Turkey as an Asset

"The size, demography, economy, geography, but most of all the culture of the country are all regarded as a burden by many in the EU. From France to Slovakia, from Austria to Poland, people fear that Turkey may "Islamize" Christian Europe. Many believe that hoards of Turkish workers will flood "Europe" and "steal" jobs from the indigenous Europeans.

Most of these concerns are unjustified and far from the reality, but they need to be addressed."

"Needless to say, Turkey is not yet a haven of human rights. There are still areas in urgent need of rectification."

". . . in terms of identity the majority refer to themselves primarily as Turks and only secondarily as Muslims.

By a large margin, Turkish Muslims strongly reject fundamentalism and religious intolerance. They are representatives of a moderate Islam highly tolerant of other religions."

Highly tolerant is debatable, but maybe more tolerant than other Muslim countries is a better way to put it.



EUobserver.com