Tent Made For A Trailer

The "Turkish model" for the Middle East is not the best solution

Ely Karmon

Researcher International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Herzliya, Israel

There is a growing apprehension in the West in Israel and in liberal circles in the Arab world that the current riots end up bringing to power of Islamist movements.

One arguments for the inclusion of Islamist parties in the context of future regimes in the Arab world is the assumption that they act responsibly and democratically, following the example of the AKP (Party of Justice and Development) Turkish.

Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, has called on Arab countries to take Turkey as a "benchmark" of democratic reform. Tariq Ramadan, grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan Al Bana, said that "the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt follow the pattern of the democratic Turkey." Rachid Ghanuchi, leader Tunisian Islamist Nahda has said in no case will best model "that has adopted the AKP in Turkey."

should not forget that, in Turkey itself, the military and civilian elites failed in their attempt to incorporate Islamic Kemalist system. In 1980 the military authorities proclaimed the importance of religion in national political life and coined for it the concept of "Turkish-Islamic synthesis."

This strategy does not last long, but led to the flourishing of Islamic movements, "let the Islamic genie out of the light in which Ataturk had locked, and allowed, in the early 1990's, they proliferate factions of Islamic terrorists, backed by Iran, under the complacent gaze of the Turkish Islamist party legalized.

In principle, the growing involvement of Turkey in the Middle East conflict, after the AKP came to power, was seen as a way to build bridges between the West and the Islamic world, but the outlook changed radically from AKP's re-election in 2007, it lent support to the Islamic cause against the West.

Turkey moves basically Islamic solidarity with Islamist dictators in the Middle East, while calls to overthrow the secular dictatorships in countries where the Islamists are the main opposition. The AKP has supported Hamas against the Palestinian Authority and Israeli attempts to isolate Hamas in Gaza, and has supported including Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, accused of war crimes and genocide by the International Tribunal.

The AKP government's behavior to developments in the Arab world speaks for itself. Prime Minister Erdogan called on Egyptian authorities to "leave power and ensure a smooth transition, while hurrying to keep meetings with Syrian dictator and showed their agreement to "do everything necessary to calm the unrest in Egypt in favor of preventing further suffering to the people", whereas there is in that region of the world's most repressive regime of Syria. In view of the growing rebellion in Syria, Turkey's leaders have "rectified" their policy and are now displayed more critical of the regime in Damascus.

Turkey has refrained from condemning the brutal use of force by Gaddafi, has expressed support for the Libyan people and, at first strongly opposed to international sanctions and the intervention NATO against the regime in Tripoli.

Conflicts in the Arab world have served to increase the recovered predominantly from Turkey, in fact become a regional power, and can help the AKP won the elections of June 2011, pushing its ambitious leader, Erdogan, to accelerate the Islamization of the country.

In recent years, the AKP's policy has been to support Iran and to reduce their isolation through economic cooperation, political dialogue and the sharp opposition to international sanctions against its nuclear project.

However, neo-Ottoman issues activity of Turkish foreign policy have raised the specter of a future rivalry with Iran in regard to regional and global aspirations of the latter, following the historical pattern Safavid Persia and Ottoman Empire.

As for Iran, and have heard voices warning of the possibility that the consolidation of Turkish domination in the region occurs at the expense of Iran itself.

If Islamist parties come to control the power in most Arab countries as a result of the riots, we could see in the near future, the emergence of a Sunni bloc in the Middle East, dominated Turkey.

Sooner or later, the block will challenge or confront the Shiite theocracy of Iran. As often happens in the Middle East, the competition for regional hegemony may lead to further radicalization and violence, not more cooperation and stability.

Source: elimparcial.es