Very bad news from Turkey, but not unexpected: Former Islamist wins Turkish presidency.

(I’d like to know what a “former” Islamist is, besides another example of media mendacity.)

ANKARA, Turkey - A devout Muslim with a background in political Islam won the Turkish presidency on Tuesday, in a major triumph for the Islamic-rooted government after months of confrontation with the secular establishment.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul received a majority of 339 votes in a parliamentary ballot and took the oath of office, pledging impartiality and loyalty to Turkey’s historic separation of religion and politics. Commanders from the fiercely secular military were conspicuously absent — a decision many saw as a symbolic protest against the decision to elect a president to a post traditionally held by a secular figure.

“Secularism — one of the main principles of our republic — is a precondition for social peace as much as it is a liberating model for different lifestyles,” Gul said. “As long as I am in office, I will embrace all our citizens without any bias. I will preserve my impartiality with the greatest of care.”

Gul’s victory took place a day after the military, which has ousted four governments since 1960, issued a stern warning about the threat to secularism. Gul’s initial bid for president was blocked over fears that he planned to dilute secular traditions.

“Our nation has been watching the behavior of those separatists who can’t embrace Turkey’s unitary nature, and centers of evil that systematically try to corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic,” Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the military, said in a note on the military’s Web site Monday.

Will there be a military coup? It wouldn’t be the first time.