Istanbul, Turkey
Photo: David Carmon
Turning towards the West
Turkey's Western leanings are good for Europe, Israel
The opening of talks regarding Turkey's bid to join the European Union is an historic event, not only for Israel, but also for the West, and perhaps even the entire world.
When the Muslim party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power three years ago, many around the world wondered whether Turkey would continue its march towards the West, as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk did following World War I, or if the new rulers would change course and guide Turkey back into the embrace of Islam – as Necmettin Erbakan, who became the first Muslim prime minister in June, 1996, tried to do.
But by pressing on with Turkey's attempt to join the E.U. – despite opposition and despite all the obstacles – erased all the question marks.
Good for West, Israel
Turkey now stands at the threshold of a process that will bring this Muslim country to full membership in Christian Europe. This is good for the West and good for Israel.
It's good for the West because incorporating Turkey into the West will put an end to Iran's aspirations to export its Islamic political culture to that country; because Ataturk did not complete the social revolution he created (he died at age 58 and left behind several holes (economic and social) that could be filled by joining Europe; because including Turkey in the E.U. would prove to dozens of Muslim and Christian countries that Islam and Christianity can live side-by-side in peace.
It is good for Israel because now, and for the foreseeable future, Turkey is the only Muslim country with which peace exists not only on paper, but between peoples; because both countries share a similar political culture – secular democracy (religion in Turkey is essentially something between the individual and his creator), and pluralism; because both countries have leaned towards the West and strive for peace and stability; because both countries complement one another on security and economic issues.
When the Islamic party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan – the former mayor of Istanbul - won the elections in November 2002, many in Europe and the United States believed he would try to roll back the clock on Turkish history to the time before the Kemalist Revolution.
He has turned out to be the great hope for the West, and perhaps an alternative to the mutual hostility between Islam and the non-Islamic world, and perhaps an alternative to the "clash of civilizations."
Tzvi El-Peleg is a former Israeli consul in Turkey, and is Turkey's ceremonial consul in Israel
