What kind of role does Islam play in Turkish politics? That depends on when you ask the question.

When modern Turkey was born in 1923, the nation's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, laid out his vision of how the country would be governed, and he made himself quite clear: The government would not in any way be influenced by the predominant religion - or any other religion, for that matter.

Since then, staunch secularism has been the predominant political force in Turkey - until recently. The ruling party in charge today has roots in Islam, and tension between its supporters and the secular opposition is growing by the day.

This week, the opposition stood in the way of the ruling party's presidential candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, by boycotting a parliamentary vote on his candidacy. And on Thursday, Turkish lawmakers voted to move up elections to July 22, hoping to resolve the dispute over who should be in charge.

Looming in the background are worries about the possibility of a coup by the pro-secular military if Islamic parties gain more control. It's happened before - the military has seized power three times in recent decades.

Where exactly did all this conflict come from? And why has the divide grown in recent years?

To get to the bottom of what's going on in Turkey, AP deputy international editor Nicolas B. Tatro struck up a phone conversation with Christopher Torchia, the AP's bureau chief in Istanbul. Listen to this podcast to hear some of what they discussed.

http://asap.ap.org/data/interactives/_news/podcast/0503asap_tatro.mp3