Would you concede this as a good doing of Ataturk, would you argue that a surviving Ottoman Empire would have still romanized, or would you argue that the supposed impracticality of Arabic-script Turkish is an orientalist myth?

When the Taliban regime decreed, that every woman has to cover from head to toe everybody had some problems with this imposed dress code. But yet nobody seems to have a problem with a state decreeing a dress code that forbids head scarves (i wonder if the same would happen, if some state suggested fobidding jeans or even covering your legs..).

As an ex-judge at the highest court in Germany (Verfassungsgericht) said: “If the head scarve was per se a political object, then the prohibition thereof is a far more radical political statement!”

Salam.

Omar Abo-Namous

Yusef that’s just barmy. And why get so exercised over the sight of female hair? For goodness sake Yusef, you’re an Englishman, you’re not from the bloody North West frontier, you know better. I’m certain that years from now you are going to look back at your silliness and wince with embarrassment.

Ann,

“It’s not just a matter of style - as if we just feel like wearing a particular article of clothing. We’re covering a part of the body that we believe needs to be covered.” Certain Muslim men don’t respect the dress code of Nestorian Christian girls in Mosul or Basra, and in some cases threaten them if they don’t wear the veil. So frankly I’ll reserve my tears and sympathy for more deserving people than Muslim girls (interestingly usually the less comely) who whinge when they are forced to go bareheaded.

H,

You’re spot on in claiming that Ataturk was instrumental in throwing back what you refer to the “kuffar forces” But remember the Greeks were fighting for land what had been historically there’s for over two millenia. And frankly I would be a lot happier if Constantinople was still a Greek Christian city and mass was still said in The Church of the Holy Wisdom, commonly known as Hagia Sophia. But bygones are bygones, the one thing that those unhappy times can teach us (western kuffars anyway) is that population exchange might just be the solution for our restive “Muslim problem” After what happened over the last fortnight in France, I’m not the only one flirting with these thoughts. Keep your powder dry gentlemen we are all in for some interesting times.

“Did you know that he died from a combination of syphilis and Liver disease(he was juice hound)?”

Youre mouth is bigger than mine.

Ataturk’s state of emaan is with Allah (azawajal) and didnt you know Dr. M that if you keep the secrets of the Muslims Allah will keep your secrets on yumal Qiyama?

Secondly AJ is sort of correct in what he says, but you also have to remember that Ataturk successfully fought off a greek invasion when the Caliph of that time signed away the empire. So I guess some people are in two minds about him. On one hand he freed the country from the invading kuffar forces, on the other hand he opened the door to other evils. But atleast the muslims in Turkey are generally well off than if they were under greek occupation, atleast now they have a stepping stone to reformation, which would have been practically impossible under greek rule. Wa salam.