Turkish model emerges as Muslim nations face transformation

Turkish President Abdullah Gul left for a working visit to Egypt Thursday, the first visit by a foreign president after protests unseated the country's long-time leader Hosni Mubarak. Turkey will share its experiences and views with other Middle East countries which are in an important transition process, Gul told reporters ahead of his visit, when he is set to meet Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Armed Forces Supreme Council. A recently released poll by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) showed 66 percent of respondents in Middle East region found Turkey a successful blend of Islam and democracy. The poll was conducted among more than 2,000 people in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories last August and September and its results were released last month. Turkey could be an example for its political, socio-cultural and economic progress achieved in recent years, Atilla Sandikli, president of the Istanbul-based Wise Men Center for Strategic Research (BILGESAM) told Xinhua. With a dynamic multi-party democracy, there are enough outlets in Turkey for diverse political demands and that environment also helped boost economic development, he said. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is viewed as a moderate Islamist-rooted party and came to power after electoral victory in 2002. It's expected to win for a third term in general elections this June. AKP was a reference for Islamic movements in the region by separating violence with Islam, said Sandikli. "If they use violence as Hamas did in Gaza, it would lead to more problems for their people. But the process of making politics in democratic systems would bring more advantages for their people, " Sandikli said. Some observers pointed to the differences between Turkey and countries like Egypt, arguing the "Turkish model" is not necessarily referential. Turkey had many well-established mass political parties prior to 1960 and 1980, when the country saw coups and had to transit from the era of military power to civilian rule, whereas Egypt does not today, Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote on the Hurriyet Daily News last month. Mustafa Kibaroglu, assistant professor in the Department of International Relations of Bilkent University, also said there was not much common ground between the AKP and the political parties or popular movements in other Muslim countries. However, the AKP's success, which was proven with a significant increase in its votes to 47 percent in 2007 general elections, might be a source of inspiration that an Islamist-rooted party could moderate its attitudes and expand its worldview by carrying the burden of governance, Kibaroglu told Xinhua. He recalled concerns in Turkey when AKP won elections in 2002 that whether "political Islam" would gain further ground in Turkey as well as in other Muslim countries and whether that would pose a challenge to Turkey's secular regime. The eight-year-old single-party government of AKP showed that assuming the responsibility of governing large populations with diverse backgrounds and different expectations caused a certain degree of moderation in the rhetorical statements of the party leadership, he noted. The debate on the "Turkish model" emerged as Turkey's regional influence expanded with its initiatives to reach out to Middle East neighbors and cut trade deals with previous foes like Syria and Iran. - Xinhua