To early to conclude anything about Turkish economy

Submitted by Prashant (United States), May 9, 2012 at 07:34

Dear Dr Pipes:

Reader Mo from the UK claims that Turkish 'Islamic' economy is booming. Mo is wrong on two counts. First, Turkish economy is not entirely Islamic. Turkey might have incorporated some token elements of Islamic finance but for the most part Turkey has tried to copy the western economic model (including a desparate bid to join the EU a few years back). Second, even if Turkey's economy is booming in the last few years, the time period is not long enough to make a conclusive claim. My guess is that by the time Turkey gets fully Islamic, the growth rate will reduce, education will suffer, murders will start, women's status will decline, and other "perks" (e.g. fratricidal killings) that we often see in Islamic theocracies will start appearing in the Turkish political life.

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