Wikipedia's first sentence called it “turkish politician”. Today it says “turkish politician who was elected to parliament as a virtue party deputy for istanbul on 18 april 1999 but was”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Merve Safa Kavakçı (born 19 August 1968, Ankara ) is Turkish politician, who was elected as a Virtue Party deputy for Istanbul on April 18, 1999.1On May 2, 1999, Kavakçı was precluded from taking her oath in the swear-in ceremony by members of the Democratic Left Party due to her headscarf. She failed to disclose her American citizenship, which was revealed after the elections, and she lost her seat in the parliament in March 2001. The Virtue Party was closed down by the Constitutional Court in June 2001. In 2007, Kavakçı won the legal case when the European Court of Human Rights found that Kavakcı's expulsion from parliament was a violation of human rights. Since then, Kavakçı has been an outspoken critic of Turkey's secular political system, traveling the globe in support of Muslim women's rights, especially to the hijab. In addition to lecturing at universities throughout Europe and the United States, Kavakçı addressed the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona. She has lectured and spoke at myriad American and European Universities including Harvard, Yale, Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Duisburg and Cambridge Universities. Kavakçı is a Hafiz-al Qur'an . She received her master's degree from Harvard University and her PhD from Howard University . Kavakçı is currently a professor at George Washington University and Howard University in Washington D.C. She is the mother of two, Fatima Abushanab, 21 and Mariam Kavakci, 20. Kavakçı is recognized among the World's Most Influential 500 Muslims. She was recognized among "Women of Excellence" by NAACP and GWU in 2004. She was awarded the Public Service Award in Tribute and in Recognition of efforts for the advancement of human rights and Muslim Women's empowerment by International Association for Women and Children in 2000. She was granted Mother of the Year Award by Capital Platform of Ankara and National Youth Organization in 1999. Kavakçı is a consultant for U.S. Congress on the Muslim world and a columnist for Turkish conservative daily Vakit newspaper. She sits at the Editorial Board of Mediterranean Quarterly. She is the author of six books and numerous articles. In 2012, a book about Kavakçı titled "The Day Turkey Stood Still: Merve Kavakçı's Walk Into the Parliament" by Richard Peres was published.2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 663007970.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Merve Safa Kavakçı (born 30 October 1968, Ankara ) was a Turkish politician, who was elected as a Virtue Party deputy for Istanbul on April 18, 1999. On May 2, she was prevented from making her parliamentary oath because of her hijab , which is banned for civil servants in secular Turkey . She was eventually stripped of her Turkish citizenship , on the grounds that she had not disclosed her United States citizenship (which she obtained on March 5, 1999). Since then, Kavakçı has been an outspoken critic of Turkey's secularization policy, traveling the globe in support of Muslim women's rights, especially to the hijab. Kavakçı promotes the hijab as a symbol of female empowerment, and she is quick to remind critics that tradition of the hijab is both religious and cultural. In addition to lecturing at universities throughout Europe and the United States, Kavakçı addressed the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona. From 2004-2005, she was a visiting professor and scholar at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Most recently, in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights found that Kavakçı's expulsion from parliament was a violation of human rights. Kavakçı is a Hafiz-al Qur'an . She received her master's degree from Harvard University and her PhD from Howard University. Kavakçı is currently a professor at George Washington University. She has two daughters, Fatima and Mariam Abushanab.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 361709656.
The opening as it stood in 2020 20 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Merve Safa Kavakçı (born 19 August 1968, Ankara ) is a Turkish politician, who was elected as a Virtue Party deputy for Istanbul on April 18, 1999. She is serving as the Turkish ambassador to Malaysia.Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur New Turkish envoy to Malaysia defied hijab ban in 1999 Turkey's first hijabi deputy is the new ambassador to Malaysia
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 953211165.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Turkish academic, former politician Merve Safa Kavakcı (born 19 August 1968) is a Turkish politician, who was elected as a Virtue Party (Turkish: Fazilet Partisi) deputy for Istanbul on 18 April 1999.She served as the Turkish ambassador to Malaysia from 2017 but was recalled to Ankara following the appointment of Emir Salim Yüksel as the Turkish Ambassador to Malaysia in June 2022. Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur New Turkish envoy to Malaysia defied hijab ban in 1999 Turkey's first hijabi deputy is the new ambassador to Malaysia "Turkey appoints new ambassadors to 25 countries" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1162019663.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Turkish academic, former politician Merve Safa Kavakcı (born 19 August 1968) is a Turkish politician who was elected to parliament as a Virtue Party deputy for Istanbul on 18 April 1999 but was never able to take office. Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur New Turkish envoy to Malaysia defied hijab ban in 1999 Turkey's first hijabi deputy is the new ambassador to Malaysia "Turkey appoints new ambassadors to 25 countries" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293797192. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “turkish politician”. Today it says “turkish politician who was elected to parliament as a virtue party deputy for istanbul on 18 april 1999 but was”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
turkish politician
Now
turkish politician who was elected to parliament as a virtue party deputy for istanbul on 18 april 1999 but was
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.