Turkey and Europe's Problem with Radical Islam

"Turkey and Europe's Problem with Radical Islam

By Soner Cagaptay, Duden Yegenoglu, and Ekim Alptekin
November 2, 2005

Turkey opened accession talks with the European Union (EU) on October 3. In the aftermath of the March 2004 Madrid bombings, the November 2004 murder of film director Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam, and the July 2005 London bombings, all committed by radical Islamists, some people in Europe wonder whether Islam is compatible with European values and, accordingly, whether letting the predominantly Muslim Turkey join the EU is a good idea. Will Turkey�s EU accession compound Europe�s problem with radical Islam, or is Turkey�s version of Islam a panacea for Europe�s Islamist problem?"