http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/jan_feb98/islamic.html
The Islamic Welfare Party, a powerful opponent of Turkey's secular system, was outlawed by Turkey's high court in mid-January. However, the party, whose predecessors have been banned and renamed twice in the past, already has been reborn as "Virtue." Turkey's constitution bans parties based on ethnicity, religion or communist ideology. The ruling will be appealed to the European Human Rights Commission.
Against strong opposition by the Islamic Welfare Party, Turkey's parliament passed legislation in early January allowing husbands to be indicted for domestic abuse, even if wives refuse to press charges.
A 1994 study showed that 34% of married women in 12 Turkish provinces were beaten by their husbands. In 1997, the mayor of Konya published a marriage guide saying Islam allows men to "gently" beat wives.
