Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
Turkey
Swiss Minarets: Only the Tip of the Iceberg

Swiss Minarets: Only the Tip of the Iceberg

by | Dec 16, 2009

On November 29, a majority of the Swiss population decided to ban the construction of new minarets in their country. Many Muslim leaders and laypeople were “surprised” at the Swiss decision, viewing the decision as an aberration from Western ideals and voicing anti-Swiss criticisms in return. Turkish minister for EU Affairs and chief negotiator Egemen Bağış, for example, argued that Switzerland wouldn’t have taken this decision if it were an EU member. Yet the Swiss decision on minarets reflects a far deeper fear shared by thousands of people in Western Europe. Members of the Christian Democratic Union party in Germany, the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, and the Danish People’s Party have already applauded the decision.

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Turkey Between East and West

by , | Nov 10, 2008

Turkey has long aligned itself with Western powers, dating back to Ottoman participation in the Concert of Europe. It’s currently a member of the Council of Europe, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Many Turks view accession to the European Union (EU) as the capstone to its longstanding ambition to be recognized as a modern European power. Others in Turkey, however, are leery of EU-inspired democratization schemes and wonder if admission is indeed worth the cost of the ticket.

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Turkey’s Troubles

by , | Jul 25, 2008

The United States’ rather muted, lackadaisical response to the constitutional conflagration set to engulf the future of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should be of grave concern to those committed to the achievement of greater stabilization and liberal democratization within the Middle East. The pending decision of the Turkish Constitutional Court over whether or not to ban the democratically elected AKP, as well as the international response towards such proceedings, are setting important, potentially dangerous, precedents for both Iraq and Afghanistan’s already fledgling, nascent democracies.

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Attila Durak

by | Jan 22, 2008

For almost 100 years, the system here has been trying to create a nation, one nation that represses, that says we are one Turkey. For the Ottoman Empire, religion was the base; ethnicity was not important. When Italy was formed, only eight percent of Italian people spoke Italian. From that base population, they created Italy. It was the same story with France. So Turkey, too, tried to create a nation of Turks. They say we are a mosaic. That means different colors, but they’re not touching because there is cement in between. The Turkish culture is very old, going back 10,000 years. All this time there has been a mixing of cultures. So this metaphor is wrong. It doesn’t define the Anatolian land. A better metaphor is ebru. We invented this art, of colors swirling on paper. The fluidity of this metaphor better explains us. It is the metaphor with which we can start to talk.

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