American Journal of Islam and Society (Jul 2001)
Eighteenth Annual Conference of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies (ACSIS)
Abstract
The American Cowicil for the study of Islamic Societies (ACSIS) held its 18th Annual Conference April 27-28, 2001 at Villanova University, Pennsylvania. ACSIS was established in 1983 to bring together scholars engaged in the study of Islamic Societies and states around the world from religious, cultural, economic and political perspectives. ACSIS also has a strong focus on Pakistan Studies. The program director, Dr. Hafeez Malik must be congratulated for consistency with which ACSIS continues to meet and produce its publication The Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. In a small symposium with a total of seven panels and some 20 speakers (except the absentees), panel areas covered ranged from Turkey and the West to Muslims in Tibet and China, while the subjects were as diverse as foreign policy, media studies and pluralism. The first panel began with the discussion of Turkey's role in the European Union (EU). Augusta State University's Michael Bishku's presented "Destination European Union? The Politics and Economics of Turkey's Case for Admission" The paper put the conference to a good start because the following two papers by James Sowerwine and John Vander Lippe dealt with topic directly related to Turkey's admission into European Union. Respectively, these papers were "The Role of Turkey in European Security" and "Turkish-American Relations". Bishku pointed out at the unevenness and asymmetrical relationship that characterized the Turkey-EU relations. EU's integration itself is not entirely a democratic exercise but a product of European search for enduring security, a quasi-Utopian dream of European integration ideologues and a generation of technocratic elite who want Europe unified. Similarly, the earlier Turkish elite wanted to enter EU for the reasons of changing identity, economic or civilizational, whereas the society at that time was still traditional and felt a deeper bond with the Muslim world than secular Europe. However, the current Turkish drive for membership in EU comes surprisingly not from the secular elite but the very Islamic sectors of society; while the elite wants to hold on to the Kemalist power apparatus, the society wants to democratize and join the EU, because by doing so, the state will no longer be able to pursue its Machiavellian tactics on its citizens, as it would have to abide by, in substance, to the Human Rights ...