Islamist Turks still blame West

On the domestic front, the party has also failed to make headway on hot-button issues for religious people - like a ban that prevents women with head scarves from entering most government buildings.

"Everybody said the war against Iraq would open a Pandora's box. People are saying, 'If there wasn't this war, we wouldn't be targeted,'" says Fehmi Koru, a columnist for Yeni Safak, a newspaper with a conservative religious readership. "There was no such thing as [mass suicide bombings] happening in Turkey before the Iraq war. We have not been a part of the Iraqi quagmire, but now Iraq is in Turkey - and terror is inside our territory."

Over the weekend, several thousand protesters here and in other Turkish cities condemned the bombings - and similarly laid blame at the doorstep of US policy in the Middle East.

Now, say experts, the Turkish government must weigh whether to strengthen its ties and cooperation with the US, Britain, and other allies in the terror war, or try to distance itself from alliances that make Turkey likely to be a more frequent target.

"I think Turkey has two choices," says Mr. Bulut. "To choose a policy closer to the US and Israel, which will make Turkey an attraction for more terror attacks. Or to chose to cooperate with local countries that want stability in the region - who can help build a security belt around Turkey's border."

Mr. Erdogan has so far shown himself able to straddle the difficult East-West divide, condemning the attacks while appealing to religious sensibilities. The occurrence of the bombings near the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, he said, should increase any true Muslim's sense of outrage.

"Those who shed blood and killed innocents in these holy days will have to account for themselves in both worlds and will be doomed till eternity," Erdogan said.

This is, after all, a time in the Islamic calendar for self-reflection and soul-searching. On Friday, worshippers at the Fatih mosque were preparing for Kadir, a special night in Ramadan where all prayers for forgiveness are said to be answered. The imam, a wispy 30-year-old who had memorized the Koran by the age 12, says the Islamic holy book deems human life precious.

"There is no place in any holy book for such actions," says Esat Shahin, who wears a neat blue suit and trim black beard. While he offered prayers for the victims and wished healing for the injured at the weekly prayer service, attending by some 7,000 worshipers, he didn't address the bombers' deeds directly. Friday sermons in Turkey are closely monitored, and preachers know to leave out political content.

The danger that at least some young Muslim men - however marginal - are getting swept up by Al Qaeda's ideology is, the imam says, not for him to worry about. "We want to touch people's hearts and souls - not their mentalities."

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