The Turkish migrant experience in the Czech Republic

What is it about?

Migration is a relatively new phenomenon in the Czech Republic and has created a lot of public anxiety, especially towards Muslims. This paper focuses on the position of the Turkish migrants, the second largest Muslim community in the Czech Republic. Using data from the Czech Statistical Office and from a questionnaire survey, it investigates how the Turkish community’s assesses its adaptation to the Czech environment and within the wider Turkish diaspora policy. We argue that that the non-transparent Czech immigration policy and Czech Islamophobia are potential factors influencing the adaptation process of the Turkish community, which might affect their decision to remain in the country.

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Photo by bruno neurath-wilson on Unsplash

Photo by bruno neurath-wilson on Unsplash

Why is it important?

I While the European public opinion is rather negative about current Turkey, Turkish communities can now be found in all EU countries, including Central Europe. The Turkish diaspora policy and transnational connections between Turks are often seen as obstacles to their successful integration into the host societies and they are called the fifth column or Trojan horse. t is a unique survey of the Turkish diaspora in a country, which has recently become a destination country for Turkish migrants.