Dr. Nader Hashemi Discusses Secularism, Islam and Democracy in Turkey

On 8 June, the embassy hosted the visit of Dr. Nader Hashemi, a Canadian professor based at the University of Denver who specializes in religion and politics in the Muslim world. During his visit, Dr. Hashemi engaged in a roundtable discussion with Turkish experts on the relationship between secularism, political Islam and liberal democracy in Turkey. He also delivered a public lecture entitled "Where Bernard Lewis Went Wrong: Rethinking Secularism across the Islam-West Divide." The lecture was held at local think tank, the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), and was attended by approximately 50 academics, diplomats, students and journalists. Dr. Hashemi’s comments focussed on issues at the core of political debates in Turkey, particularly the contending views in Muslim societies on the benefits, and limits, of both secularism, and of the role of political Islam in the development of liberal democracy.