"Turkish Islam" Report for EU

The WRR is an independent think tank that carries great influence in Dutch policymaking circles. The fact that Turkey is a country in which Muslims form the majority of the population does not pose a hindrance to its EU accession, the WRR report argues.

According to the report, the principle of a secular, law-based democratic state is firmly rooted in Turkey. ‘The Turkish state is constitutionally protected against religious influences,’ says the report. ‘In this respect, Turkey’s separation of religion and state is no less rigorous than that of France, whose so-called laicism [secularism] provided a model for the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey. Unlike France, however, Turkey has [a] system of strong state control and influence on the contents of religion.’

The report also added that the WRR did not believe that gradually reducing the Turkish army’s influence over civilian politics, which was demanded by the EU itself as a precondition for further democratization, would mean that Turkish Islam would lose its generally moderate character or endanger the secular democratic state.

Seeking to ease the concerns of the Dutch nation over Turkey’s possible EU membership, the report stressed that even the ruling Islam-oriented Justice and Development Party (AKP) accepts the separation between Turkish Islam and politics. ‘An overwhelming majority of the population firmly rejects fundamentalism and religious intolerance, preferring moderate parties instead,’ the report states. ‘The majority of the Turkish people also supports the secular character of the state and reject the introduction of Islamic law. Moreover, violent Islamic fundamentalism does not attract many followers in Turkey.’

The report is soon to be published in Dutch, and its English version is expected be officially released in September. If you’d like to learn more about it, visit the WRR website at http://www.wrr.nl .”