Hundreds of thousands of Turks waving the red national flag flooded central Istanbul on Sunday to demand the resignation of the government, saying the Islamic roots of Turkey's leaders threatened to destroy the country's modern foundations. Like the protesters — who gathered for the second large anti-government demonstration in two weeks — Turkey's powerful secular military has accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of tolerating radical Islamic circles. A growing number of people in the country, are now accusing Erdogan of a stifling authoritarianism and a subtle shift towards religious conservatism. They say Turkey today is secular in name only and that Erdogan is now promoting a distinctly Islamist agenda.
