Turkey

[Michael]

I've long asserted that Turkey was one of the most important countries to keep an eye on as it is extremely influential in the Muslim world and sits in a strategic geographic location between Europe and the Middle East. It is also (by far) the best governed and most democratic of all the majority Muslim states. Turkey also has a couple thousand year tradition of being a regional leader.

Well, it is nice to see that some others share my view of the importance of Turkey. :)

A new role for Turkey

When Turkish officials land in bitterly divided countries like Lebanon or Afghanistan or Pakistan, every faction is eager to talk to them. No country’s diplomats are as welcome in both Tehran and Jerusalem, Moscow and Tblisi, Damascus and Cairo. As a Muslim country intimately familiar with the region around it, Turkey can go places, engage partners, and make deals that the United States cannot.

This new Turkish role holds tantalizing potential.
...
Under other circumstances, Egypt, Pakistan, or Iran might have emerged to lead the Islamic world. Their societies, however, are weak, fragmented, and decomposing. Indonesia is a more promising candidate, but it has no historic tradition of leadership and is far from the center of Muslim crises. That leaves Turkey. It is trying to seize this role. Making peace with Armenia was an important step. More are likely to come soon.

Source (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/10/15/a_new_role_for_turkey/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Editorial%2FOp-ed+pages)

[Non Sequitur]

Turkey plays an important role in many things, including the role of Islam (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7264903.stm) itself. My main question is can Turkey be a model for the rest of the Middle East?

[Michael]

Turkey plays an important role in many things, including the role of Islam (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7264903.stm) itself. My main question is can Turkey be a model for the rest of the Middle East?
First of all, that's a very interesting article - that would be the first inkling of a potential 'Islamic reformation' I've ever seen! :)

As for your question about Turkey and the Middle East, I'd say the answer is likely "no". ;)

My reasoning is regarding 'ethnicity'. Middle Eastern culture appears to be dominated not by Islamic culture but by Arabic culture. It is Arabic culture that appears to pose the greatest difficulties upon Middle Eastern societies, not Islam per se.

The success of Turkey and Indonesia as nation-states shows that Islamic religion is not necessarily a barrier to a successful multi-ethnic society (though it often appears to be).

[Non Sequitur]

First of all, that's a very interesting article - that would be the first inkling of a potential 'Islamic reformation' I've ever seen! :)

As for your question about Turkey and the Middle East, I'd say the answer is likely "no". ;)

My reasoning is regarding 'ethnicity'. Middle Eastern culture appears to be dominated not by Islamic culture but by Arabic culture. It is Arabic culture that appears to pose the greatest difficulties upon Middle Eastern societies, not Islam per se.

The success of Turkey and Indonesia as nation-states shows that Islamic religion is not necessarily a barrier to a successful multi-ethnic society (though it often appears to be).

Interesting ethnicity/culture argument. What culture would you say dominates Turkey? I must admit that I am not so up to date on modern Turkey. My Middle East studies have mostly focused on periods before 1939.

As for an Islamic reformation, the problem I see is in the way the Islamic faith is organized. Unlike Christianity in the 1500's, Islam is a very loosely structured religion. The Reformation worked partly because of the high level of organization of Christianity. this could be as close as they come though.

[Michael]

Interesting ethnicity/culture argument. What culture would you say dominates Turkey? I must admit that I am not so up to date on modern Turkey. My Middle East studies have mostly focused on periods before 1939.
Turkey is majority "Turkic" - an ethinicity that has long been distinct from the Arabs in Middle Eastern history.

As for an Islamic reformation, the problem I see is in the way the Islamic faith is organized. Unlike Christianity in the 1500's, Islam is a very loosely structured religion. The Reformation worked partly because of the high level of organization of Christianity. this could be as close as they come though.
In counter to this, I'd say that the only reason the European Reformation succeeded was because of the lack of political unity. If Europe had any political unity at all, they would have crushed those rebel Protestants like little bugs and put Luther's head on a pike (exactly like every aspiring religious reformer before him).

Thus, I'd say that the political disunity of Europe in the 16th century was a necessary precondition for religious reformation. This suggests that the present politically disunified Islamic block might be ideal ground for religious reformation.

Btw, as an aside, have I ever explained to you my pet thesis about the Reformation? That is to say, one can accurately predict the 'protestant/catholic' outcome for every country in Europe simply by knowing the political relationship between king and nobles prior to the advent of Luther. :D