Turkey is a free country. The people are free to worship as they wish, travel, vote, conduct business, and all the other things that western liberal democracies allow their citizens. Recently, Turkey's government has become more Islamic in nature due to its free elections. However, the courts made an impressive move to stand firm on constitutional law banning religious elements in public spaces. It's a very interesting take on separation of church and state.
The Constitutional Court said in a brief statement that the change, proposed by Mr. Erdogan’s party and passed by Parliament in February, violated principles of secularism set in Turkey’s Constitution.
-- NY Times
Turkey is a very nice place to visit, and the people are very warm and hospitable. They've received a lot of flack over the years for being harsh regarding terrorist groups and their refusal to bend to western opinions on the Armenian war. They're suppose to feel sorry for the war according to most western governments, kind of like Americans admitting the US killed too many native Americans. It's a cultural conflict based on the fact that Turkey hasn't adopted self-deprecating historical views the way "enlightened" western countries do. What's not often talked about is Turkey's religious dedication to secularism in the midst of the Muslim world. Ataturk, modern Turkey's father, instituted a phenomenally successful constitutionally secular state. This week's ruling reveals their dedication to the state's founder and his policies set to keep religion out of government.