"They will say, 'put a headscarf on your child,' and she'll have to wear a longer dress. They will try to bring more backwardness into their lives. Nobody wants this," he says. "We want our children to be educated following the principles of secularism. Until now it was like this and we were happy."
Converting schools into religious institutions known as Imam Hatips is part of the Islamist-rooted government's education reforms, which, according to some parents, represent a welcome change.
"We are a Muslim country and Imam Hatips are for teaching our religion," says one mother donning a headscarf in accordance with her faith. "It is important for my child. I want my child to learn his religion. All this criticism is an exaggeration because we are a Muslim country, so religion must be in our education."
Imam Hatips like this one, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's alma mater and one of the oldest in Istanbul, were founded to teach imams. But the new curriculum, which combines normal education with hours of religious studies, are popular with Turkey's religious population. » | Dorian Jones | Tuesday, September 25, 2012
