asked me what I've found to be different here with respect to the US, and honestly I've been surprised at the number of similarities. I particularly thought sexual attitudes would be different here, or at least spoken about differently. But no, just as in the US, young people date who they want, have premarital sex, have access to several birth control methods, and can get an abortion if a mistake happens. That last one surprised me the most. The women I've spoken to viewed this as a very normal thing; this is a right that is guaranteed to women and not controversial at all. When I told them that this has been a contested issue in the US for as long as I could remember, they were shocked. Surely such a progressive country would respect a woman's right to choose! Of course, this is exactly what the religious right would want to hear. Not only are Muslims blowing up buildings, they're killing unborn children, too.

This country is technically about 98% Muslim. I expected this difference in religion to be a pretty prominent part of life. Five times a day, the thousands of mosques throughout the city broadcast the prayer songs. However, I've never once seen anyone stop and pray at these times. We're in the midst of the month-long major Islamic holiday of Ramadan, and yet I've only met one person who is actually fasting. I must say, I feel safer being an atheist here than in the US. Thanks to Atatürk, the national hero and founder of "modern" Turkey, public displays of religion are highly discouraged, so no one is going to get up in your face (*cough* evangelicals) about not being religious. In fact, those full Islamic veils are actually illegal here, though the rule is not strongly enforced. Religion is not supposed to play a role in politics at all around here, and any politician with a perceived "Islamist agenda" is fiercely criticized, or even imprisoned.

Politics are still a huge mystery to me here. Turkey has a prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. I haven't actually met anyone who likes him. This is partly due to his general conservativism and partly due to that perceived Islamist agenda thing. He was imprisoned for a few months a while back, after saying some things that seemed to threaten the separation of religion and politics that is so beloved here. I probably don't have a very neutral view of the political sentiment in Turkey, considering I work and live near a university, and as in the US, universities tend to have pretty progressive views. In a few weeks there will be an election on some constitutional referendum. I don't know the details, and it seems like they are less important than the fact that Erdogan's party (AKP) supports it and the opposing major party (CHP) opposes it. Throughout the city there are banners saying "Evet!" or "Hayır!" ("yes" or "no"). The university area is decidedly a "Hayır!" dominated place.

That's enough serious talk for now. Oh, hey- remember when I posted about that district in Istanbul that I loved? Well, I moved there today, and it's everything I wanted, plus more. I'd be glad to share the details about the reasons for my move in a less public medium, so shoot me an email or IM if you're curious.  I'll definitely miss the old place, but I'll be back up there for work everyday anyway. I'll especially miss little Maya, even if she did poop in my shower all the time.