Turkish education plan brings charges of ‘hidden Islamic agenda’

Universities in Turkey are locked in a dispute with the government over a proposed change to admissions policy that has led to claims of a 'hidden Islamic agenda' and has echoes of a previous clash between the secular state and an Islamic-oriented government. Many university-educated Turks remain convinced that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a 'hidden agenda' to force all women to wear headscarves and to shift the country, whose population of 70m is 99 per cent Muslim, gradually towards a stricter interpretation of Islamic law. Any suggestion of a move in that direction would almost certainly end Turkey's chances of joining the European Union.