Islam is a religion just like the other abrahamitic ones, with an old book that's sort of surprising when read (I'm reading bible and am at Numbers atm, many gross things up until now, many awaiting), and some traditions around that. Embracing a muslim country would help weaken the extremist ones and inforce the more secular, peaceful, civil ones, (which are the majority in Turkey), as the former is mostly fed by what's projected as the hostility of west and incompatibility of 'their' civilisation with islam. Turkey has one of the strongest secular muslim communities (despite the later fundamentalists, who are always louder than the sane), and is a good candidate for initiating a process of secularisation of relations between the west and the near-east. Fundamentailsm is a global problem, but the fact that muslim world is in conflict makes out of it a fatal threat, whereas, in west where there's peace and a longer after-empire experience the worst you see is Jeovahs Witnesses, the anti-homosexuality people and anti-abortionists.

Good question. Currently it's an echo chamber of similar minded Countries. I think in order for the EU to grow, it needs to entertain other trains of thought.