A Journey to Defend Turkey's Secular Ideals
Protesters Converge to Warn Against Growth of Islamic Influence in Government
By Anthony Shadid
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, May 6, 2007

CANAKKALE, Turkey, May 5 It was dawn Saturday, and a still ascendant full moon shared the sky with a pale light. Young and old, students and retirees -- together, defenders of Turkey's eight decades of resolute secularism -- had already arrived for the trip. There were posters and portraits of the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, signs quoting his aphorisms, pins intoning his principles.

Their messages were the same. "Turkey is secular and will remain secular," one of the placards read. the rest