THE QUESTION
After a strong win in parliamentary elections, Turkey's current leadership is set to keep pursuing its reforms. Does the government's Islamist rhetoric pose a threat to Turkey's secularism? Or is moderate Islamism the best way for Muslim nations to avoid extremism?
Posted by Natalie Ahn on August 1, 2007 9:04 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. He is also a regular contributor to major Middle Eastern and African newspapers and online journals.
Turk Leaders Religious, but Economy Strong
After the AKP's election victory was declared, Turkey's stock market jumped to a record high. The party may be religious, but so is Bush. Yet they don't claim God is on their side, and have delivered impressive economic growth. The West should embrace the AKP as an opportunity for reconciliation with the Muslim world.
Bashir Goth Somalia/UAE |Aug 3, 2007 at 7:06 AM
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. He is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com.
Mideast Needs Consensus Islamists
Daoud Kuttab Jerusalem/Amman, Jordan |Nikos Konstandaras is managing editor and a columnist of Kathimerini, the leading Greek morning daily. He is also the founding editor of Kathimerini’s English Edition, which is published as a supplement to The International Herald Tribune in Greece, Cyprus and Albania. He worked as a correspondent for The Associated Press from 1989 to 1997 before joining the Greek press and has reported from many countries in the region.
What Would Ataturk Do?
Nikos Konstandaras Athens, Greece |Soli Ozel teaches at Istanbul Bilgi University's Department of International Relations and Political Science. He is a columnist for the national daily Sabah and is senior advisor to the chairman of theTurkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association. He is the editor of TUSIAD's magazine Private View and the editor of the Turkish edition of Foreign Policy a journal published by the Carnegie Endowment in the USA.
It's About Modernization, Not Religion
Soli Ozel Istanbul, Turkey |READER RESPONSE
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