Drunk Master said:
I don't say Turks are a threat to secularity in general. I say Turkey in the EU will make the EU less secular.
Turkey's secularity has been protected by the army. Anytime an Islamic party was bound to gain power, the army stepped forward.
Since 2 years, for the first time, the army did not do so (or failed to so, if you insist to regard this from a cynical pov).
Now, Turkey has a chance to prove it will be really secular, without army intervention. I think 10 years to prove is, is enough, and if the succed, I think the secularity issue does not stand in the way of EU-membership.
We have seen the amount of secularity when the Turkish government wanted to make adultery illegal. If they have those kinds of ideas don't expect them to be very positive towards homosexuality.
The main party in Turkey right now is an Islamic party. It's foolish to expect members of such party's to say homosexuality is not a sin or adultery is ok. That just plain naive. But I'm sure you met a lot of Turks who were very secular. Me too.
The main party in our country is a Christian party. All their members, including our current PM, Jan-Peter Balkenende, voted against the gay-marriage law in 2000. How is that about secularity?
Despite the plans of this Turkish party to make adultery illegal, it never happened!
A healthy sign, secularity is guarded by other parties.
Just like the VVD and PvdA can stop the CDA in the Netherlands, whenever they come up with there Christian stuff here.
Did you know the CSU in Bavaria tried to put 'rape inside marriage' outside the common German sexual criminal laws in Germany? How is that about secularity?
The Turkish Islamic party, is just as moderate (yet still backward imho) as the European Christian parties.
