Is wearing the Muslim head scarf a symbol of political rebellion or an exercise of free religious expression? The question is dividing Turkey, a country long held as proof that a Muslim country can have a secular democracy.

Since the 1980s, Turkey has banned the traditional Muslim head scarf from universities and public buildings. Now the Turkish Parliament decides whether or not to lift the ban on scarves in universities. The bill’s supporters decry the status quo as a violation of religious expression, but the bill’s detractors worry that it means a move towards Islamist control of Turkey’s government.

Zeyno Baran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told WoW that it comes down to the motivations of those who push the bill: “Do you believe that they are about democratization and freedom, or are they about taking Turkey in a different direction?”

Baran said wearing the headscarf is an exercise of religion for many, “but no one can deny that the headscarf has become a political symbol.” Detractors argue that for the western mind, the headscarf symbolizes women’s secondary status and Islamist politics. Anthony Randazzo, a New York City student who spent a year working with Turkish college students, told WoW some of the women he knew covered their hair for modesty’s sake. Others “don’t really care about Islam but feel that it’s part of their heritage, so as activists they wear head scarves,” he said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is leading the fight to lift the ban, has acknowledged that the headscarf is a political symbol. Once a staunch Islamist, Erdogan went to jail for sedition but then claimed to change. Skeptics say now Erdogan is showing his true Islamic colors, but Erdogan maintains that the bill is not an Islamist ploy but an issue of democracy and religious freedom.

Baran notes that Islamists have a different definition of freedom: “The freedom is mostly freedom for practicing Muslims – so freedom to wear the head scarf.” Baran said there is a quiet, growing social discrimination against those who don’t embrace the headscarf and other strict Islamic rules.

Turkey is applying to join the European Union at a time when the world fears Islamist extremism. Baran says the bill’s detractors ask, “What kind of a signal does it also send in terms of where Turkey is headed?”

Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester for the Church of England, has brought down the judgment of the United Kingdom’s multiculturalists.

In a blunt article for The Sunday Telegraph, Nazir-Ali wrote that an influx of non-Christian immigrants, a loss of Christianity and the growth of multiculturalism has coincided with “a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism.”

This has led to the alienation of youth from their nation, along with the creation of “no-go” areas where non-Muslims aren’t welcome. Islamism is a “mark of acceptability” there, he said: “Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them and even the risk of violence.”

Nazir-Ali sounds an elegy for the state-established Church of England, wondering if the substance has disappeared though the forms remain. He also calls on Britain to “recover that vision of its destiny which made it great.”

The column aroused the ire of some of the country’s 1.6 million Muslims, the timid support of other Britons and the applause of a few. Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, called Nazir-Ali’s views “a gross caricature of reality.” Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain said the remarks were “alarming” and, lacking evidence, “simple scaremongering.” Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation called for Nazir-Ali’s resignation.

Others have stopped short of endorsing Nazir-Ali’s views but have praised him for raising important questions. Philip Johnston, on the other hand, applauded Nazir-Ali for finally articulating “the baleful consequences of three decades of multiculturalism.” He noted that the Commission for Racial Equality issued a report that confirms the concern that Britain is splintering.

Despite the furor, Nazir-Ali stands by his comments: “Unless we diagnose the malaise from which we all suffer we shall not be able to discover the remedy.”