Sharia probably won't be incorporated into Turkish and Azerbaijani law, experts believe

According to an article headlined "World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society" published by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the majority of Muslims believe that Sharia law should be a part of the legal system.

The number of those who support the idea is the lowest in the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, including Turkey and Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan only 8 percent support the idea of incorporating sacred law into the legal system.

The head of the South Caucasus political analysis club, Ilgar Velizade, believes that even this figure is exaggerated. "Azerbaijan is a secular state and the idea of incorporation of Sharia into the law is widely unpopular here," he says.

In Turkey the figure is 12 percent. Associate Professor of the Ankara University of Economics and Technologies Togrul Ismail believes the figure is quite adequate. "12 percent is a normal figure. It's not too much. Only 10-15 percent of the Turkish people can be called radical Islamists," he says.

He also stressed that the Turkish version of Islam has always been much more secular than that in Saudi Arabia or Qatar.