Local Huntingtons
The recent BBC survey, which demonstrated Turkey as the anti-Bush champion in the world and a Wall Street Journal article by Robert L. Pollock, paved the way for a discussion on how Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and religious Muslim base of the party view the West.
One of the best examples indicating how the issue is viewed from outside, was Pollock's article itself: American journalist warned in his style, partly to the extent of arrogance, that the Turkish people's anger against [President George W.] Bush and the Erdogan government's recent policies will again turn Turkey into the "sick man of Europe" and will make Turkey remain as a second class country.
A similar approach to the view reflecting the climate in the U.S. came from Europe. The French Le Figaro newspaper wrote that the AKP is getting closer to fundamentalism, Turkey is being Islamized again and the government has bowed to the demands of Islamists who want to do away with Ataturk's secular project. The newspaper also advocated that the imposing on a "re-Islamized Turkey," with obligations only regarding democratic principles and respect for human rights by the EU will be an "unforgettable gullibility" for a continent known for its fascism and Nazism. Denouncing that Islam will come to power under the mask of democracy, the newspaper argued that Turkey should be asked to remain fully devoted to secularism and that the freedom of clothing in European universities will be no examples to Turkey.
This "U-turn" in the Western media, which for a while showed AKP as an example to the world in terms of a synthesis of Islam and democracy, viewed Kemalism as an obstacle before Turkey and also criticized it, did have reflections inside, too. Many commentators, including names who have praised the AKP so far, forgot what this government has done with regards to the EU over the last two years and started to warn it against pursuing "Islamist," "pro-Sunni" and "anti-Western" foreign policy. The coincidence of this hot debate with the cloudy atmosphere that emerged after [Culture Minister] Erkan Mumcu resigned from the party requires a deeper analysis. Yet, whatever the reason behind these arguments, what Erdogan should do is to review where he made a mistake in foreign relations, which he has executed in a balanced manner so far.
Strictly speaking, besides the great public support Erdogan has, the distance he has covered between himself and the political heritage he grew up in, played a big role in his rising to the position of a respected leader both at home and in the world. This change was not a self-denial of Erdogan as some have claimed, it was rather his finding a new line for himself that is more authentic and more peaceful with the world.
If widespread Muslim trends are examined both among Turkish and world Muslims, two main lines are observed in terms of their world views, the perspectives of the West and solution proposals for the Islamic world: The first is an Islamic line that evolved under the effect of colonialism and manipulated by the ideas exported from Muslim countries that a fully anti-Western attitude existed almost at an ontological level. The second is a rather different Islamic line, that besides being aware of its imperial face, it reads the West with a partial attitude, in which local elements are at the forefront. One of the most important differences between the two schools is that those belonging to the first line usually look for external powers and the West to put the blame for the problems, while those of the second line rather focus inside and emphasize the main problems of Muslim societies, such as illiteracy, poverty and lack of freedom.
[Former Prime Minister Necmettin] Erbakan, who had completed his Prime Ministry tenure during the Refahyol government without visiting even a single Western country, prioritized efforts of forming an Islamic bloc against the West, and started viewing Western institutions such as the EU and the European Court of Human Rights positively only after the post February 28 Process (a so called post-modern coup), appears as a suitable example for the first line.
The second line, on the other hand, has been best represented by Mehmed Akif, Fethullah Gülen, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (both from Turkey) and Malik bin Nebi of Algeria. At the end of First World War, Nursi responded the questions of British occupiers of Istanbul only with "spit". However, this serious attitude towards independence did not prevent him from appreciating positive aspects of Western civilization, which he saw as a "product of all humanity." Similarly, Malik bin Nebi, used to remind those who spent all their time insulting the colonial powers of the responsibility of Muslims who have fallen into the position of being "colonized." In deed, "New Erdogan" who has started to make reference to former center-right political leaders like Adnan Menderes, Suleyman Demirel and Turgut Ozal, as his mentors in politics, have come much closer to the second line.
Continuation of this line is important not only for Turkey and Muslims but also for whole world. In order to do that, Erdogan should disregard views of Hutingtonized leftists, Muslims or nationalists who criticize Huntington as dividing the world on the basis of "the West versus the rest", but themselves try to create an image of the West as "the other". As a matter of fact, the biggest harm of Bush's policies will be poisoning healthy minds in the region by leaving the field to the conspiracy theorists.
ZAMAN
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