Erdogan wants to prove that Islam and democracy are compatible

CAIRO, December 27 (IslamOnline.net) – Turkish and Malaysian Premiers Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Badawi have emerged as shining examples of leadership in the Muslim world and are expected to make the headlines in 2005, reported the Newsweek in its December 27 / January 3 issue.

“The nations they lead may be on different sides of the world, but the two prime ministers share similar challenges as they attempt to define what it means to be a modern Muslim nation,” said an article, entitled Islam’s Happy Faces.

It added that both found that the key to creating a functional Muslim society is “in the nuts and bolts of good governance—promoting economic and judicial reform, stamping out corruption, opening their economies to competition and investment.”

Since his Justice and Development Party swept to power in a landslide election victory in 2002, Erdogan has been seeking to persuade a sceptical Turkish state and politically powerful military to accept Islam as an element in mainstream politics, said the Newsweek.

“Though Erdogan hasn't (yet) challenged some of the most sacred shibboleths of Turkey's secularism—such as a blanket ban on wearing Islamic headscarves in schools, universities and government offices—he's the first Turkish leader in a generation to openly observe Ramadan and to attend mosque.”

Aydin Turgay, a veteran political commentator, said Erdogan has set out in a mission to prove to Turks that it is “not unpatriotic to be an observant Muslim.”

His reforms regarding the freedom of speech and efforts to dismantle the apparatus of Turkey's old police state are moving the country ever closer to EU and proving one can be a Muslim and a European, said the magazine.

“Can Islam and democracy live together?” Erdogan asked rhetorically in a recent interview with Newsweek.

“Let those in the Middle East who are debating this question come to Turkey and see it work in practice.”

During a recent summit in Brussels , EU leaders agreed to launch qualified accession talks with Turkey.

Erdogan was recently chosen by the readership of a European weekly as the “European of the Year”.

Practical Reforms

Abdullah has been focussing on economics and practical reforms, enforcing the independence of the judiciary and balancing the budget, Newsweek said.

Abdullah has quite a different challenge from Erdogan's, the Newsweek said.

Malaysia's Muslims make up only 58 percent of the population, with the rest Chinese, Indians and animist indigenous peoples.

“Since the election, Abdullah has tried to avoid confronting religious issues head-on. Instead, he's focused on economics and practical reforms - improving the police, enforcing the independence of the judiciary, balancing the budget.”

According to the Newsweek, Abdullah’s strategy is “to defuse the unholy alliance between poverty and fundamentalism.”

Malaysia offers the Muslim world a working model of renewal, reform and the beginnings of a renaissance, the Malaysian prime minister said last week during a visit to India.

Abdullah and his family have been “gently” championing a moderate practice of Islam, said the Newsweek.

He outlined ten principles towards progressive Islam, his wife Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood campaigns to promote monogamy while his daughter Nori, a member of the NGO Sisters in Islam, backs calls to criminalize rape within marriage.

Leading by Example

Both Erdogan and Abdullah know that the best way to lead is by example, the Newsweek said.

Erdogan believes that progress in one country will stimulate reform in more backward countries in the region.

Though neither Erdogan nor Abdullah is an Arab, both hope that their message of reform will penetrate from the periphery into the Middle Eastern heartlands of Islam, the Newsweek added.

The magazine also talked about other leaders, scientists, executives and artists who will are likely to steal the limelight in the new year, which is expected to witness sharp and dramatic changes on both the short and long terms.

Click here to read the Newsweek features entitled “Who’s Next 2005”.