The nation of Turkey is a paradox in the eyes of many who seek a clean break between the West and its associated values and culture and those of the rest of the world. Often considered an example held to demonstrate that Islam and Western Values are not incompatible, Turkey seems to straddle a fine line between being distinctly westernized while remaining rooted thoroughly in the culture and values of the Middle East. Turkey is one of two nations designated by as electoral democracies in the Middle East by Freedom House, along with Israel, yet the majority of the population is Muslim. For many, the current state of Turkish democracy, it’s longstanding membership in NATO, close ties with the West, and the relative cosmopolitanism of cities like Ankara and Istanbul seem to point to a Turkey which is clearly linked to the Western World, or indeed, simply a majority-Muslim portion of it. It would seem a natural outgrowth of such a view as to suggest that Turkish membership in the EU as fitting, given a Turkey being, in this view, a nation linked culturally and historically to Europe and the West. This attitude, however, belies not insubstantial criticism of this idea of a westernized Turkey. While Turkey is considered an electoral democracy that does have regular free and fair elections, it has seen a tumultuous history of military coups, holds laws incompatible with EU standards of human rights, and acts in defiance of international law with the continued occupation of Cyprus. Is Turkey a part of the West, and thus a natural EU member, or something entirely different. It can be effectively concluded that while Turkey is decidedly different from the Middle East as a whole due to its democratic institutions and a relatively westerni...
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...ich, despite having de jure equality, still remains strongly patriarchal. While the Turkish government bans headscarves in government buildings, the majority of women in Turkey continue to wear the headscarf. Domestic abuse is disturbingly common, all comments which help to state that in many respects, beyond a certain western veneer, Turkish society itself is fundamentally at odds with Western norms.
In turning from evaluating whether or not Turkey is Western to whether or not it could be considered as an eventual candidate for EU membership, it is necessary to consider an altogether different set of concerns. Opposition to Turkish admission from other EU member states is not inconsiderable, with large majorities of much of the EU’s electorate opposed to Turkish membership. However, what must be asked is whether or not Turkish membership is a reasonable goal.
The article “My Body Is My Own Business” by Naheed Mustafa is about an Islamic women’s principle that putting on her usual headscarf, or Hijab, actually empowers her as a female, contrary to the popular principle that the hijab represents male oppressiveness. She ex...
In the 16th century, the Mesopotamia had served as an intermediate for trade between Europe, Africa, and Asia. It was also an important supplier on food goods on foreign trade, especially silk and cotton. Other than the Ottoman Empire who had control over it, they also had there competitive rivals, the Persian Safavids who also had control over it. The Persians Muslim faith clashed with the Ottoman’s devotion to Sunnism. Both groups had fought economically for the control over the western trade routes to the East. The Ottomans had captured Europe’s largest city, Constantinople, in May 1453. After it was captured, the Ottoman’s had renamed it Istanbul, as it became the city capital of The Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.
The relation ship between America and Turkey has improved from 1947. In this relation the geopolitical position of Turkey plays a big role.
...itly the Christian Orthodox and Jews, which were the largest minority groups from Turkey. In addition, according to nationalist elites, these minorities were assimilable thus, were not capable of becoming part of the Turkish nation. Also, they stated that, the Non-Muslim minorities, mainly the Greek, were not composed of loyal citizens but possible traitors to the Turkish state (Guven 2006). Adnan Menderes believed that was national and extremely important responsibility of every Turk to implement the Turkification, in an attempt to establish an independent Turkish state. A corollary of this concept was the effort of assimilation of the Greek minority by force, exercising a policy of discrimination and restrictions against it. In this context, the language, culture and desires of Non-Muslim minorities had to be connected with the history and dignity of Turks.
Islam has been a dominant force throughout Turkish history. During the Ottoman Empire, Islam ruled every part of the theocratic state, but after the demise of the empire, Turkey's rulers led the country away from political Islam. The modern Turkish state has a strictly secular government, and Islam has been relegated to the personal sphere. Although Turkey has experienced a rise in fundamentalism in the past twenty years, the separation of church and state has remained relatively intact. Even with this increase of fundamentalist Islam, the wide majority of Muslims in Turkey are moderate and tolerant. They have adapted to modern life and value Islam for its moral and spiritual messages. Islam is a guide for right living and ethical conduct rather than a political system. Turkey constantly struggles to balance Islamic life with a secular government. Although the government wants to maintain a strict separation between religion and politics, it cannot ignore the power and influence that Islam has in the lives of the Turkish people.
The values she has are echoed by the political revolution of Turkey from a religious state to a secular state. However, when she visits modern, religious, Turkey her values are not exemplified in the foreign culture. Batuman rejects not only the practices but also the values of Islam, “And, because he said them in the name of Islam, I couldn’t forgive Islam, either” (5). Batuman’s own values of female autonomy and respect clash with those of Islam. She is constantly reminded of these values while in Istanbul, from both the government and her taxi drivers. The religious practices of Turkey clash with the secular practices her parents taught her, so she immediately disagrees with the values of the Turkish people. Batuman’s time in Urfa is full of awkward conversations and stares. When she speaks English other women stare, the fact she is alone in her hotel is crazy to the hotel staff, and ordering food was a chore. One day, Batuman forgets that she is wearing the headscarf as she walks back to her hotel. The change in behavior was instant, women would acknowledge her with a smile, men were far more polite, and in general “people were so much nicer” (7). Batuman experiences the benefits of Islamic values while not actually practicing the culture. She at first considers what the problem would be if she wore it constantly while in Urfa, just to remove the discomfort that she causes by not doing so.
Clashes between Christianity and Islam have taken place since Islam’s inception. The most recent clash is the one happening now between Western Europeans and the Muslim immigrants who began arriving in the 1960s and now make up 4 to 5% of the total population. Islam is regarded as the fastest growing religion in Europe, through the immigrations and high birth rates causing to a rapid increase in Muslim population in Europe, which will make Islam be the domineering power in the future. The recent research indicates that there are more than 53 million Muslim in Europe, 14 million of them in the European union. According to the German evangelical news agency IDEA, the number of Muslims in Europe has risen by 800.000 over the last two years (Polzer). On the other hand, the birth rates in Europeans are decreasing. Pipes states that original Europeans become extinct because in order to sustain the population in Europe each woman should bear 2.1 children. The overall rate is only 1.5 that is also falling in the European Union (262). Today Europeans still have the upper hand, and therefore many of them continue to believe that multiculturalism and their immigration policy will eventually produce an integrated society in spite of the social unrest in Europe resulting from integration problems of Muslim immigrants. These Europeans insist that dialogue will solve all problems; in that sense they suffer from what Ayaan Hirsi Ali calls the “fanaticism of reason” (78), and they tend to fall into the appeasement camp. Muslim strategists such as Yusuf Al Qaradawi recognize that Islamists can achieve a great deal by pretending to cooperate with reasonable Europeans (Vidino 38), and that his organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, can take advantage...
The Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its power in the 1500s. While other empires were experiencing their downfalls, the Ottoman Empire’s power seemed to be increasing. In fact, this empire can be ranked as the strongest power due to its tactical internal organization of power, minorities, and religion, due to its physical expansion which provided more resources, more advancements, and more people to support the empire, and due to its large military strength that provided security, reduced rebellion, and challenged the other powers.
...olutionist reforms proved permanent, and gave Turkey domestic peace and a measure of prosperity even in his lifetime. But Kemalism has also left Turkey with a divided identity - Europeanised but not quite European, alienated from the Islamic world but still a Muslim country.
Print. The. "Society and Norms-Gender Roles: Women." Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web.
Gradually, despite their many internal differences, the countries of Western Europe began to conceive of themselves as a single civilization, known as the West (Hall and Gieben 1992:289). The challenge from Islam was an important factor in shaping Europe and developing the idea of the West. Europe’s cultural identity was originally characterized by religion and civilisation, eventually, Europe developed a sharper geographical, political and economic definition; closer to the modern secular concept of the West (Hall and Gieb...
Europe has a history of war and conflict that predates living memory and the idea of a united Europe is something that appears repeatedly in that history. Hitler, Napoleon, and the many Roman Emperors all sought a united Europe. Their quests although in many ways motivated by a horrifying desire for power sparked the minds of philosophers and other political thinkers to imagine Europe united in harmony and peace despite national differences. Today we have the European Union which is quite unique. After the horrors, bloodshed, and economic disaster of the twentieth century, in a desire for peace and harmony and economic and political prosperity twenty-seven states have limited their national sovereignty.2 With national interests and ambition still in mind these countries see the European Union and supranational governance and the benefits of peace and prosperity therein as something worthwhile. However, in the history of European integration there has been much conflict and Euroskepticism. Some see unity in diversity and diversity in unity as impossible, and the existence of differentiation in the EU as highly problematic. However, differentiation in the European Union’s integration process is not the hindrance it is often defined as, rather it creates further cooperation in Europe bringing the European Union closer to its objectives of peace, and economic and political growth, resulting in a more effective and efficient bureaucracy. Differentiation in the EU’s integration process has created more successful integration as it allows the nations who wish t...
Turkey’s economy has weathered some spectacular pratfalls in the past, with a major economic crisis in 2001 almost bringing the country to its knees. What’s different in 2004 from the previous "recoveries" is how committed Turkey is to establishing firm economic footing once and for all. The government is swallowing the International Monetary Fund’s painful economic medicine, making tough choices for fiscal discipline.
Istanbul is both an ancient and modern city that is full of culture dating back to the beginning of time. It’s a city that is unique, in that, it connects both Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the most crowded one too. There are approximately more than fourteen million people living in Istanbul alone. That is more than its capital city of Ankara. Istanbul is not just a metropolitan, or one of the most crowded cities, and it’s also an ancient and historical city.