European Commission / /
European Economic and Social Committee
PRESS RELEASE No110/2007 14November 2007
Public debate “Discourses on Europe”
to be attended by the President of the European Commission
"Secular modernity" and the increasing presence of Islam in Europe: Prof. Nilüfer Göle in dialogue with publicist Paul Scheffer
Monday, 19 November 2007, 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
JacquesDelorsBuilding, European Economic and Social Committee
99, Rue Belliard, 1040 Brussels, Atrium, 6th floor
“Secular Modernity” is the challenging theme chosen by the distinguished Turkish scholar Prof. Nilüfer Göle who isthe third speaker in the "Discourses on Europe" series. Prof. Göle has been invited by Dimitris Dimitriadis,the President of the European Economic and Social Committee,by“A Soul for Europe” and by EUSTORY, the History Network for Young Europeans.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, will open the subsequent discussion, and Dutch publicist Paul Scheffer will join the debate chaired by the Dutch philosopher, writer, TV journalist and critic Michael Zeeman.
Nilüfer Göleis professor for sociology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Her research topics focus on the themes of Islam and gender definition, the position of women in Islam, the confrontation with modernity and the relationship between public and private spheres in the Islamic world. Given her personal background, she has a strong interest in both the position of Turkey as a secular state coping with Islam, and in the role Muslims claim for their religion in the public sphere in Europe. She is the author of The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling.
According to Prof. Göle, the increasing presence of Islam in the West calls fora new definition of the boundaries between public and private spheres. She is not only interested in the theoretical discourse, but also in the practical implications of those phenomena. The rise of Islam in the West gives rise tonew definitions of liberties often taken for granted. Moreover, it gives rise toa novel discourse on Europe and European identity altogether.
Paul Scheffer is a publicist with the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He has been a correspondent in Paris and Warsaw. His publications include: "A Satisfied Nation" (1988), "The Quest for Eternal Peace (2000), and "The Land of Arrival" (2006).
Prof. Göle’s speech at the Berlin Conference in November 2006, in which she discussed secularism and Islam in Turkey and the EU, as well as the first two Discourses on Europe by Daniel Barenboim (January 2007) and Wim Wenders (May 2007) are available under
For more details on the event, please contact Ms Stephanie Maiwald at the Berliner Konferenzoffice, ; phone: +49 30 2639 229-47, fax: +49 30 2639 229 22,
Kingelhöferstraße 7, 10785 Berlin.
For more details, please contact:
Mr Karel Govaert MrAlexandros the EESC Press Office,
99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels
Phone: +32 2 546 9396/9586; mobile: +32 475 75 32 02
E-mail:
Website:
Supported byMedia Partners
A Soul for Europe is supported by
Overall responsibility for A Soul for Europe