The inherent danger of radical Islam

[Prof. Dr. Mukerrem Hic]

Islam presents a different prospect compared to Christianity. In
Europe, for instance, you cannot find a center-right party trying to
establish or supporting those who want to establish a religious state.
In an Islamic country, this is quite possible.

The reason is that Jesus Christ faced a formidable Roman Empire and
never attempted to organize a religious state. Mohamed, the Islamic
prophet, in contrast, found Arabs organized ineffectively even as
tribes and established a n Islamic state run by religious rules.
Hence, in Europe center right parties naturally never think of
establishing a religious state while in an Islamic country many
Muslims may think that state run by religious rules should be
established, just because Mohamed did so.

This should not mean that Turkey should be denied EU membership
because such an inherent risk exists. If laicism (the separation of
state and religion) is encouraged by outside (the USA, the EU) and
inside (intelligentsia, the army, universities, the free press, etc.)
forces, Turkey will not become a religious state.

The EU and the US are presently doing the exact opposite, encouraging
the religions movement led by AKP and dream a new Middle East Project
which depicts Turkey as permanently “mild Islam” under AKP rule.
The US should take into account the danger that mild Islam can breed
fanatical Islam in the long run and fanatical Islam can only be anti-
West. Similarly, the EU should shed the naive idea that the only
threat to democracy in Turkey is the military and realize that
religious attempts and goals of AKP can pose a graver threat in the
long run, because there is no democracy in a religious state.