Turkish police and protesters clash over religious schooling
- 12 years ago
Turkish police fire smoke grenades and water cannons at stone-throwing protesters in Ankara.
It is the second day of demonstrations against a government attempt to push a new education bill through parliament this week. Secular parties say the bill promotes Islamic schooling.
The government wants to overturn a 1997 law that kept students under 15 years old from attending religious "imam hatip" schools.
That law led to a sharp decline in attendance at the schools, which were originally set up to train Muslim clerics.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and nearly half of his cabinet members were educated in the religious schools.
Katharine Jackson, Reuters.
It is the second day of demonstrations against a government attempt to push a new education bill through parliament this week. Secular parties say the bill promotes Islamic schooling.
The government wants to overturn a 1997 law that kept students under 15 years old from attending religious "imam hatip" schools.
That law led to a sharp decline in attendance at the schools, which were originally set up to train Muslim clerics.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and nearly half of his cabinet members were educated in the religious schools.
Katharine Jackson, Reuters.