The Politics of a Kiss: Islam and Intimate Life in Turkey
It is one thing for the AKP to ban alcohol or close down gay clubs. It is another to try to cordon off kissing. A kiss is a verb in the language of love. For a conservative regime that seeks to make Islam the basis of public morality and the faith-bound patriarchal family the foundation of the nation-state, this gesture of intimacy is also a political act, particularly when done in public by unmarried young people.
It is one thing for the AKP to ban alcohol or close down gay clubs. It is another to try to cordon off kissing. A kiss is a verb in the language of love. For a conservative regime that seeks to make Islam the basis of public morality and the faith-bound patriarchal family the foundation of the nation-state, this gesture of intimacy is also a political act, particularly when done in public by unmarried young people.
Read more at the Huffington Post.