MOSCOW. (Alexander Bakustin, RIA Novosti)...

This revolutionary change has already caused fierce disputes between different classes of Turkish society, and may eventually split it altogether.

Today, Islam is gaining increasing influence in many areas of Turkish life. The ruling pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, received a majority vote at the parliamentary elections last summer; last August its founder Abdullah Gul was elected president; tarikats (religious orders) have become markedly more active; and Islamic values are again becoming important in the daily life of many Turks.

So why is the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) so worried? The bill, drafted by two parliamentary parties - the AKP and the ultra-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), provides for amendments to the 10th and 42nd articles of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and the right to receive higher education. The amendments are designed to ensure

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