Accusing Islam of the attacks in Paris rather than DAESH, the terrorist organization, with no association whatsoever to the religion itself, will only serve to further spread Islamophobia, not end terrorism.

The summit gave a strong signal to the international audience that Turkey is an indispensable political and economic partner in the world system that continuously stresses peaceful and value-oriented approaches to humanity's common problems.

This tragic incident in Paris once again reminded the world that the threat of terrorism is real and present and we need an international effort to deal with this growing threat.

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.

A few months before his death in October 2004, the famous French philosopher Jacques Derrida called for "deconstructing the European intellectual construction of Islam."

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.

The Religious Challenge As a monotheistic religion, Islam defines itself as the last of the three great Abrahamic faith traditions. The Qur'ân and hadîth (the two canonical sources of Islam) and the later scholarly traditions reveal an acute awareness of Judaism and Christianity.

Islamist groups reflect the realities of their social contexts. While there are underlying political and ideological positions that unite different Islamist groups, their methods, national histories, economic and political circumstances display considerable differences  

Last week, I discussed the three perceptions of threat regarding Islamic political parties and groups: they’re a threat to democracy, they’re a threat to Western interests, and they are violent. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's walkout in the midst of a discussion on Gaza in Davos won him millions of supporters not only in Turkey, but around the world. With his bold position on the Middle East peace process, Erdoğan has the Arab and Muslim streets behind him. 

The 2009 Gaza massacre is not the first incident where Israel has killed, pillaged and destroyed Palestinian lives. In 1982 the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) under Ariel Sharon allowed the killing of more than 2,000 Palestinians in two Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra and Shatila.  

There is a discrepancy and even contradiction between Turkey's foreign policy activism and the polarization of its domestic politics. While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) keeps surprising everyone with its bold and decisive foreign policy moves, it is losing its grip on the domestic pulse.   

This article considers the August 2008 visit to Turkey by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and analyzes relations between Turkey and Iran in general. The tensions and crises that followed the 1979 Iranian Revolution are briefly presented in order to provide a better understanding of the present state of relations. Then we draw a picture of the situation after the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, bringing widespread changes to Turkish foreign policy. We also call attention to Turkey’s changing role in the regional balance of power, and to the significance of that role both in Turkey’s relations with Iran and with the United States.

The closure case against AK Party heralds a new era in Turkish politics marked by the increased intervention of the judiciary in politics. Inasmuch as the governing party enjoys support of half of the Turkish electorate, the case has harmed the image of Turkish democracy and consequently risks jeopardizing Turkey's quest for full membership in the EU