Istanbul, Turkey - Turkey's secular system of government faces its gravest danger since the founding of the republic in 1923, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday, a day after the powerful army chief also defended secularism.
Speaking to the War Academy before presidential elections next month that could give Turkey its first head of state with Islamist roots, Sezer also said he believed there was an ongoing campaign to undermine the country's armed forces.
The military views itself as the ultimate defender of Turkey's secular order founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and has ousted four governments from power in the past half century.
"The political regime of Turkey has not faced such a danger since the founding of the republic," Sezer said.
"The activities aimed against the secular order and efforts to bring religion into politics are raising social tensions," he added.
On Saturday, secularists will hold a mass protest rally against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan running for president.
Turkey's secular elite, including generals and judges, are worried that Erdogan, a former Islamist, will take the top job and chip away at the strict division between state and religion.
Financial markets are increasingly nervous about the elections, though they largely shrugged off Sezer's remarks. Shares on the Istanbul stock exchange briefly trimmed their gains before rebounding.
Erdogan's ruling AK Party is expected to name its candidate for president next Wednesday. As the party has a big majority in parliament, its candidate is virtually certain to replace the staunchly secularist Sezer, whose term expires on May 16.
Erdogan, Turkey's most popular politician who has presided over strong economic growth and the launch of European Union entry talks, denies claims that he has an Islamist agenda.
The head of the powerful military, General Yasar Buyukanit, issued a veiled warning to the ruling AK Party on Thursday, saying the next head of state should be a faithful follower of the country's secular order.
Erdogan has not said whether he will run but an increasing number of AK Party members say they want him as president.