Ankara, Turkey - A majority of Turks say a ban on women wearing the Muslim headscarf in public offices and universities should be lifted and just two fifths favor a military government, according to a poll published on Wednesday.
The survey, conducted by scholars from two Istanbul universities and published in the liberal Radikal daily, shows Turkey, a Muslim but secular country that hopes to join the European Union, to be conservative on social and moral issues.
Three fifths of those canvassed attributed failure in life to a lack of religious faith and said they would oppose their daughter marrying a non-Muslim. Nearly a third said boys and girls should be taught in separate classes at school.
The results of the poll make fairly pleasant reading for Turkey's ruling AK Party, which has Islamist roots, showing two thirds back its efforts -- so far unsuccessful -- to relax a ban on women students and civil servants wearing the headscarf.
Many in the military, academic and judicial establishment view this ban as a key pillar of Turkey's secular order.
More than half said they were happy with the AK Party government. 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 confirmed falling support for Turkey joining the EU, down to 57 percent from 74 percent a few years ago.
Ankara began entry talks last October, but faces more tough reforms and is also under pressure to establish ties with EU member state Cyprus under its internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government. Ankara now backs breakaway Turkish Cypriots.
Slightly more than half of the Turks surveyed said political freedoms should be restricted and that human rights could be curtailed for the sake of national interests.
Nearly half of those surveyed said tourists spoil Turkish morality and harm its culture.
Conservative Turks are uncomfortable with the spectacle of naked or near-naked tourists soaking up the sun at Turkish resorts, though tourism is a key pillar of Turkey's economy.
The survey, conducted in March and April by Isik and Sabanci Universities in Istanbul, canvassed the views of 1,846 people in more than 20 towns and cities across the country of 72 million.