Islam: A Bridge or a Breach between Turkey and the EU
By Erasmus Mundus Intern Emine Keskin
Turkey’s accession to the European Union seems like a never-ending story. Especially after French Prime Minister Mr. Sarkozy and German Prime Minister Mrs. Merkel stated their opposition to Turkey’s full-membership to the European Union, the Turkish people have become increasingly skeptical. Their offer to consider Turkey as a ‘privileged partner’ of the European Union has reminded Turkish people immediately of the words of a leading Turkish intellectual, Cigdem Nas: “Even if we burn all the Korans and tear down all mosques, we are Ottomans in the eye of the European. Ottoman to them means Islam, a dark, dangerous, hostile crowd” (Nas, 2000). Even though it is not clear to what extent Nas is correct in her comments regarding the views of Europeans on Islam, it is clear that Islamists in Turkey have been harsh toward the West - specifically before 1997. Since then, there has occurred a surprising change in the attitudes of the Islamists toward the West.
Although many scholars regard these changing attitudes of Islamist parties as an elite-led process, it is clear that social, political and economic factors play significant roles in this process of change. This paper examines the motives pushing Islamic political parties toward the EU and how these changes have given way to the formation of a different Islamic discourse of the West in Turkey. First I concentrate on the general Islamic discourse of the West in Turkey before 1997 by discussing the political agenda of the Welfare Party along with its predecessors, the National Order Party and the National Salvation Party. Next, I address the ‘February 28th Process’ and how this date gave way to a changed Islamist stance on Turkish membership to the European Union, referring specifically to the policies adopted by the Virtue Party and the Justice and Development Party. Lastly, I put forward the motives behind the change in attitudes of Islamist parties toward the EU and provide a detailed analysis of each motive followed by a series of commentaries and interpretations for their implications concerning the EU-Turkey relationship.
Whole Article: Emine Keskin’s Islam: A Bridge or a Breach between Turkey and the EU
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