Secular South Asia

[birgit kellner]

"Aditya, the Hindu Skeptic" wrote:
>
> It is very wishful thinking to assume that any one in India will be
> interested in Turkish experiment. Even the Europeans do not support the
> secularism in Turkey at the behest of Greece and did not let Turkey join
> EU even though it is a member of NATO.
>
I certainly do not wish to enter a discussion about EU policy on this
list, and hope that noone else does, but I nonetheless believe that it
is necessary to add a severe caveat to this statement. Suggesting that
Turkey's non-admission to the EU is somehow *caused* by Turkey's
secularism is indicative of a lack of knowledge not only of EU politics
but also, and more so, of what has happened to Turkey's secularism over
the past years (or decades).
(Any follow-ups via private e-mail please)

Regards,

--
Birgit Kellner
Institut fuer Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde / Universitaet Wien
Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies / Vienna University