Religion in Secular Turkey

Turkey 2008

By Shayla Harris

May 28, 2009

In the fall of 2008 12 senior U.S. editors and producers traveled to Turkey for a 10-day International Reporting Project (IRP) Gatekeeper Editors trip. They were accompanied by Shayla Harris of the New York Times, who shot video during the trip.

Harris' stories examine the conflict between religion and secularism, health in poor areas of eastern Turkey and the views of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan on Islam, Iraq, the United States and domestic Turkish issues.

In this piece Harris explores the only secular democracy on the European continent where the predominant religion is Islam, a source of endless tension.