DEBATING TURKEY AND THE EU
Tulin Daloglu

Washington Times, DC
Dec 4 2007

ANKARA, Turkey. — In the past two years, the suburbs of Paris have
twice witnessed violent clashes between non-native French citizens and
the police. Whether religious and cultural differences or poverty,
unemployment and racial discrimination are the root causes of
these incidents is open to debate. But what’s interesting is that
in September 2006, before he was elected president, Nicolas Sarkozy
visited Washington and argued that then the first French riot stood
as one of the reasons he opposes Turkey’s European Union membership.

"[I] have often been asked about the place of Muslims in France,
because of concern in the United States," Mr. Sarkozy said at an
event organized by the French-American Foundation. "My dear friends,
let’s be consistent. What’s the point of worrying about our ability
to integrate Muslims in France or in Europe if at the same time,
and just as forcefully, the United States asks us to accept Turkey
in Europe? Even if you consider that we have a problem with Islam,
in which case, you have to give us time to find the ways and means
to create a European Islam and reject an Islam in Europe. But don’t
then give equal support to the integration of a country like Turkey,
with 75 million inhabitants. Consistency is part of the relations
between Europe and the United States." Indeed, Mr. Sarkozy’s point
of view is shared by many Europeans.

It’s true that Turkey is becoming more Muslim than European –
particularly since the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party
(AKP) took power in 2002. Since then, 2006 the Pew Global Attitudes
poll found out that 51 percent of Turks define themselves first as
Muslim. Being religious is not the problem, but there is a lack of
sincere debate about what exactly scares people when they are faced
with Islamic practices taking a role in governmental life. If freedom
of religion is measured by allowing headscarves in governmental
buildings, would it also consider new interpretations of those
practices by others? Or whether AKP’s understanding of secular
government is consistent with European secular rule?

Mr. Sarkozy is right to say that he needs time to "find the ways
and means to create a European Islam." But it is also a fact that
Europeans allowed political Islam in Turkey to make headscarves the
one and only problem with freedom of religion; now, it’s time they
look deeper into the issue. Turkey’s most trusted public opinion
survey group, KONDA, led by Tarhan Erdem, yesterday announced the
results of a new survey that shows a significant rise in numbers of
covered women. According to this survey, in the last four years,
there are a million more Turkish women wearing headscarfwhile the
ones with turban, which is a sign of political Islam has quadrupled.

Unfortunately, Turkey’s secular and liberal elites have denied the
role of religion in public life in such a way that they have created
a huge mess by not investing in theological education to allow an
open-minded approach to matters – understanding what Islam means in
the modern world, rather than a strictly literal interpretation.

There are a limited number of those theologians, but they are not
enough to change a traditionalist mindset.

AKP’s insistence on traditionalist practices like the headscarf
stands as proof that it refuses to allow open debate on religious
interpretations. Mr. Sarkozy may have strange bedfellows with respect
to his concerns about Turkey’s EU membership; secular Turks may also
be worried about their future.

If the AKP is proud that Turkey has opened accession talks with EU on
its watch, it is now disinterested in moving forward with reforms of
governmental institutions. The European Commission reported "limited
progress" in Turkey’s political reform process.

According to the Pew Global Attitudes poll, the EU’s favorability
rating in Turkey dropped from 58 percent in 2004 to 27 percent in
2007. There are a number of thorny issues in Turkey’s relations with
the EU – including Cyprus, the Armenian genocide allegations and the
Kurdish dilemma. Yet not all of the EU’s issues are related to those
matters. And while the AKP is determined to keep Turkey on track to
join the EU, it is sending a number of paradoxical signals. These
raise concerns, as the AKP is a relatively new party and it is almost
impossible to judge how its rule will affect Turkey. The Turkish
scenery, however, looks in absolute chaos for the time being.

Against all the odds it seems that Mr. Sarkozy understands that
Turkey’s Westernization process is not only limited to its borders
and its politicians’ responses; it is very much a European project.

Yet he may take a more constructive approach in dealing with Turkey.

Still, although Mr. Sarkozy said he would end Turkey’s accession
talks with the EU when he was elected, he has done no such thing. Yet
he continues to express his opposition loud and clear, which is
only fair it represents the sincere opinion of some of the European
population. But the outgoing and the incoming EU presidents, Portugal
and Slovenia, continue to express full support to Turkey’s membership.

Tulin Daloglu is a freelance writer.

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