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Islamic Party in Turkey Wins Extensive Victory
by
findingDulcinea Staff
In recent elections the Islamic-inspired governing party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won 340 of the 550 seats in the Turkish Parliament, indicating shifting attitudes in a country that has followed strict secularist codes since 1923.
30 Second Summary
Turkey as it exists today began in 1923, when a former Turkish Army commander named Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a strict secular reformer, emerged from the tumultuous years after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as the president of Turkey’s first republic.
During the decade that followed, Ataturk began a campaign that abolished religious governmental bodies, forbade polygamy, restricted traditional Muslim dress, adopted Swiss, German and Italian codes of law, and replaced the teaching of Arabic script with the Latin alphabet.
Now Turkey's secularist past is at a crossroads. Recent elections have seen the Republican People's Party (CHP)––the main secular party started by Ataturk––diminish in popularity at the hands of the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Although secularist critics say that the AKP's ties to Islam and its efforts to roll back restrictions on Muslim dress are antithetical to the Western ideals sought by Ataturk, AKP supporters argue that such restrictions are emblematic of the undemocratic way in which the CHP limits religious expression in the predominantly Muslim country.
To the United States, the election has the potential to serve as a model for the rest of the region. Some say that if the AKP is successful in tempering Islamic beliefs with democracy, the government could serve as a model for stabilizing other nations in the region.
During the decade that followed, Ataturk began a campaign that abolished religious governmental bodies, forbade polygamy, restricted traditional Muslim dress, adopted Swiss, German and Italian codes of law, and replaced the teaching of Arabic script with the Latin alphabet.
Now Turkey's secularist past is at a crossroads. Recent elections have seen the Republican People's Party (CHP)––the main secular party started by Ataturk––diminish in popularity at the hands of the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Although secularist critics say that the AKP's ties to Islam and its efforts to roll back restrictions on Muslim dress are antithetical to the Western ideals sought by Ataturk, AKP supporters argue that such restrictions are emblematic of the undemocratic way in which the CHP limits religious expression in the predominantly Muslim country.
To the United States, the election has the potential to serve as a model for the rest of the region. Some say that if the AKP is successful in tempering Islamic beliefs with democracy, the government could serve as a model for stabilizing other nations in the region.
Headline
The AKP won 46.6 percent of the vote, up from the 34 percent it garnered in the last election in 2002. CHP, the main secular party, won 20.9 percent, compared with 19 percent in the last election.
Source: The International Herald Tribune
Background
One galvanizing issue during the run-up to Turkey's latest election was the longstanding restrictions on traditional Muslim dress. Currently, women are not allowed to wear Muslim headscarves in state buildings and universities, but the AKP wants to ease those limits despite opposition from secular institutions and political opponents.
Source: The Financial Times
Turkey is a country split between citizens who believe Ataturk's vehement secularism is the key to democracy, and those who think their religious beliefs can coexist with democratic ideals. Now as power swings toward the country's more religious citizens, the two groups are confronted with the task of striking a balance that preserves the integrity of their government and their individual rights.
Source: The BBC
Robert Ellis charts the rise to power of the AKP in his article "Tayyip Erdogan's quiet revolution." After the party came into power in 2002, "Erdogan's quiet revolution began logically enough with young people. In 2003 restrictions on Koran courses were eased with the result that three years later there were 4,950 full-time courses in Turkey (in comparison to 3,000 in 2003) and 58,500 on a part-time basis. At high school level there were 65,000 students at imam-hatip schools (religious high schools) but three years later this figure was doubled."
Source: The Turkish Daily News
According to a report written by Stephen A. Cook and Douglas Dillon Fellow titled "Generating Momentum for a New Era in U.S.-Turkey Relations" the stability of the new Turkish government is critical for the United States because of its potential to serve as a democratizing ally in the increasingly hostile environment of the Middle East.
Reactions
Turkey's religious minorities have come out in support of the AK Party, emphasizing that the party's Islamic ties present no threat to their communities. Representatives of the Greek Orthodox, Jewish and Armenian communities told the Turkish press that they had no fear of a hidden agenda to establish Islamic rule.
Source: Today's Zaman of Turkey
Turkey's financial markets were also pleased with the AKP's larger-than-expected victory. Since 2002 the AK Party has presided over economic gains that have seen the Turkish economy grow about 7 percent per year, the budget deficit shrink from 15 percent of gross domestic product to just 0.7 percent, and the domestic stock market quintuple in value.
Source: The Financial Times
Although the Turkish military has thus far remained silent on the elections, Orhan Kemal Cengiz writes that the fact that it sees "itself as the revolutionary, modernizing and progressive power of [Turkey]" means that it could have a hard time removing itself from national politics. "Giving up power is difficult. Doing it willingly is much more so! However, the Turkish military has two options. Either they will be the ruling elite of a third world country or they will be serving a nation who has a leading role in world politics," says Cengiz.
Source: The Turkish Daily News
Historical Context
The conclusion of World War I saw the Allies use the Treaty of Sevres to reduce the Ottoman Empire to a comparatively small state comprising the northern half of the Anatolian peninsula. Although Sultan Muhammad VI accepted the treaty, Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk didn't waste any time in defying his authority. Before the treaty was even signed, nationalists had created a functioning Turkish national government in Ankara. In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne established Turkey's current borders, and Ataturk took office as the new republic's first president.
Source: Bartleby
Past Turkey-U.S. relations were forged by American Cold War efforts to curb the spread of Soviet communism. The Library of Congress explains: “The general tendency for relationships between nations to experience strain in the wake of domestic and international political changes has proved to be the rule for Turkey and the United States.” After the Cold War, the Turkish government realized that its national security was dependent on remaining an ally to the United States.
Source: The U.S. Library of Congress official Web site
Opinions
Dr. John L. Esposito, professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, writes that the election is a windfall for Turkish democracy and "should serve as a reminder that ... stereotypes about ‘Islamically oriented' movements are problematic if not directly wrong." Esposito continues by asserting that "the AK Party ... does not fit into conventional Western patterns of what an ‘Islamically oriented’ political party is. The AK Party represents Turks who support the tradition of Kemalist secularism but also affirm that ‘secularism’ means that the state should not impose restrictions on religious practices of the citizens."
Source: Today's Zaman of Turkey
Mustafa Akyol, in The Turkish Daily News, celebrates the AKP's victory: "The Turkish people, including the Kurdish citizens, opted for democracy and freedom in these elections ... a result which guaranteed that Turkey will continue on its path toward ... EU membership ... The vote that the AKP gained, 46.7 percent ... exceeds the combined votes of all other political parties."
Source: Today's Zaman of Turkey
Stephen Cook of The Council on Foreign Relations views the Turkish elections as a positive development for relations with the United States. Cook says in an interview that the AKP "has done more for Turkish democracy than any government prior to its coming to power in 2002-2003,’’ adding, “It has done more to push Turkey toward European Union membership." He continues by noting that although the instability in Iraq has created tensions between the two nations, the AKP victory is the "best of all the possible outcomes" for the United States.
Source: The Council on Foreign Relations
Impact on EU Membership
In a question-and-answer segment, the BBC comments on whether the AKP's victory will damage Turkey's chances to join the EU: "Some EU members are clearly unhappy with the idea of Turkish membership. French President Sarkozy has made it quite clear that he does not believe Turkey belongs in Europe ... But of all the parties running, it is the AKP whose manifesto is most pro-EU."
Source: The BBC
In an Op-Ed titled "Why Turkey can become the economic engine of the new Europe," Klaus Jergens––a lecturer at Bilknet University's Faculty of Business Administration in Ankara––asserts that efforts to include the country in the EU must move forward. "Europeans must now open their doors to Turkey without limitations. Europeans must rebuild trust amongst Turkish citizens. Comments like “Turkey is not ready to join the EU” are not helpful ... [The election] has shown that the Turkish side has done its part. Now we Europeans must do ours."
Source: Today's Zaman of Turkey
Reference Material
Turkey sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, sharing a southern border with Syria and Iraq, an eastern border with Iran, Armenia and Georgia, and a northwestern border with Greece and Bulgaria. Yahoo offers an interactive satellite map.
Source: Yahoo
Turkey was once the center of the Ottoman Empire. Now as the country works to gain entry to the European Union, the BBC offers a short history of the nation and its national and international conflicts.
Source: The BBC
Although Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's past is tied to hard-line Islamic views, and his party is rooted in political Islam, he has moderated his position since coming to office. Erdogan was born in 1954 in the city of Rize on Turkey's Black Sea coast. The BBC offers a short profile.
Source: The BBC
Turkey is 99.8 percent Muslim and had an estimated population in July 2007 of 71,158,647 million, according to the C.I.A. World Factbook. Kurds make up 20 percent of the population, the agency says.
Source: The CIA World Factbook
Related Topics
The Turkish military has recently moved 140,000 troops to its southern border with Iraq. Intended to stem any terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PPK) using northern Iraq as a base of operations, the troop buildup has the potential to further destabilize the war-weary country in two major ways. First, if Turkey attacks the north––referred to by many Kurds as Kurdistan––the 10,000 Kurdish soldiers operating in Baghdad as part of the coalition force might be tempted to abandon their posts in order to protect their homeland. Second, unless Turkish troops are committed to a sustained offensive in the region, after their withdrawal the remaining PKK fighters could regroup and continue their attacks in Turkey.
Source: Foreign Policy in Focus
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