In This Article
30 Second Summary
Headline: Gul elected, approves new cabinet
Reactions: The Turkish and American press discuss the rise of Turkey's religious middle class
Background: "Islamism" defined, Turkey's divided population, and why it matters to the U.S.
Historical Context: The Islamist movement, Turkey's founding, and U.S.-Turkey relations
Opinion: What will Gul mean for Turkish democracy, EU membership, and ties to Russia?
Key Players: Gul and Turkey's political landscape
Reference Material: Maps, history, and Turkey's religious make-up
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Turkey Elects President With Ties to Islamism
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul becomes the country’s first president with an Islamist background, in a victory that marks the increasing influence of Turkey’s religious middle class on a government with staunchly secular roots.
30 Second Summary
On Tuesday, August 28, Abdullah Gul was elected Turkey’s next president by the country’s 550-member parliament. The 56-year-old economist won 339 votes, far surpassing the 226-vote majority necessary.
Noticeably absent from the election were the 128 members of the main party of the secular establishment, the Republican People's Party (CHP), who boycotted the balloting in protest of Gul’s past ties to the overtly Islamic Welfare Party during the 1990s.
Until this election, the Turkish presidency had been an elite secular post, which along with the military, was perceived as a safeguard against the political influence of religious groups.
The military has taken it upon itself to protect the secular nature of this post in the past, ousting four elected governments with Islamist ties since 1960. The military has yet to make a statement concerning the Gul’s election, but not a single military commander attended his inaugural ceremony.
Whether or not the military decides to act against Gul’s presidency, his victory raises important questions about the extent to which a government can be both democratic and Islamic.
In his acceptance speech, Gul stressed his commitment to the country’s secular values, and pledged to continue working toward European Union membership. If this is the case, then Turkey could serve as a model for the entire region on how to temper Islamic values with those of a democratic government.
Noticeably absent from the election were the 128 members of the main party of the secular establishment, the Republican People's Party (CHP), who boycotted the balloting in protest of Gul’s past ties to the overtly Islamic Welfare Party during the 1990s.
Until this election, the Turkish presidency had been an elite secular post, which along with the military, was perceived as a safeguard against the political influence of religious groups.
The military has taken it upon itself to protect the secular nature of this post in the past, ousting four elected governments with Islamist ties since 1960. The military has yet to make a statement concerning the Gul’s election, but not a single military commander attended his inaugural ceremony.
Whether or not the military decides to act against Gul’s presidency, his victory raises important questions about the extent to which a government can be both democratic and Islamic.
In his acceptance speech, Gul stressed his commitment to the country’s secular values, and pledged to continue working toward European Union membership. If this is the case, then Turkey could serve as a model for the entire region on how to temper Islamic values with those of a democratic government.
Headline: Gul elected, approves new cabinet
Gul’s election ends a four-month-long political impasse between Turkey’s military and secular establishment, which was strongly opposed to his candidacy, and Gul’s own Justice and Development Party (AKP). In May, the military blocked Gul’s candidacy, forcing a general election in July that saw the AKP win 46.6 percent of the popular vote.
Source: National Public Radio
Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and President Gul surprised critics and supporters by naming a new cabinet devoid of any major personnel changes. “It’s a balanced team, with no major surprises,” Referans newspaper columnist Cengiz Candar was quoted as saying in the Financial Times.
Source: The Financial Times
Reactions: The Turkish and American press discuss the rise of Turkey's religious middle class
The Turkish press has had mixed reactions to Gul’s election. Some papers express relief at the conclusion of the AKP’s political standoff with the military; others hail Gul’s election as a historic turning point, while some still fear his presidency will erode Turkey’s secular foundation.
Source: The BBC
Although the Turkish military has yet to make a formal statement about Gul’s election, Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit issued a strongly worded written message on the eve of Gul’s election. In it Buyukanit warns of “sinister plans to destroy ... the democratic, secular nature of our country are emerging every day in different shapes and forms ... Our nation is watching the behavior of centers of evil who systematically try to corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic and the unity of our nation.”
Source: The Middle East Media Research Institute Media Blog
The Economist writes that Gul’s presidency marks the entrance of a “new class of overtly pious entrepreneurs into the mainstream of political and social life.” Gul will face the unique challenge of balancing the expectations of this newly powerful middle class with the fears of secular Turks.
Source: The Economist
PBS’s "NewsHour" features a discussion between two experts on Turkey: Soner Cagaptay, the director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute on Near East Policy, and Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Source: NewsHour
The Middle East Times reports that Gul’s election is likely to aid Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union. Although this is a good sign for Turkey, after having encountered much opposition to its membership from the 27-member bloc, most analysts agree that accession to the EU is still at least 15 years away.
Source: The Middle East Times
Time magazine analyzes the expectations and fears Gul’s election has engendered in Turkish society: “the AKP have carved out a reputation as reformers; starting accession talks to join the European Union, introducing reforms under which the economy has boomed and improving human rights ... But Turkey's secularists remain deeply suspicious. Pointing to Gul and Erdogan's background as formerly hard-line Islamists, they argue that the AKP harbors a secret Islamist agenda. As President, Gul has the power to approve or veto legislation, and secularists fear that he will sign into law any bill passed by Erdogan's government without concern for the separation of religion and politics.”
Source: Time
Background: "Islamism" defined, Turkey's divided population, and why it matters to the U.S.
See our Beyond the Headlines story titled "Islamic Party in turkey Wins Extensive Victory" for information on the political climate during the run-up to the Turkish presidential election
Source: findingDulcinea
The terms “Islamism” and “Islamist” are used constantly in the media, but what exactly do these words mean? Graham E. Fuller of the Council on Foreign Relations writes that broadly defining an Islamist is a difficult task: “The Islamist phenomenon is hardly uniform ... multiple forms of it are spreading, evolving, and diversifying. Today one encounters Islamists who may be either radical or moderate, political or apolitical, violent or quietist, traditional or modernist, democratic or authoritarian. The oppressive Taliban of Afghanistan and the murderous Algerian Armed Islamic Group (known by its French acronym, GIA) lie at one fanatic point of a compass that also includes Pakistan's peaceful and apolitical preaching-to-the-people movement, the Tablighi Jamaat; Egypt's mainstream conservative parliamentary party, the Muslim Brotherhood; and Turkey's democratic and modernist Fazilet/Ak Party.”
Source: The Council on Foreign Relations
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
According to a report written by Stephen A. Cook and Douglas 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.
Al-Jazeera offers a special report on Turkey’s political landscape with features on the country’s efforts to join the EU, the increasing role of Kurds in the political debate, and a short history of Ataturk’s secular principles and legacy.
Source: Al-Jazeera
Historical Context: The Islamist movement, Turkey's founding, and U.S.-Turkey relations
The Islamist movement in Turkey, to which members of the ruling AK Party have past ties, dates back almost as far as Turkey’s 1923 founding. By charting the rise and fall of Turkey’s four Islamist parties, Nilufer Narli of the Middle East Review of International Affairs shows how support for Islamism stems not only from religious beliefs, but from socio-economic conditions as well.
Source: The Middle East Review of International Affairs
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: The Columbia Encyclopedia courtesy of Bartleby.com
Past Turkey-U.S. relations were forged by American Cold War efforts to curb the spread of Soviet communism. The Library of Congress explains this as follows: “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
Opinion: What will Gul mean for Turkish democracy, EU membership, and ties to Russia?
During the run-up to Gul’s election Gerard Baker of Real Clear Politics wrote that what was at stake in the election was “Turkey's rigidly secularist constitution - established by Kemal Ataturk 80 years ago. The last thing Washington wants is an avowedly Islamist government in full control in Ankara. Not only would it represent a serious setback to the aim of weakening radical Islamist opinion in the world. It might also have very unpleasant immediate and medium-term diplomatic consequences.”
Source: Real Clear Politics
Saad Eddin Abraham and Mensur Akguin of The Jerusalem Post viewed Gul’s election in a more positive light, writing that “the AKP has managed not only to become solidly mainstream in Turkish politics but also, through its own example, paved the way for other Muslim Democrats … the latest democratic election in Turkey, coupled with the success of other religiously-affiliated parties in recent years in other countries, from Indonesia to Mauritania, may be putting to rest the suspect proposition of "Muslim Exceptionalism." If countries like Turkey can survive as democratic regimes with Muslim-majority populations, why can't others?”
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Richard Weitz of World Politics Review writes that Gul’s election may intensify turkey’s already close relations with Russia. “Since the government, led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) took office in 2002, Turkey has been drifting eastward -- but not toward the Islamic world ... Under the AKP, Turkish-Russian commerce has soared, from $8 billion in 2002 to $25 billion today. Russia has become Turkey's second-largest trading partner, second only to the EU.”
Source: World Politics Review
Mehmet Ali Birand of Turkish Daily News writes that Gul is a new kind of president “because he does not perceive secularism as an ideology or even as a religion like a great majority of our society does ... [and] he attaches more importance to religious values than this secular sector does. Even though we can't really call him a fundamentalist, some of us exaggerate his religiousness to the level of comparing him to bin Laden ... Gül has the necessary qualifications to enable him to ... become everybody's President.”
Source: Turkish Daily News
Key Players: Gul and Turkey's political landscape
Abdullah Gul was born in Kayseri on October 10, 1950. He graduated from Istanbul University in 1971 with a degree in economics, and went on to earn a Ph.D. there in 1983. His political career began in 1991 when he joined parliament as a member of the now-defunct Welfare Party. The BBC offers a concise profile.
Source: The BBC
The Economist provides a comprehensive overview of the main political forces in Turkey by outlining the divisions, alliances, and interest groups that have shaped Turkish politics in recent years.
Source: The Economist
Reference Material: Maps, history, and Turkey's religious make-up
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
Turkey is 99.8 percent Muslim and had an estimated population in July 2007 of 71,158,647 million, according to the CIA World Factbook. Kurds make up 20 percent of the population, the agency says.
Source: The CIA World Factbook
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