Islamist candidate fails in bid for Turkish presidency

From the Wall Street Journal:

Turkey's foreign minister [Abdullah Gul] withdrew his presidential candidacy Sunday because Parliament failed again to reach a quorum in voting that pitted the secular establishment against his religious-oriented party, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

...The presidential elections have exposed a deepening divide between secularists and supporters of Mr. Erdogan's party. Secularists oppose Mr. Gul's candidacy, fearing that Mr. Erdogan's party will expand its control and impose religion on society. Mr. Erdogan's ruling party, an advocate of European Union membership, rejects the label of Islamist and has done more than any other government to introduce Western reforms to the country.

Nevertheless, as the Journal goes on to report, it seems that many Turks don't share this benigh view of the Islamists:

On Saturday, more than 10,000 Turks gathered in the cities of Canakkale and Manisa, in western Turkey, to protest the Islamic-rooted government, calling for Turkey's secular system to be preserved. They followed pro-secular demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul that were attended by more than a million people.