This article was published in Today's Zaman, Turkey's most widely read English daily newspaper.
Long before Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America, people in Turkey had expressed a sentiment of hope about his presidency. Reporting for The New York Observer in January 2008, Suzy Hansen quoted Omer Taspınar, director of the Turkey program at the Brookings Institution, as saying: "Turks know that Obama represents something quite different -- they've seen 'Roots.' They know the history. So an African-American with an African name and a name like Hussein -- the fact that people are willing to give him a chance, despite that he attended a madrasa, and had a Muslim father, would represent a huge change in the US, compared to the Bush-Clinton dynasties." As Turkey prepares to welcome Obama this week, what can they expect from him? And what can Obama expect in return?
A recent poll by the BBC World Service shows a majority of Turkish people believing that Obama will improve America's relations with the rest of the world. However, the number of people in Turkey who believe this (51 percent) is far below the average (68 percent) in the 17-nation BBC survey. Thus, amidst the general optimism there lies a nagging concern: Can Obama deliver on his promise?
Despite being saddled by a once-in-a-generation economic crisis, the young American president has shown an uncanny ability to, in his own words, "walk and chew gum at the same time." Giving his first interview as president to the Arab TV station Al Arabiya, sending video greetings to the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Persian new year, quoting a saying (hadith) of the Prophet in one of his speeches, ordering the closing down of the abomination that is Guantanamo, retiring the use of ill-defined terms such as the "war on terror" and refraining from even rhetorically linking Islam to terrorism are all trends that evoke hope. Although these moves are mostly symbolic, they are nonetheless important, as part of leadership is setting the right tone.
How President Obama translates this emergent goodwill into tangible actions will ultimately determine his success. A recent survey by Gallup shows that nearly nine in 10 Muslims, spread across many Muslim-majority nations, support freedom of speech, defined as allowing all citizens to express their opinions freely on all major issues of the day. Overwhelming majorities support women having the same legal rights as men. Similar numbers hold beliefs that their faith ought to inform and guide them in their politics. Yet most do not want sacred religious texts to be the exclusive source of law in their societies. The most common aspiration, all across the Muslim world, is to see America help in reducing unemployment, improving economic infrastructure, respecting political rights and promoting freedom.
To get the Muslim world right, President Obama will first have to get Turkey right. During the Bush years, Turkish sentiments saw some of the most dramatic swings from overwhelmingly pro-American to stridently anti-American. Turkey sits at the nexus of several hot spots, such as Iraq, Syria and Iran. Turkey is eager to play a role in mediating an amicable solution. Turkey is not just a Muslim-majority nation; it is also a secular democracy. Turkey is also trying to grapple with its own version of separation of church (mosque) and state. The ban on students donning symbols of their faith while attending university classes strikes many in the West and across the Muslim world as excessive. But the fact that the Turkish people are continuing to debate this issue is a sign of religious, intellectual and social vitality. President Obama could use his enormous appeal across the Muslim world to prod other Muslim societies to borrow a page from Turkey and enhance their own internal dialogues about the appropriate role of religion and faith in state governance.
Back at home, a poll conducted by the non-partisan group Public Agenda shows that a clear majority of Americans express support for using diplomatic and economic means to resolve conflicts, even with Iran. Most Americans want America's top foreign policy priority to be humanitarian, such as helping poor countries move out of poverty, providing more access to education and controlling the spread of deadly diseases.
All around the world there is an emerging consensus of aspiration. People are less interested in ideologies and care more about how governments can better their lives. This creates new opportunities for cooperation through sustained intellectual and diplomatic engagement. Instead of looking at Turkey as just an important geostrategic military ally, President Obama needs to prod European allies to welcome Turkey into the European Union, giving Turkey a more effective platform to act as a bridge between America, Europe and the Muslim world.
I am the first one to understand the difficulty of dealing with Iran and the awful state of affairs in Pakistan but for students of history it will not be a surprise to hear that these three countries were part of a block against the Soviet influence in the Muslims world. These three countries were the members of an economic alliance called RCD and were thinking upon the lines of EU to have free trade and movement of labour. But then Iran went theocratic under the Mullahs and Pakistan was consumed by the Afghan Jihad. Out of the three most secular societies in the Muslim World, only Turkey survived as a bastion of secularism as Iran & Pakistan succumbed to Shia & Sunni Islam respectively. In this historical backdrop it is vital for the EU and the US to court Turkey and keep it on their side, otherwise history may eventually find Turkey on the other side as well.
http://real-politique.blogspot.com
By Sikander Hayat
The U.S. alligned with Saddam to pay back the Mullah's from taking over in 1979, you tell me?
Turkey is no where near joining the EU! They have quite a bit of things to clean up and maybe they might join.
Open up Halki school of theology, give Kurds minority rights (freedom of speech and religion), reconize the Armenian genocide and leave northern Cyprus...
How quickly we forget...it's exactly what Bush did a few years ago and it was perceived by the EU as an unacceptable interference in internal EU affairs at the time. Chirac said it was as if the Europeans were telling the US to integrate Mexico as a new state. At the end Turkey told the US to back off as their intervention was counter-productive and make them seem like a Trojan horse that would weaken the EU political cohesion. Barrack Obama intervention on this topic has the same effect today, Sarkozy has replied that Obama is interfering in an internal EU decision process and that most European countries are opposed to Turkey joining the EU. So did Angela Merkel who has said that Obama is repeating an usual American position (diplomatic way of saying: a Bush policy)
Thanks.
Obama is there not for closer strategic ties, he is there to secure the withdrawel of U.S. forces from Iraq through Turkish territory.
Turkey still does not qualify for membership of the EU.
Freedom of speech? Try and speak Kurdish and see what happens?
Persecution of Christian religion. It still happens just ask the Eastern Orthodox Church on how they are treated in Constantinople (known as Istanbul today) and the lack of reigning in the grey wolves terror network.
Illegal occupation of Northern Cyprus. Until Turkish troops leave and the green wall is dismantled both Greece and Cyprus will veto any Turkish entry bid.
And Turkey needs to stop their war with the Kurds. After all the irony is how come the KLA was rescued and the PKK are not?
And let us not forget the Armenian Genocide and call it what it is!
The Greek Orthodox Church has been persecuted for so many years, I recall many incidents of lobbing grenades into the courtyard of Saint George's and the grey wolves watching every move the spiritual head of the eastern church conducts espcially when the Pope arrived not too long ago.
What about the Halinki (spelling) school of theology that the Turkish government refuses to open? Kurds cannot even speak their native tongue, especially in the government, now why is that?
And why does Turkey keep sending warplanes into Greek airspace all the time?
Message is Turkey does not belong with the EU.
"On his first official visit to the country, the president praised Turkey for taking steps toward granting rights to its Kurdish citizens. But he urged the Turks to drop their resistance to reopening a historic Orthodox seminary located on an island near Istanbul, a key demand by the European Union which Turkey hopes to join. “The United States strongly supports Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union... [but] Turkey has its own responsibilities,” Obama told an audience which included his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. “Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening the Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond,” Obama added."
Obama did not attend a madrassa ( all-male , strict religious education only school ) .... he did however attend a mixed gender public sekola ( Bahasa for school) that was started by the Dutch for its employees but then taken over and administered by the state, for two years as a child, while living in Indonesia.
The hope is that Obama not just lecture to the Muslim world, but instead listen to the people of Turkey. For if Turks cannot be convinced about America's intentions in the Muslim world, how can Obama convince the Arabs and Iran that he has brought about a true change in the policies of the US.