ABSTRACT
The party platform avoided reference to Islam and expressed support for laicism as a fundamental requirement for democracy and freedom. The goal of Islamist parties now is to "build an Islamic identity without openly violating the constitutional principle of secularism", and critics of the AK Party argue this is their hidden agenda. The rise of the AK Party gave the Islamist press a boost of self-confidence. After the AK Party de-militarized politics and created strict political control of the army, this hope vanished. In Turkey, just as in many other places, criticism of Israeli policies and hostility to Israel come from a number of different political traditions: liberal-left and socialist, nationalist and fascist, and Islamist-conservative. In addition, political-economic elements affect anti-Israel stances in Islamic circles and in the Islamic media but their influence is minor compared to the importance given to religious antisemitic sentiments.
