Modernisation envers secularisme ? La transformation de la Turquie ante portas
Modernisation envers secularisme ? La transformation de la Turquie ante portas

Summary/Abstract: Turkey adopted from its very beginning an original project of modernity seen an alternative both to Westernization and Islam. It seems that this “third way” does not help enough in order to achieve the democratic standards of a European country. This paper analyses not all Turkey modernity aspects, but only secularism, mainly because this was considered for a long time the most successful one. In order to see what is right now the meaning of secularism in Turkey, this paper address the historical background of political parties in Turkey, starting with Refah Party and ending with the latest developments of AK Party of the current Prime Minister Erdoğan. This paper discuss also many issues related to the role of religion in society, either Islam (“the muslim veil” interpreted by ECHR in Leyla Sahin v. Turkey – 2005, the Alevi community, Imam Hatip schools), or Christian (the new 2008 legal framework on associations acknowledging the right of property of the religious associations, mainly Christian, the ECHR decision on Ecumenical Patriarchate v. Turkey – 2008, the status of the Theological School of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from the island of Halki). The question of Turkey belonging to the European Union is addressed in this paper also from the perspective of different types of Europe borders – geographical, institutional, cultural and transactional (formal). No matter the type of border considered, Turkey is still a problematic case. Turkey’ European aspirations accelerated the debate on what is and what should be the European Union: a construction based on Western civilization and Christianity or a polity based on democratic values without reference to history or even geography. The paper conclusion is that is in the very interest of the European Union to accept Turkey and it has to act in such a way that at a certain moment Turkey will transform itself into a country with a similar approach to religious freedom as all other existing Member States.

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