Turkey and Democracy in the Muslim World

THE RECENT results in the Turkish parliamentary elections serve as an important reminder that, contrary to the stereotype of the incompatibility between Islam and democracy, the two can coexist and are indeed compatible. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which also formed the last Turkish gov...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman
Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Format: Commentary
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82549
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40172
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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Summary:THE RECENT results in the Turkish parliamentary elections serve as an important reminder that, contrary to the stereotype of the incompatibility between Islam and democracy, the two can coexist and are indeed compatible. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which also formed the last Turkish government, had increased its electoral support from 34% in 2002 to 47% in the July 22 elections. Western liberal stereotypes portray the picture of modern liberal principles and Islamic politics not being able to co-exist, strengthened by the experiences of undemocratic Islamist regimes in Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan. This portrayal may have become obsolete in light of the recent developments in Turkey.