New Muslim Pluralism and Secular Democracy in Turkey and the Eu

In this chapter, we aim to put forward and discuss two broad arguments. First, the questions of “new Muslim pluralism”—to be described shortly—in EU countries and Turkey are analytically and politically inter- related in important ways and viewing them as such may help to better address these questions. Second, in both cases, the better way to address this new pluralism seems to be social and political inclusion rooted in the merits of secular and pluralistic democracies with well-developed checks and balances. It is not social and political exclusion rooted in the twin preconceptions that Islam is essentially different from other religions and Islamism is a monolithic and unchanging ideology. Thus, both political institutions and social and political perceptions seem to matter greatly in addressing these questions democratically.