EU-Beitrittsprozess und Säkularismus in der Türkei
Turkey’s EU Accession Process and the Question of Secularism

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to address a major aspect of Turkey’s democratisation process, the debate on the liberalisation of Turkey’s secularism, and explore the shift of opinions on this issue within Turkish political Islam. Special attention is given to two key aspects of the question, the headscarf issue and the status of the Directorate of Religious Affairs. It is argued that a liberalisation of Turkish secularism is of major significance for Turkey’s democratic consolidation. Besides, the shift from an Islamist to a liberal critique of republican Turkish secularism by Turkey’s moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi-AKP) was an optimistic signal for the course of democratic consolidation in Turkey, as it pointed at a proliferation of liberal democratic ideals throughout the Turkish political spectrum. European institutions should not be influenced by the rising anti-Islamic sentiment in the West and support Turkey’s moderate political Islam. The reform process in Turkey could succeed more easily, if European institutions proved their commitment to liberal principles, even if they worked for the benefit of Islam.

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