The structural challenges to neoliberalism are weakening global growth, the power shift from the West to the rest and climate change.

The austerity program imposed on Greece as a solution to its deep economic crisis has transformed into a threat to the entire eurozone.

EIR will be authored by leading experts in the field of Islamophobia Studies and/or NGO-activists committed to the documentation of racism in respective nation states.

The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent member elections took place last week and the results of these elections fostered many debates and discussions.

In contrast to the weaker European economies, neighboring Turkey has managed to recover fast and exhibit positive signs that the economy is moving towards more sustainable growth rates while dealing with domestic vulnerabilities.

Europe—which shaped the world during the colonial period and created a dominant discourse for military, economy and politics—is today fighting for its very survival.

Syria, which is the most wounding issue we face today, has turned into yet another test for the global platforms.

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.

SETA CONFERNCE By  Eduard Soler and Fadela Hilali  The CIDOB Foundation Mediterranean Programme Date: January 22, 2009 Thursday  Time: 10.00 – 12.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

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.

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.

For those who are serious about the United Nations Alliance of Civilization initiative chaired by the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain, I have a suggestion: Give a new start to the initiative by lifting the sanctions on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). This will send a powerful message to the Turkish people as well as other Muslim countries that the Europeans and Americans are serious about improving their relations with the Islamic world. Last week, the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICFY) held its first international advisory board meeting in Kyrene/Girne, northern Cyprus. The theme of the meeting was “Youth for the Alliance of Civilizations.” The meeting was opened by a keynote address by Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Turgay Avci, who emphasized the significance of the fact that such a meeting was taking place in northern Cyprus. He also reiterated the Turkish Cypriot people’s will to help create a united island and integrate with the rest of the world.  

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.    

The picture was clear and symbolic: on the EU’s 50th birthday German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented as a gift to French President Jacques Chirac a cup with a depiction of Napoleon’s invasion of Alexandria in 1798. Never mind that Turkey, as a candidate country, has not been invited to the party. Never mind either the fact that the current EU president, Merkel, has nothing to hide in her opposition to EU’s membership.

A recent poll has once more proven Samuel Huntington wrong. A growing number of people across the globe don’t believe that a clash between Islam and the West is inevitable.

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.