The majority supported Erdogan's efforts to relax hijab ban on students and civil servants.

ANKARA — The majority of Turks are satisfied with the performance of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and are opposed to the official ban on hijab in public offices and universities, according to a poll published on Wednesday, June 14.

The poll, conducted by Isik and Sabanci universities in Istanbul, found that two thirds of the 1,846 people polled in more than 20 towns and cities support Erdogan's efforts to ease hijab ban on students and civil servants, Reuters reported.

The mainly Muslim country of 72 million has a strongly secular political tradition.

In 1997, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a decree banning hijab in state-run institutions, including schools and universities.

Hijab-donned women were also banned from frequenting any social clubs affiliated to the military institution.

Even veiled journalists have been repeatedly prevented from covering news conferences inside government institutions.

Many in Turkey's military, academic and judicial establishment view this ban as a key pillar of Turkey's secular order.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

Conservative

The poll, conducted in March and April, showed that the majority of Turks were more conservative on social and moral issues.

Three fifths of those interviewed attributed failure in life to a lack of religious faith.

Nearly a third said boys and girls should be taught in separate classes at school.

They also opposed allowing their Muslim daughters to marrying non-Muslims.

Nearly half of the respondents said tourists spoil Turkish morality and harm its culture.

They voiced unease with the spectacle of naked or near-naked tourists soaking up the sun at Turkish resorts.

Nearly a third of those polled expressed dissatisfaction with the democratic process in the country.

More than half said they were happy with the government of the ruling Justice and Development party.

Turkey faces a general election by November 2007.

Forty percent of those polled said they would prefer a military-led government and nearly a third expressed dissatisfaction with the democratic process.

Turkey's powerful armed forces traditionally rank as the institution most respected by Turks.

The military has ousted democratically elected governments four times in the past 50 years but has seen its powers trimmed by EU-backed reforms.

The poll also confirmed falling support for joining the 25-member euro club, down to 57 percent from 74 percent a few years ago.

The European Union and Turkey officially kickstarted on Monday, June 12, the long-awaited accession talks, the most important cornerstone of membership process, after EU foreign ministers overcame last-minute objections from Cyprus.

Turkey has been trying to join the European club since the 1960s.