Moderate Islam and secularist opposition in Turkey : implications for the world, Muslims and secular democracy
Date
2007
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Publisher
Routledge, London, GB
Abstract
This article analyses how government by a party rooted in moderate Islamism may affect Turkey’s peculiar secular democracy, development, and external relations, and how Muslims in the world relate to modernization and democracy. Arguing that secularism in advanced democracies may be a product of democracy as much as it is the other way around, the article maintains that democratic consolidation may secure further consolidation of Turkish secularism and sustainable moderation of Turkish political Islam. Democratic consolidation requires strong democratic/secularist political parties so that secularist and moderate Islamist civilian actors check and balance each other.
Description
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Journal Article (peer-reviewed)
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Keywords
MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY, ISLAM, SECULARISM, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRATIZATION, RELIGIOUS BEHAVIOUR, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, POLITICAL PARTIES, RELIGIOUS GROUPS, ISLAMIC CULTURE, PLURALISM, POLITICAL SYSTEMS, PUBLIC OPINION