WASHINGTON <\/p>\n
Turkey has always prided itself on being a secular state. <\/p>\n
The nation enshrined the separation of church and state in its constitution by constitutional amendment in 1928. But that was nearly a century ago, and about 99 percent of the nations citizens are now identified as Muslim. <\/p>\n
Watch: Evolution vs. Erdogan: Turkey Struggles with Basic Science <\/p>\n
The current government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has received some criticism for eroding the countrys historic commitment to secularism and moving the nation in a more fundamentalist direction. <\/p>\n
Recently, in a decision that many saw as moving Turkey away from secularism and toward Islam, the government banned the teaching of evolution in high school. <\/p>\n
That means Turkish students entering high school will no longer learn naturalist Charles Darwins theory that all living things share a common ancestor. It is a simple idea that is the foundation of the study of life on Earth and beyond. <\/p>\n
In explaining its decision, the government said it is not about Islam. Instead, officials said that students, Dont have the necessary scientific background and information-based context needed to comprehend the theory. <\/p>\n
Alpaslan Durmus, head of the education ministrys curriculum board, said members thought the theory should be taught to higher-level students. <\/p>\n
We tried to leave out some of the controversial issues from our students agenda, Durmus added. <\/p>\n
Unable to compete on world stage <\/p>\n
Whatever their reason, critics say the practical outcome is that Turkish children will not get the education they need to compete on the world stage. <\/p>\n
The Turkish education system is very weak concerning the fundamental sciences, secular scholar Alaattin Dincer told VOA. Both in domestic and international exams; be it in math, physics, chemistry and biology, our students have very low passing grade percentages. It is actually terribly low. <\/p>\n
If you dont tell our children, the next generation, about science and evolution and Darwin; if you raise them without them learning those subjects, how can you argue that we are a scientifically enlightened country that can producer the scientists of the future? How can you tell them this? Dincer asked. <\/p>\n
Other critics say it is part of a plan by President Erdogan to embed an official Islamic identity into Turkish society. But like Catholic scholars, many Islamic theologians say evolution and Islam can co-exist quite easily. <\/p>\n
If something has scientific truth, then you cannot stand against it, Ihsan Eliacik, a Muslim theologian, told VOA. If evolution is scientific truth that exists in nature, nobody can stand against it. Because it is true. Fiction cannot cover a lie. A religious faith cannot destroy truth. Besides, by my religious faith, scientific truth means religious truth. The two are not contradictory. <\/p>\n
VOA Turkish Services Tan Cetin contributed to this story. <\/p>\n
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Turkey Moves Further From Secularism in Dropping Evolution From Schools - Voice of America<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WASHINGTON Turkey has always prided itself on being a secular state. The nation enshrined the separation of church and state in its constitution by constitutional amendment in 1928. But that was nearly a century ago, and about 99 percent of the nations citizens are now identified as Muslim Continue reading