Turkish PM rules out removing secularism from constitution

ANKARA

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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has ruled out any considerations of removing secularism from the constitution following Parliamentary Speaker İsmail Kahraman’s remarks on the issue.

“The state’s characteristics are not an issue of debate for us. The principle of secularism will stay in the new constitution,” Davutoğlu said in a party meeting on April 27. 

Davutoglu also said the government would seek a “liberal interpretation” of secularism, as opposed to an “authoritarian” one.

Kahraman sparked outrage late on April 25 by suggesting that the principle of secularism “must be removed” from Turkey’s constitution, as even members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voiced disagreement.