When Kemal Ataturk created the modern state of Turkey in 1923 from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire he laid down a secular framework along western lines. For decades, Islam played little political role - until the AK Party began its the rise to power. The AKP is now the governing force in the nation - but its very legality is being challenged in the Supreme Court. Secularits alledge the party is secretly planning to create an Islamic State - a charge the AKP denies. The terror bombing of Istanbul comes just as the court begins its deliberations on the AKP's fate. +++MAZ+++