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 | 154 COMMENTS
Aug 3, 2007 at 7:06 AM
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. Presently he is a visiting professor 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

There is nowhere in the world where the victory of a moderate Islamic party is more important for us than in the Middle East. Numerous Arab columnists have already written calls for Islamists to learn from the lessons of Erdogan and his party. The first lesson is that Islamists must accept and play by the democratic rules of the 21st century.

Daoud Kuttab Princeton, NJ | 26 COMMENTS
Aug 2, 2007 at 5:14 PM
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?

The battle between reformers and the state has been taking place in Turkey for over a century. Ataturk's rebellion, begun in 1908, established the secular republic we know today. It is ironic that the ideological descendants of Ataturk's rebels are now the reactionary establishment against which the "reformist Islamists" are rebelling.

Nikos Konstandaras Athens, Greece | 27 COMMENTS
Aug 2, 2007 at 2:51 PM
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

The elections in Turkey were a momentous event. The ruling AKP has its roots in Turkey's Islamist movement and won in a landslide. But I see no reason not to apply the same analytical tools as in any other country's political system. Voters were not voting about the future of secularism in this country. They were responding to military interference in Turkey's modernization.

Soli Ozel Istanbul, Turkey | 60 COMMENTS
Aug 1, 2007 at 9:31 AM
Endy M. Bayuni took up the job of chief editor of The Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s independent and leading English language newspaper, in August 2004 shortly after he returned from a one-year Nieman Fellowship at the Harvard University. Endy has been with the newspaper since 1991, working his way up from Production Manager (Night Editor), to National Editor, Managing Editor, and Deputy Chief Editor through all those years. He previously worked as the Indonesian correspondent for Reuters and Agence France-Presse between 1984 and 1991, and began his journalistic career with The Jakarta Post in 1983. Endy completed his Bachelors of Arts degree in economics from Kingston University in Surrey, England, in 1981.

Don't Send Islam Underground, but to Ballot Box

Political Islam is a fact of life in countries with large Muslim populations. Indonesia's experience tells us that suppressing or banning political Islam only drives the movements underground and leads to violence. Political Islam should instead have to make its case to voters, who in Indonesia have consistently chosen secularism instead.

Endy Bayuni Jakarta, Indonesia | 23 COMMENTS
Aug 1, 2007 at 9:03 AM

READER RESPONSE

» Shiveh | A Moderate Turkish party with Islamic ties gaining power in a country with solid secular constitution is not an adequate example of how a “moderate” I...
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