TDrkiye'de 6zellikle 1980'/i ylflarda daha fazla giindeme gelen ve 1990'11 y11/ardada doruklara 91kan din-devlet-siyaset ili~kileri ve siyasal islam tart1~matan daha belirli bir sure iilkenin giindeminde kalacaga benzemektedir. Acaba toplumun kimler tarafmdan y6netilecegi, y6neticilerin me~ruiyeti ve me~ruiyet kaynag1 a91smdan naslf bir geli~im 9izgisi olu~mu~tur? Bu geli~im 9izgisi i9inde din-devlet ili~kileri naslf bi9imlenmi~tir? Laikligin dogu~u ve evrimi, sivil toplumun gii9fenmesi, 9agda$ demokrasilerin boyvermesi naslf bir rota 9izegelmi~tir? H1ristiyanlik dini laiklikle uyum i9inde midir? Avrupa Birligi, H1ristiyan/ik kiiltiirii iizerine kurulmu~ dini kiiltiirle temellenen bir "H1ristiyan Kuliibii" miidiir, yoksa 9agda~ top/urn ve 9agda$ demokrasilerle donanm1~ ve kiireselle$mi$ gii91ii bir ekonomik ve siyasal birlik midir? islamiyet laiklige kapa/1 bir din midir? is!amiyet-devlet ve laiklik, miisliiman birey ve laiklik a91smdan islam dini naslf yorumlanabilir? Din bir ideoloji midir? Dinin bir ideoloji haline getirilmesi ve siyasife$tiri!mesi ne tiir geli~meler ve sonu9far dogurur? Laikligi 9e~itli a9J!ardan naslf anlamak gerekir? Bu ve benzeri sorular, mutlaka sorutmas1 ve yamtlanmas1 gerekli alan soru/ardlr. Hemen belirtelim ki, istamiyet de en az H1ristiyanlik kadar, hatta ondan da ileri olarak laiklik ve 9agda~ demokrasi!erle bagda~abilir. islam dinine mensup alan toplumlar da laik ve demokratik devlet kurabilirler. Miisliiman bir birey de din ve vicdan 6zgiirliigiinun bir sonucu olarak laik olabilir. Avrupa Birligi, H1ristiyan dininin esaslan iizerine kurulmu; bir birlik degildir. Tersine, ak1! ve bilim eksenine oturmu$, laik!ikle dinsel 9af1$ma ve bagnaz!Jklan af?mJf?, sekularizmle bireyi ve sivil toplumu otu;turmay1 ba;arml$, 9agda$ bir bir!iktir. istamiyet'in laiklikle ve 9agda;likla bagda$mayacagtm s6ylemek bizzat islam dininin kendisine iftiradtr. Dinin ideolojife$firilmesi ve siyasife$mesi ise bizzat dine, kutsal olana zarar vermek demektir. Sonur; olarak, TDrkiye ar;tstndan islamiyet'in Avrupa Birligi'ne girmesine engel ofu$- turdugu tezi, bir k6W niyet fa$tmtyorsa, cahillikten ba$ka bir $ey degildir

The discussions on political Islam and on the relations between state, religion and politics which have appeared on the agenda of Turkey more often in the 1980's and have reached a peak in the 1990's seem likely to remain on the agenda of the country for a certain period of time. What kind of trend has developed with regard to the legitimacy of political leaders, the source of their legitimacy and to the question "who will govern society?" How were the relations between the state and the religion shaped in this trend? Within what kind of framework were the birth and evolution of laicism, the development of civil society and modern democracy realized? Is Chris- tianity in harmony with laicism? Is the European Union a "Christians' Clubn based on religious culture; or is it a powerful economic and political union globalized and en- dowed with modern societies and democracies? Is Islam a religion which is im- compatible with laicism? Is religion an ideology? What kind of consequences will there be if religion is politicised and turned into an ideology? How must laicism be conceived from different points of view? These questions and similar ones must inevitably be asked and answered. It must be stated at the outset that Islam is at least as compatible with laicism and modern democracies as is Chritianity. Societies consisting of Moslems can establish secular and democratic states as well. Besides, a Moslem may be secular as a con- sequence of freedom of religion and conscience. The European Union is not a union based on Christianity. On the contrary, it is a modern union which is based on logic and science, which overcame religious conflicts and fanaticism and which achieved the creation of civil society and the secular individual. If one claims that Islam is in- compatible with laicism and modernity, he will have slandered Islam. Politicising the religion and turning it into an ideology will be to the detriment of religion. Consequently, the claim that Islam constitutes an obstacle against Turkish accession to the Eu- ropean Union is due to ignorance, if not due to bad intentions.