An agreement that included almost all of the terms in the recent deal had been signed among Turkey, Brazil and Iran in 2010.

Obstacles before establishing private schools that are sensitive to private and social diversity in real terms and that offer different education choices should be removed in Turkey. They should even be encouraged!

Although the 19th century was the European century and the 20th century was the American century, it is forecasted that the 21st century will transform into a more global century led by Asia.

In fact, the evidence suggests the contrary and that it is the Muslim democrats in the current government who initiated direct talks with the Kurds, the Alevis and the Roma people in Turkey for the first time in the Republic's history.

The round table underlined the significance of Russia and Iran in the Syrian crisis, while highlighting the inefficiency of regional and international organizations.

After 10 years of service as head of the Labour Party and the prime minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair left office yesterday. He leaves behind a mixed legacy. His unyielding support for Turkey’s EU membership has been crucial for improving relations between Turkey and the UK. But Mr. Blair has also been a staunch ally of the Bush doctrine. How will history remember him?

The migration and settlement of Turks and Muslims in Europe since the 1960s has irrevocably changed the social, cultural, religious and demographic landscape of European societies by transforming them into more ethnically heterogeneous and diverse political communities.

There is a lively debate centered on whether Turkey is undergoing an axis shift, meaning Turkey is drifting away from the Transatlantic system and heading towards the Middle East in the most acclaimed dailies and journals of the Western world.

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 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.

Hours before the Turkey-Germany match in Basel, here is my wildest UEFA finals cup scenario: Turkey beats Germany and Russia beats Spain. Turks and Russians, the two nations the Europeans have historically feared the most, play the final.

This is the question everybody is seeking an answer for. The Bush administration thinks it knows what the power is for and Mr. Bush believes he is putting it to good use in Iraq, Afghanistan, potentially in Iran and elsewhere. But the hard realities of war and what is happening in the real world belie this false sense of confidence.

Everybody from Ankara to Brussels is asking the question “With the Justice and Devlopment Party (AK Party) strengthening its position in government and Abdullah Gül as the new president, will Turkey renew its efforts to join the EU as a full member?” No matter how the AK Party and the Turkish people answer the question, much still depends on what happens next in Europe.

Is Europe big enough for Turkey? A recent opinion poll conducted by Financial Times/Harris says no. This public sentiment is particularly worrying at a time when Turkey is fast approaching the July 22 general elections. The Financial Times/Harris poll was conducted online in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US. According to the results 71 percent of French citizens and 66 percent of Germans oppose Turkey’s full membership of the EU. Such results are not new. The Eurobarometer, another major poll conducted regularly across Europe, has been yielding similar results for the last three years.    

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.

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.