Turkey is getting the message -- Death to moderate Islam
============
Radicals who abhor moderate Islam
Soli Ozel IHT Saturday, November 22, 2003
Terror in Turkey
ISTANBUL Five days after suicide bombers had attacked two Istanbul synagogues, killing 25 people, the city was struck again Thursday, when 27 people died in blasts at the British consulate and the headquarters of the British bank HSBC. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for all the attacks. Turkey had its own Sept. 11, with smoking towers and all.
.
The Jewish community's links to Israel made it a target for those who hate the Jewish state and its policies. The British targets were attacked while President George W. Bush was visiting Britain. In the eyes of the perpetrators, one can conclude, three countries responsible for the war in Iraq were punished for their anti-Muslim deeds.
.
Yet there remains the question of why Istanbul was chosen as the site of the attacks. Turkey was not part of the coalition that fought in Iraq. It is a Muslim country and Istanbul, was the seat of the Caliphate for 400 years. The nihilists of Al Qaeda claim to act as messengers of Islam but have no concern for human life, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, so perhaps Turkey was chosen because it was a relatively easy field of operation.
.
Turkey could be a target because it is a member of NATO and an ally of the United States. It enjoys good relations with Israel and it has a pro-Western foreign policy.
.
But rather than foreign policies or alliances, it is probably the very identity of modern Turkey, and particularly of Istanbul - vibrant, cosmopolitan and multicultural - that has made us prey to fundamentalists who live by and for violence.
.
Not only is Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, officially secular and increasingly democratic, but it is building a modern economy integrating with world markets. With its dogged determination to be Western and to become a member of the European Union, it is everything that radical Islamists - antimodern, anti-secular, anti-Western, antiglobalization - abhor.
.
It must be unbearable for radical Islamists that despite many obstacles, Turkey integrated its Islamist movement into the political system through democratic means; the governing Justice and Development Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had its roots in the Islamist movement that was once stridently anti-Western and anti-secular.
.
Since coming to power, Erdogan's party has made great strides toward meeting the criteria for admission to the European Union, a fact recognized by the European Commission, if a bit stingily, in its latest progress report.
.
In short, the Turkish experiment is the opposite of the rage-driven politics of the fundamentalists. Its success refutes the claim that Islam and democracy are incompatible and arguably heralds the demise of the radical Islamist vision.
.
It is too early to assess the full impact of the Istanbul blasts. The Turkish economy, particularly tourism, may suffer. But there is little reason to think that the reform process will slow down or stop. If the Justice and Development Party allows the bombings to force it to choose between democracy and security, it will give in to the arguments of its opponents, who fear a more democratic Turkey. Erdogan's party must condemn Islamist violence and mark a clear demarcation line between Muslims and nihilists.
.
The theses advanced in some Western countries that Turkey's strong military would use this opportunity to reassume the ground it lost during the reform process appear unlikely. Turkey will not change course. If anything the terrorist acts will steel the resolve of an increasingly assertive and pro-EU public.
.
Turkey's relations with the West have improved in recent months. Washington and Ankara are finally finding a new balance after their falling-out over Iraq. The security axis is no longer the sole determinant of these relations. At last, Turkey figures in U.S. calculations because of what it is, rather than where it is.
.
If the challenge for Turkey is to keep on the right track while fighting transnational terrorism, the challenge for the EU is to have the farsightedness to see Turkey for the asset that it is, or that it will be in 10 years' time. Will the EU embrace a fully reformed Turkey as a member? On that decision rides more than just Turkey's destiny.
.
The writer is a professor of international relations at Istanbul Bilgi University and a columnist for the Turkish daily newspaper Sabah.
AI
Market Data 
Markets 
