As the electorate goes to the polls for a critical repeat election on Nov. 1, Turkey is longing for the virtuous circle of political and economic stability it became used to between 2002 and 2015.

The U.S. and Russia, two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have been caught fighting a proxy war in Syria on the pretext of fighting international terrorism.

During a visit to the United States that preceded President Barack Obama's visit to Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, chief advisor to Turkey's prime minister, stated that "Our approach and principles are almost the same, very similar to the US on issues such as the Middle East, Caucasus, Balkans and energy security.

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.

The decision by the Turkish Constitutional Court to reject the closure case against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) opens a new chapter in the history of Turkish democracy.

There is much talk about political Islam and its future these days. The ascendancy of political movements with clear Islamic agendas is being watched closely from Egypt and Lebanon to North Africa.

German philosopher Jurgen Habermas is among the few prominent Western thinkers who still believe in the promise of the Enlightenment.

The decision by the Turkish Constitutional Court on June 5 to annul the amendments of Articles 10 and 42 was a turning point in the country's legal and political history.

In the parliamentary elections of July 22, 2007, AKP (Justice and Development Party) won 47% of the votes, obtaining a very strong mandate to take issue with Turkey’s outstanding problems. In the predominantly Kurdish east and southeast region, the AKP doubled its vote from 26% to 53%. The AKP seemed to have persuaded the Kurds thanks to the party’s earlier moves to solve the Kurdish problem by granting more rights and freedoms as well as jobs and economic prosperity. Having started the negotiation process with the EU and obtaining such a strong mandate from the Kurdish voters, why did the AKP turn its back to the Kurdish issue?  This can be explained with reference to three groups of factors working at the domestic, the EU and international levels.

Sharing power is never easy. Politics thrives on accumulating more power. Empires are built around it. You can defeat your opponents by stick or by carrot, but either way you need power.

This is a question you get all the time when the conversation turns to Islam and the Muslim world. And it is usually followed by another set of questions: What do Muslims think about terrorist attacks? Do they really believe in democracy and human rights? Are women treated equally in Muslim societies? Can Muslims live in peace with other religions and cultures?

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.

In one of his farewell speeches the outgoing Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer reiterated his belief that the regime in Turkey is in danger. He thinks that if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan becomes president the secular principles of the republic will be jeopardized. President Sezer is not alone in this.

We’re only five weeks away from April 16, when the candidates for the new president of Turkey will be announced. According to the rules, the new president has to be elected within 10 days of April 16. While the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continues to keep silent on its name(s), the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is moving ahead under the assumption that Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have himself elected president.

The debate over Islam and democracy continues to gain momentum. As the state of democracy in Muslim countries has become a global debate, scores of people from academics, journalists and TV commentators to policy makers and NGOs are discussing the relationship between Islam and democratic values. Numerous meetings, panels, conferences, workshops are held to assess the state of democracy, civil society and human rights in the Muslim world

“Russia is the most reliable partner of the Islamic world and the most faithful defender of its interests,” Russian President Viladimir Putin said in 2005 in Chechnya’s capital of Grozny. Putin made this statement in the first session of the local parliament in Grozny. Given the place and its brutal history, what the Russian president has said is seriously ironic. But the story does not stop here.Russia’s desire to straighten its record with the Muslim world has gained visible momentum in the last few years. In 2005, Russia was granted observer status at the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the largest international organization in the Islamic world, representing 57 Muslim countries.