The Europe News website reports today (February 13, 2012) that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comment that government wants to "raise a religious youth" has touched a nerve in society by fueling debates over an alleged "hidden agenda" to Islamize secular Turkey.
"We want to raise a religious youth," said Erdogan, during a parliamentary address last week, which has been criticized by several members of parliament (MPs).
Erdogan's remarks also angered the staunchly secular Republican People's Party -- founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk -- with its leader calling the prime minister a "religion-monger."
"It's a sin to garner votes over religion. You are not religious but a religion-monger," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, accusing Erdogan of polarizing the country by touching its faultlines.
