– Are the EU and Euro on the Ropes?

Rejecting Turkey's EU entry bid will send Muslims the wrong message
The Daily Star

For over 40 years, Turkey has been politely knocking on Europe's door asking to be let in. And since Turkey became an associate member of the European Union in 1963, there have been moments of optimism in which it seemed that the start of membership talks was right around the corner.
 

Once again, we have reached a crossroads in which Europeans will decide how to proceed. In the coming weeks, the EU Council will decide whether to add to the already lengthy list of conditions to Turkey's membership that were agreed upon on December 17 last year. Adding more obstacles to Turkey's path to membership would be a sad mistake, as it would be tantamount to Europe turning its back on an opportunity to lead the world out of its dangerous clash-of-civilizations logic.

Thwarting Turkey's ambitions - especially the ambitions of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic party - amounts to redrawing the lines of cultural conflict at Turkey's borders. Such a rejection would undoubtedly resonate throughout the Islamic world and would be perceived by most Muslims as a rejection of their religion and culture. The consequences of such a perception would only serve to further polarize an already divided globe.

The Muslim world and Europe have a long history of cultural conflict dating back over 1,000 years to the Arab invasions in Spain, and there is a backlog of negative images in both civilizations. But this centuries-old mentality has no place in the new European Union, which has changed dramatically from the EU of 10 years ago. It is time for the Europeans to put this age-old mindset to rest and lead the world to a new era of cultural acceptance and understanding.

Furthermore, an EU decision to go ahead with talks without any further delay or obstruction will go a long way in preserving Turkey's status as a model in the Muslim world. Turkey has made great strides in recent decades, moving from an artificial secularism that was propped up by the army to a genuine democracy. The current government's mix of an openness to reform with an Islamic flavor is a reflection the nature and democratic will of the Turkish people. Turkey's democracy can provide a road map for political modernization to other regimes in the Islamic world.

The fact that the Turkish people overwhelmingly support the idea of EU membership is a reflection of their commitment to the democratic values of Europe. The EU Council has a rare opportunity to acknowledge this when they decide how to proceed with talks on Turkey's membership. We hope that they will not try to further stall the negotiations. After all, a new global logic based on communication and understanding is absolutely essential, and it costs very little in terms of commitment to keep on talking.