Virtue Party (Turkish: Fazilet Partisi, FP) was an Islamist political party established in December 1998 in Turkey. It was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and then banned in June 2001, for violating the secularist articles of the Constitution. After the party's ban, the party MPs founded two parties: reformist Justice and Development Party (AKP) and traditionalist Felicity Party (SP).
Founders of Virtue Party were also active members of National Order Party (MNP), National Salvation Party (MSP) and Welfare Party (RP). The Virtue Party was the first party in this tradition to have genuine intra-party democracy.
Merve Kavakçı, the female elected MP who was banned from swearing her oath in Turkish Grand National Assembly because she wore headscarf, was a Virtue Party member.
Famous quotes containing the words virtue and/or party:
“Suspicion is not less an enemy to virtue than to happiness; he that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly be corrupt.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“In every party there is one person who, through his dotingly credulous enunciation of party principles, incites the other members to defection.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)