Universities that have not been active in debates concerning long-standing higher education problems are preparing to discuss these issues, and two ambitious academicians, Professor Talip Küçükcan and Associate Professor Bekir S. Gür, are leading efforts to start debates at universities.

A historic step was taken in Rome last week. The first seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum was held on Nov. 4-6 at the Vatican with the participation of about 60 Muslim and Catholic religious leaders and scholars from around the world.

How much can an election reveal the deeper issues dividing a country? Certainly, the 2008 US elections are putting out so much about the vices and virtues of American society that a close examination of certain trends and discourses over the last three months can save you years of arduous study at a serious academic institution.

A new Pew report has brought alarming news: Anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes are on the rise in Europe. While the negative view of Muslims is higher than that of Jews, there is an interesting correlation between the two.

Writing forty years ago in the "Journal of Contemporary History" Andrew Mango, the prominent British historian of modern Turkey, noted Turkey's potential new role in the Middle East as a "middle-power." He observed that "Turkey is socially and technologically the most advanced country of the Muslim Middle East.

As I write these words in the garden of the Cordoba Mosque in Spain, the centuries-old memory of Andalusia goes through my mind. Andalusia was the scene of the remarkable experience that medieval Spanish scholars called “convivencia,” or coexistence. Embracing diversity as a constructive challenge of fulfillment was the hallmark of Islamic Spain and the Andalusian culture embodied this spirit in the widest sense of the term.

According to the US News & World Report (Sept. 27), President Bush uses the words “Islamic terrorist” with a clear agenda: the words “extremism,” “radical” and “Muslim” do not have the same dramatic tone as “Islamist terrorist.” The report says that while Bush has lightened up on using the word “Islamic” before terrorists, the advisers said in the background that the word should always be used because Americans believe that “Islamists” are those who act on terrorist threats. Words to avoid are “Muslim,” “extremist” and “radicals.”

According to Louise Arbour, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, bigotry and prejudice against Muslims is increasing in Europe. Arbour made a call to all governments to take action against racism and discrimination towards Muslim communities. Arbour’s remarks are based on a recent study by Doudou Diene of Senegal.

Nikolas Sarkozy, cumhurbaşkanlığı adaylığı açıklandıktan sonraki ilk demecinde “Türkiye’nin Avrupa Birliği’nde yeri yoktur” diyerek son yıllarda yükselen kültürcü söylemi ne kadar içselleştirdiğini bir kez daha göstermiş oldu. Avrupa’da, Türkiye’nin üyeliğine kuşku ile bakanlar veya tamamen karşı çıkanların öne sürdüğü itiraz nedenlerine bakıldığında karşımıza bazı korkular, önyargılar ve tehdit algılarının çıktığını görüyoruz. Türkiye’nin AB üyeliğine karşı kamuoyu oluşturmaya çalışanların her platformda dile getirdiği noktalar arasında Türkiye'nin nüfus büyüklüğü, hızlı nüfus artışı, genç nüfusun oransal yüksekliği, işsizlik, geleneksel ve kültürel kimlik farklılıkları ve Müslümanlık faktörü, Türkiye’nin Batı uygarlığının bir üyesi olmadığı ve karar alma mekanizmalarında sivil olmayan çevrelerin etkinlikleri gibi konuları saymak mümkün

In no period of recorded history have human beings known about different cultures as much as we do. Thanks to the pervasive nature of globalization, what happens in Washington, London or France has an immediate impact on what positions are taken in Istanbul, Cairo or Kuala Lumpur. Our global public space is so powerful yet also so elusive that it leads many to believe that more information brings more understanding. Getting to know each other from close up, however, is not always a smooth and easy experience. It may result in some pleasant surprises and enriching experiences. Yet it may also result in disappointment, frustration and mistrust. In the current state of relations between Muslim and Western societies, we are doomed when we refuse to recognize each other in one way or another. Yet, we also run up against tremendous difficulties when we show the courage and honesty of knowing each other closely for there is too long a history of doubt, mistrust and refusal.

What do Turks in Europe think about the European Union identity? How do they define the EU? How do they see the image of Turkey in Europe? How far do they support Turkey's EU membership? Are they prepared to contribute to Turkey's efforts for full membership? This article will address such questions based on research findings surveying 100 Turkish civil associations in the Netherlands.

Current developments and recent social and cultural transformations under the forces of globalization indicate that the prophecy of traditional secularization thesis seems to have failed to capture the ongoing influence of religion. Proponents of secularization thesis established an unavoidable and casual connection between the beginning of modernity and the decline of traditional forms of religious life. Generally speaking theorists of secularization process argued that religion would lose its influence on social and political life once the society absorbs the values and institutions of modernization. For B. Wilson for example “secularization relates to the diminution in the social significance of religion”. L. Shiner on the other hand, argued that the culmination of secularization would be religionless society.

Many observers fail to see the unique position of Turkey concerning state, society and religion mainly because they concentrate on recent reports in the mass media which usually focus on tensions and fears. Therefore analysis on these issues only touches the surface and fails to grasp the persistent multidimensional modern Turkey. Turkey occupies a unique place among modern nation states. Not only from a geopolitical point of view, but also from cultural and religious points of view. Turkey lies at the crossroads between Eastern and Western interests. The political and cultural identity of modern Turkey emerged under the influence of domestic and external forces that existed in and around Turkey throughout the centuries. Since modern Turkey was established on the remains of the Ottoman Empire, periods of conflict and cooperation between Turkey and other political entities, such as Europe and the Middle East, have led to the development of the modern Turkish state and influenced its move toward modernization.

There is a growing Muslim population in the very heart of Europe, where states are largely secular. Secularized European social life, political culture and the public sphere are all facing an enormous challenge of accommodating a relatively religious Muslim citizens coming from different Muslim countries. Despite settling in Europe and getting socialized here, many Muslims attach great importance to their sacred and religious values, trying to express their demands and identities in the public sphere.

Turks in Germany are no longer transitory gastarbeiter (guest worker) people but de facto settlers in Germany, despite the dominant official political discourse that constantly reiterates that Germany is not a country of immigration. The parameters of this political discourse are based on an ethnocentric interpretation of citizenship and nationhood in Germany, which emphasizes volknation, a cultural nation, and leads to the political exclusion of ethnic minorities.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Today there are increasing numbers of Muslim diasporic communities in Europe. Since 9/11 Islam and Muslim communities were put under the spotlight and public gaze. Although numerous publications hit the bookshelves, a number of ill informed analyses of Islam and approaches to Muslim communities still dominate the popular public opinion in the West. Misperceptions about Islam and Muslims in particular gave rise to the essentialist views of this faith and its followers as fundamentalist, pro-violence, uncompromising and anti-Western. It is time to challenge the monolithic perception of Muslims in Europe and argue that Turkish Muslims constitute a changing diasporic community defying clichés and common stereotypes about Muslims. The Turkish community in Europe is part of the emerging ‘European Islam’ and has its own diversity in the expression of Turkish-Muslim identity.

Awareness of the importance of civil society institutions increased among Turks in Europe after the mid 1980’s. Membership volume of Turkish civil organizations, their areas of activities and relations with other institutions suggest that Turks internalized values of civil society and are increasingly getting integrated in the Dutch society. Interests of Turks in civil society organizations and civil values as well as focus of their political preferences are an indication of social integration. The primary focus of Turks in the Netherlands is political questions in this country rather than Turkey. They are interested in issues such as political participation and representation in their host country since they want to lead a harmonious life with the society in this country.The current study indicates that Holland is at the heart of the activities of Turkish civil organizations. Majority of the organizations in the sample carry out their activities in Holland either on local or national level. This trend is an indication for the efforts and willingness of Turks who would like to integrate in the larger society. Research results also show that Turks don’t want to live in cultural ghettos isolated from rest of the society with walls of discrimination but they want to lead a social life in harmony with the Dutch society far from conflicts but without losing their own identity.