pewforum.org Religion News on the Web
January 10, 2011

AP: Debate in Turkey over Armenia friendship monument

by Selcan Hacaoglu
The Associated Press

Modern art or a blight on the landscape? A giant monument to friendship between historic enemies Turkey and Armenia has become a symbol of controversy rather than healing.

Turkey's prime minister said the monument near the Armenian border is a "freak" that overshadows a nearby Islamic shrine, underscoring complex tensions in predominantly Muslim Turkey over religious piety and free expression in a society torn between the modern and the traditional.

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