Mexico City, Mexico - The Pope was right in supporting Turkey's entrance into the European Union. Turkey has fought long and hard to implement serious economic reforms and the country is growing at a splendid rate. Still, the main reason why the EU should seriously consider granting entrance to Turkey has nothing to do with economic performance. For centuries - for millennia, in fact - Turkey has been a cultural and religious bridge between East and West. Such an identity has made it a complex and troubled country (Orhan Pamuk's book on Istanbul is a wonderful example). The battle between a modern, secular, West-oriented and moderate Turkey and a retrograde, fanatical and resentful one is being fought as we speak.
It is impossible to exaggerate the importance that the triumph of the secular and modern version of Turkey could have both for Europe and the Islamic world. Naturally, the impact Turkey could have on the latter is particularly significant. It has become increasingly clear that the battle for the soul of Islam can't be won from the outside. Only with the emergence of a moderate and secular Muslim community can extremism be defeated. Recent polls indicate that a growing number of Turks believe that Europe's rejection of their bid for membership is just another version of the West's contempt for Islamic culture. That is a dangerous gamble. Europe can't afford to lose Turkey as an ally in the soft-power battle for Muslim hearts and minds. Turkey needs to meet the destiny Ataturk outlined for his country: that of a powerful beacon of modernity at the tip of Asia. And Europe has the duty - even the moral duty - to help the country fulfill it.
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