The new Turkey and the Arab world
Secular in administration, devout in social practice, Turkey provides a model for how the core values of Quranic Islam work well in the modern day, writes Aylin Kocaman
New borders emerged in the Arab and Turkish world with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Ultimately, these borders led to fragmentation. Arab societies looked to other Arab societies, and Turkey to the West. The Arab nationalism that rang out in Arab countries was worn away in the hands of Marxist dictators. When Arab nationalism and Arab socialism overtook brotherhood, and when socialist elements emerged in the Turkish states, social and ideological divisions became more visible. Arab societies in those years, and Turkish societies — especially within Turkey itself — forgot the unifying nature of Islamic moral values. They fragmented and split apart from one another.
A different wind has been blowing over the Arab and Turkish world for the past decade. Much has changed in Turkey. Having moved away from the Arab world and looked to the West over the previous 80 years or so, Turkey now enjoyed good relations with both the West and the Arab world. Then came the Arab Spring in 2011. That movement brought democracy to some countries and devastation to others. Nonetheless, one of its main consequences was that it melted the ice between the Turkish and Arab worlds.
In recent days, the Anadolu news agency hosted representatives of Arab newspapers in various countries. The views regarding Turkey of these Arab journalists who met with political circles, think tanks, civil society organisations and various members of the Turkish press, were most interesting. The "new Turkey" as they described it had assumed a determining role and "needs to be closely watched by the Arab world".
One Egyptian journalist said: "The beginning of the Arab Spring was the peak of expression of the longing that Turkey felt for its Arab neighbours." All the journalists praised new Arabic broadcasts in Turkey. Almost all were agreed on one thing — sincerity and honesty.
There is much that the newly restructuring Arab world can take as models from some Western countries. Any country desiring to grow must adopt fine examples of civilised law and living. But the nature of democracy in a Muslim country is different to that of Western countries. The reason is that for years people have been made to believe that the word "Islam" is the exact opposite of "democracy". Therefore, some people in such countries imagine that democracy is only possible through communism, socialism or military dictatorship. Yet Islam actually describes the most perfect democracy. Not the false religion of the extremists and nonsense merchants, but the true Islam of the Quran. Freedom of belief and ideas are completely protected in the true Islam of the Quran, while force and compulsion are banned.
Therefore, religious devotion must be preserved while democracy prevails in the newly restructuring Arab countries.
Turkey must be the model for the restructuring countries of the Arab Spring. Turkey has a 99 per cent Muslim population, and according to the latest poll by the German Bertelsmann Foundation, levels of religious devotion stand at 82 per cent. That level puts Turkey in first place. It is also the country with the most mosques in the world. Yet despite that level of religious devotion, it has a secular administration. This secularism differs from that applied in some European countries. It is much more democratic than some examples we see in the Western world. Restrictions are imposed on believers, especially Muslims, in many European countries and many European countries do not provide opportunities for places of worship and employment for minorities (some countries with Muslim minority populations have not a single mosque in them). In contrast, Turkey has places of worship for all religions and sects. You will not see any restrictions on their places of worship, living conditions or clothing anywhere in Turkey. All minorities enjoy the right to live and work as they wish.
One can see men and women of all kinds of appearance on Turkish streets. Some cover their heads, and a few even cover their entire bodies. Some prefer to dress in European style. Some men wear long beards and robes, while others wear long hair and jeans. All ideas can be freely expressed. There are all kinds of parties in parliament. Everyone can criticise leaders. The powerful opposition in parliament never allows only one voice to be heard, but there is no room for defamation because freedom of ideas and democracy can only be best preserved to the extent that defamation is minimised. The small number of journalists, artists and writers that some of the opposition in Turkey keep bringing up are not in prison for their ideas, but rather as opponents of democracy, because they could not stand to hear others' ideas and sought solutions not in civilised and meaningful debate, but in hurling insults and invective. That shows that everyone's ideas and rights are protected in Turkey.
Turkey also has Istanbul, the world's fourth largest economic centre. It is a Muslim country that has, as of this year, repaid its debt to the IMF and established economic stability, improved its credit rating by two points in the space of one week, that represents a bridge between Europe, America and the Arab world due to its geopolitical position, that gets on well with Russia and Iran despite significant differences of opinion over Syria, that has begun to improve relations with Israel and that represents a point of connection between all these countries. Turkey is a warm country that has fully opened its gates to our Syrian brothers.
Turkey is not a perfect country; but as a devoutly Muslim and staunchly democratic one it is worth following, as those Arab journalists agreed. But the most important point is there must be no more division between Arab and Turk; above all else, Turks and Arabs are brothers in faith. Turks and Arabs must not fall apart under the roofs of their states: rather, they must rather unite under the umbrella of Islam. They must live together with the democracy, freedom of ideas, warmth, friendship and brotherhood of Islam, and must ensure that all faiths and states live them together.
This model they must live by together can serve as a role model for the entire world. The radicalism that is shedding so much blood will then disappear. If we want to be strong, if we want to eliminate the concept of Islamophobia and stop outrageous acts of terror being committed in the name of Islam, then righteous people must forge an alliance. Arab and Turkish societies must lead the way.
The writer is a commentator and religious and political analyst on Turkish TV and a peace activist.
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