Hope or Threat? New Turkish President.
Turkey has a new President, Abdullah Gul, and many fear that he will allow Islam to role back the hands of time and create another Islamic state in the Middle East. “The selection of Mr. Gul,” says the New York Times, “ended four months of political standoff that began when Turkey’s secular establishment and military, vehemently opposed to his candidacy, blocked it in May, forcing a national election last month.”
It would appear that most ordinary people have no voice in Turkey’s day to day governance, and from the vantage point of fairness his victory in the Turkinsh Parliament is a just one. However, with the rise of fundamental radical Islam, most of the world is rather anxious.What will this mean? Where will it lead?
At the offical level the American ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, welcomed Mr. Gul’s election, but behind the scenes there has got to be much wariness stemming from the mess in Iraq, the beligerance of Iran, the war with Taliban in Afghanistan, the general turbulence throughout the mid-east, and the rise and threat of Islamic theocracy.
Hopefully, this victory for the people will offer moderate moslems a voice and an opporturnity to demonstrate their ability to govern fairly and peacefully. According to the New York Times, “Most Turks strongly oppose the idea of a religiously oriented government, and the overwhelming portion of Mr. Gul’s constituency voted for his party because they said it had done well running the country, not because its leaders were pious men. Their policies over the past four years in power have reflected a careful respect for secular principles, many say, and have brought an economic boom and rising property values.”
Let’s hope that this is a sign of good things to come from the Islamic world, and not a harbinger of more trouble and unrest. For more information read this article.
