Sezer: "Secularism cannot be touched"

HACIBEKTAS (AA) – President Ahmet Necdet Sezer strongly emphasized secular roots of the Turkish Republic and added that secularist characteristic of the republic could not be changed.

The president gave a speech today in central Anatolian Hacibektas town in a ceremony held for remembering religious cult Hacibektas, a symbol figure for Anatolian Alawite culture against orthodox Islam.

Sezer said that Hacibektas’ humanist ideas, which keep love, peace and tolerance above everything, remain alive today with their innovative and reformist characters.

Hacibektas and other philosopher Sufis’ thoughts have contributed to formation of Turkish Republic’s democratic and modern identity, and continuation of enlightenment movement in Turkey, the president said. The republic removed social and political privileges and provided equality and liberty among citizens and made secularist thinking prevail in all aspects of life, he added.

“As required by the principle of secularism, social, economic, political or legal fundamental order of the state cannot be founded on religious rules. Sacred religious feeling cannot be involved in state affairs or politics. Basic rights and freedoms cannot be exploited for segregation on the basis of religion or religious sects or for establishing a theocratic state,” the president said.

Sezer emphasized that secularism was the keystone of unity of the Republic of Turkey.