You have to wonder what the wily Erdogan has up his sleeve for his next surprise. The think tank here at Falling Downs had a round table discussion around the round table in the computer room the other night, and we've concluded that all signs point to the legalization of polygamy!
Polygamy has been illegal since 1926 in Turkey, the first Muslim country to pass such a law. This is the legacy of Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. While Erdogan often pays lip service to Ataturk, he is also very much a conservative Muslim, and this would be a chance to roll back one of Ataturks excesses.
That would cement Erdogan's legacy as the father of post-modern Turkey!
What are the signs pointing in such a direction? First of all, it is obvious that the man is driven to leave his mark on the nation. He wants a bigger legacy than Ataturk. So far he only has a bigger palace.
Secondly, he seems obsessed with the role of women in Turkish society. The tide of secularism that Ataturk unleashed on the land has resulted in a lot of Turkish women getting comfortable with the idea that they are equal to men, which isn't how Erdogan or any other pious Muslim male sees it.
Thirdly, Erdogan's concern over Turkey's birth-rate affords a unique opportunity to down several birds with one shot, so to speak. Birth control may be a crime against the state, but not one which can be readily criminalized. Imagine the international uproar! Erdogan would come away looking like a misogynistic third-world-despot buffoon!
That is not the legacy he envisions for himself.
But properly implemented, the restoration of the honourable practice of polygamy would undo the damage done to the nation by birth control. A programme of generous financial incentives would soon see many Turkish men appreciate the wisdom of having three, four, possibly even five wives!
Hell, why stop there? What's wrong with twenty or thirty wives? Come to think of it, this could also help alleviate the Syrian refugee crisis!
So remember, you read it here first! Having declared victory over his arch-nemesis Gulen, the wily Erdogan is looking for a lasting legacy.
Polygamy could be it!
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