TUSIAD-US collaborated for the first time with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation to host an expert roundtable meeting entitled “The Rise of Islamism among Turkish Immigrants as a Response to Social Marginalization: The Cases of Germany and the Netherlands” on April 24, 2008.  Gonul Tol, a PhD. Candidate at Florida International University, compared the policies of integration used in both European countries and underscored the relationship of these policies to the level of extremism found among Muslims who are members of the Turkish religious and political group Milli Gorus.  Her conclusion, based upon data collected through surveys and participant observation between the years 2004-2007, posited that the Milli Gorus movement in Germany has taken a more radical direction than its counterpart in the Netherlands because of stricter policies that make it more difficult for the full integration of Turkish immigrants into German society. 

Commentators Cordula Meyer of DER SPIEGEL and Omer Taspinar of the Brookings Institution offered a variety of insights into the nature of Milli Gorus in Germany and the problems facing the Turkish and other Muslim immigrant communities in these countries.  Each, in turn, also commented upon the importance of maintaining a balanced perspective and avoiding the danger of an alarmist approach towards the challenges of Muslim integration into European societies while observing the situation from the United States.  TUSIAD-US President Abdullah Akyuz made opening comments, and Friedrich Ebert Foundation Director Almut Wiemer-Karimi moderated the event.

 Please Click Here to View a Transcript of Gonul Tol's Presentation