On May 23, fellow Al-Monitor writer Kadri Gursel had a nice piece crowned by a provocative headline: “AKP Wages Jihad Against Alcohol in Turkey.” The rest of the piece did not mention the j-word again, nor did it explain how it exactly fit the issue, but the title was enough to give an impression that Turkey's ruling party was leading an explicitly Islamic campaign against alcohol.

However, none other than the AKP leadership itself has explicitly denied that this was the case. Bulent Arinc, vice prime minister and second after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan within the AKP hierarchy, spoke to the press about the new alcohol regulations of his government, emphasizing:

“About alcohol, religious considerations should be set aside. That is a separate matter. Everybody's outlook on alcohol based on his beliefs are certain. I only respect that in my private life, and I exercise mine. But asserting this concern for everybody, turning this into a law, is not possible in a secular state. What we do is implement the constitutional clause about the protection of the youth and the family.”

In other words, Arinc emphasized that the AKP's alcohol regulations were based not on religious beliefs but on objective concerns about public health, safety and order. Several days later, Erdogan, in a heated if not crude tone, also argued that the fact that religion (in this case, Islam) also condemns alcohol should not be a reason to oppose the regulations on alcohol.