Turkish democracy has gone through various
phases, some good, some really bad. It has been characterized by
military coups, political infighting, instability, weak coalition
governments, corruption, mismanagement and economic crises. Strong unity
governments have generally worked better for democratic reforms,
political stability and economic development in Turkey as in elsewhere.
The AK Party governments under Erdoğan over the last decade have made
Turkey a better and stronger country.
But no democracy is viable
through party politics only. Society at large needs to take ownership.
Erdoğan’s strong leadership has built new confidence among political
elites as well as ordinary citizens about the nature of the political
system in Turkey: no more military coups, no more corrupt politicians,
no more unlawful state practices, and no more mismanagement. A
democratic, stable and prosperous Turkey is a good thing also for
regional peace and stability.
The AK Party’s challenges over the
next few years will come not from the top down, but from the bottom up.
Opposition parties are too weak to challenge the AK Party. Even the main
opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) new-found activism under
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is not enough to shake up Erdoğan and his government.
The CHP, while struggling hard, is yet to overcome decades of statism,
politics of tutelage and ideological elitism.
The challenge will
come from two fronts. The first is from within the party. With Erdoğan
no longer the chairman of the party, the AK Party will have to make
important adjustments to maintain intra-party peace and stability. This
is not impossible as there are many experienced figures in the party,
all of whom are loyal to the party’s mission. It is clear that Erdoğan
himself will manage the next 2-3 years carefully to leave behind a
strong party that will stand on its own.
The second challenge will
come from within the support base of AK Party. With no real competitor
on the horizon, the AK Party has only itself to compete with. This means
performing better in politics in the widest sense of the term:
providing better services, expanding the economy, completing
multi-billion dollar projects such as fast train and nuclear energy,
managing the trade deficit, writing a new constitution, solving the
Kurdish issue, overhauling the education system, investing more in
research and development, etc.
Will the presidential system make
these goals easier to reach? This is what Erdoğan has in mind. It would
be simplistic to treat this as Erdoğan’s personal ambition. He has
enjoyed so much political success and status and has already left his
mark on history that he does not need another title for himself.
The
key here is the growing maturity of society as a whole in regards to
the basic principles of political governance, participation and sharing.
Erdoğan may have the courage and the means to solve the Kurdish issue,
but he cannot do it alone without the support of the major political
actors and society at large. A new constitution can be written when all
segments of the Turkish public embrace it as a sine qua non for a new
and better Turkey. The Turkish economy will continue to grow when
everyone from the boss to the worker internalizes a strong work ethic.
Situating oneself in a fairly recent decade, if one were to suggest that someday Turkey, a staunchly secularist country, could have an Islamist head of government, it would have seemed a joke. And to suggest that an Islamist leader could as well prove to be the longest-serving leader in that country, second only to Kemal Attaturk, its founder and father figure, would have seemed a macabre joke.
"No way, the Pashas will never allow it to happen." That would be the repartee. The Pashas, or civil or military authorities, are confined to barracks. The results of the parliamentary elections held in Turkey on Sunday need to be put in historical perspective.
Without doubt, the resounding victory by the ruling party AKP (Justice and Development Party) led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with a mandate of 50% of popular support is a landmark event. Victory was expected, but not on a scale exceeding the 47% mandate of the 2007 elections.
The heart of the matter is that Turkey is reaching unprecedented heights of economic prosperity and is a land at peace after several decades of strife, bloodshed and chronic political instability. The contrast couldn't be sharper with its neighborhood, which is passing through great upheaval and uncertainties.
Turkey's economy grew at a rate of 9% last year, second only to China's among the Group of 20. The economy is already the world's 17th largest and growing income is beginning to percolate and give people hope of a better tomorrow.
Today, Turkey borrows more cheaply than Spain; a far cry from the not-too-distant past when it used to hold a begging bowl before the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Yet, it also showcases the IMF's success. Turkey has been one of IMF's biggest borrowers - US$25 billion in the past decade - but is well-poised to pay back its debts by 2013. The contrast with Greece, a pristine European Union (EU) member country, is at once obvious.
Unsurprisingly, a Turkish name that spontaneously sailed into view as a terrific candidate for the vacant post of managing director of IMF was of Kemal Davis, who nursed the sick Turkish economy at a critical phase when it was in intensive care. Arguably, it would have been a bitter pill to swallow for EU member countries if a brilliant Turkish wizard were to be employed to restore their economies to recovery.
Explaining Erdogan's mandate
Ironically, as a Bloomberg report wrote, "Rebuffed in its efforts to join the EU, Turkey now borrows at 10-year yields lower than at least eight members of the 27-nation bloc." The Turkish electorate is grateful to Erdogan's government for successful economic management. However, Erdogan's renewed mandate to lead the country for a third successive four-year term demands a much broader explanation.
Personal charisma was certainly a factor, as there is no one today in Turkish politics who can even come up to his shoulders in sheer stature as a statesman. It is a saga that becomes the stuff of an absorbing political biography - a long journey from the backstreets of a Black Sea town to Ankara via Istanbul, from a prison cell to the office of the prime minister, from rabble-rousing Islamism to consensual politics, from a Turkish politician to a towering regional figure who might very well end up in the years ahead moulding the New Middle East in a far more enduring and humane way than the Ottomans from Suleiman the Magnificent could manage through centuries.
The Turkey which Erdogan inherited in 2003 was a practicing democracy in appearance but still had common characteristics with the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East.
The military as the self-appointed Praetorian Guards of the Turkish state; the strong authoritarian undercurrent of the "deep state"; coercion as the instrument to smother dissent; a form of secularism that was as militant and suffocating as any religious extremism; the deep-rooted religiosity of the common people who were observant Muslims but steeped in worldly concerns; and, the inability or refusal to comprehend and to come to terms with political Islam - these were as much features of the Turkish crisis.
Erdogan proved himself to be a "liberator" and a "conqueror". He gently eased Turkey to face the reality that practicing or holding religious beliefs is not antithetical to the state or modernity. The thought churning through the Turkish mind when Erdogan took over the leadership was whether the practice of women wearing headscarves was compatible with the tenets of a secularist state.
The change and transformation that we are witnessing in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Bahrain and everywhere in our region is aptly called as political tsunami. What do we do when tsunami or earthquake strike us? Whether the recent one in Japan or the one we had in Turkey in 1996 the response usuually is to clamp emergency to save the lives. Next priority is given to normalisation of life. Then we focus on reconstruction and restoration. And we start rebuilding and restoring our homes and cities.
Now, if this transformation is a political tsunami, then how should we respond? First, we need an emergency plan to save people's lives, to prevent disaster. Second, we need to normalise life. And finally, we need to reconstruct and restore the political systems in our region, just as we would rebuild our houses after a tsunami.
But in order to undertake that restoration, we need a plan, a vision. And we need the self-confidence to do it – the self-confidence to say: this region is ours, and we will be the rebuilders of it. But for all this to happen, we must be clear about the basic principles that we have to follow.
The wave of revolutions in the Arab world was spontaneous. But it also had to happen. They were necessary in order to restore the natural flow of history. In our region – west Asia and the south Mediterranean – there were two abnormalities in the last century: first, colonialism in the 1930s, 40s and 50s that divided the region into colonial entities, and severed the natural links between peoples and communities. For example, Syria was a French colony and Iraq a British one, so the historical and economic links between Damascus and Baghdad were cut.
The second abnormality was the cold war, which added a further division: countries that had lived together for centuries became enemies, like Turkey and Syria. We were in Nato; Syria was pro-Soviet. Our border became not a border between two nation states, but the border between two blocs. Yemen was likewise divided.
Now it is time to naturalise the flow of history. I see all these revolutions as a delayed process that should have happened in the late 80s and 90s as in eastern Europe. It did not because some argued that Arab societies didn't deserve democracy, and needed authoritarian regimes to preserve the status quo and prevent Islamist radicalism. Some countries and leaders who were proud of their own democracy, insisted that democracy in the Middle East would threaten security in our region.
Now we are saying all together: no. An ordinary Turk, an ordinary Arab, an ordinary Tunisian can change history. We believe that democracy is good, and that our people deserve it. This is a natural flow of history. Everybody must respect this will of the people.
If we fail to understand that there is a need to reconnect societies, communities, tribes and ethnicities in our region, we will lose the momentum of history. Our future is our sense of common destiny. All of us in the region have a common destiny. Nobody can ignore this sense of common destiny.
Ahmet Davutoglu with Tayyip Erdogan
Last week I visited Cairo. I met all the leaders - of various political groups there. Most important of all these meetings was the one I had with the youth leaders. After listening to these young leaders I became much more optimistic. I said to myself: this is the generation that will decide the future. Infact they have already decided. They were decisive. They know what to want. What they want is one simple thing. Dignity.
I salute those young leaders. They are our future and we have to listen to them to plan for our future.
We don't want a silent youth. We want active, vocal youth. We want a critical youth. They should criticise us and we should be patient to listen them. Because actually we are working for their future. Not our future.
This is a new momentum in our region. It is like 1968 in Europe from that perspective. Or it is like the Eastern Europe of late 1980s. If those youth movements were respected, these youth movement too deserve respect.
When I was in Tunisia, I had meetings with leaders of several political formations and parties. Change and transformation is a socio political necessity.
I told them: 'You are all grand sons of Ibn Khaldun. He was the best political administrator. So be confident to change your political system'.
Change and transformation are a necessity, not a choice. If history flows and you try to resist it, you will lose. No leader, however charismatic, can stop the flow of history. Now it is time for change. Nobody should cling to the old cold war logic. Nobody should argue that only a particular regime or person can guarantee a country's stability. The only guarantee of stability is the people.
Next, there should be balance between security and freedom. Security and freedom are not alternatives; we need both. In this region we are fed up with conflicts, foreign invasions, and tension. We have to change the scenario and strike a balance between freedom and security. We can afford to lose security to safeguard freedom. But we cannot lose our freedom to gain security.
Next, we need transparency, accountability, human rights and the rule of law, and to protect our social and state institutions. Revolution does not mean destruction. The Egyptian case is a good example: the army acted very wisely not to confront the people. But if there is no clear separation between the military and civilian roles of the political institutions, you may face problems. I am impressed by Field Marshal Tantawi's decision to deliver power to the civilian authority as soon as possible.
Finally, the territorial integrity of our countries and the region must be protected. The legal status and territorial integrity of states including Libya and Yemen should be protected. During colonialism and cold war we had enough divisions, enough separations.
This is our region. Intellectuals, opinion-makers, politicians of this region should come together more frequently in order to decide what should happen in our region in the future. We are linked to each other for the past two millenniums. Not a single city in this region is less than two thousand years old. We have common goals. We have common belief. We have common aspirations. We have everything in common. Let us make our future common.
Ahmet Davutoglu with Lula De Silva
Now it is time to make historic reassessments in order to transform our region into one of stability, freedom, prosperity, cultural revival and co-existence. In this new regional order there should be less violence and fewer barriers between countries, societies and sects. But there should be more economic interdependency, more political dialogue and more cultural interaction.
Today the search for a new global order is under way. After the international financial crisis, we need to develop an economic order based on justice, and a social order based on respect and dignity. And this region – our region – can contribute to the formation of this emerging new order: a global, political, economic and cultural new order.
Our responsibility is to open the way for this new generation, and to build a new region over the coming decade that will be specified by the will of its people.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister Turkey in Al Jazeera. MoreHere
Former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, whose coalition government was forced to step down by the military on Feb. 28, 1997, died at the age of 85 from cardiac and respiratory failure on Sunday at an Ankara hospital, where he had been a patient since early January. (Inna lillahi Wa inna ilaihi Rajeewoon)
The legendary leader of the National View (Milli Görüş) political movement, Erbakan was re-elected as the head of the Felicity Party (SP) after some troubles within the party last year. After the 1997 coup d'état, his ruling Welfare Party (RP) was banned by the courts and Erbakan was barred from active politics for a temporary period of time.
The Feb. 28, 1997 event was the fourth military intervention in politics in Turkey, preceded by the coups of 1960, 1971 and 1980. Not only were fatal blows dealt many fundamental rights and freedoms after Feb. 29 but democracy and the rule of law were suspended. The coup introduced a series of harsh restrictions on religious freedoms, with an unofficial but widely practiced ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf. The military was purged of personnel with suspected ties to religious groups, a tradition that is still widely observed today. In addition, a number of newspapers were closed.
Despite being under a political ban, Erbakan acted as a mentor and informal advisor to former RP members who founded the Virtue Party (FP) in 1997. However, the FP was ruled to be unconstitutional in 2001 and banned. By that time Erbakan's ban on political activities had ended and he went on to establish the SP, of which he was the leader in 2003-2004 and again from late 2010.
A mechanical engineer by profession, Erbakan entered politics in 1969. Since then, he was an important political figure who influenced Turkish politics. He was often referred to as the “number-one victim” of the Feb. 28 coup, but was also harshly criticized for not defending democracy and the rule of law during the coup period. For years, he was accused of leaving his post too easily when the military forced him to resign.
Erbakan was referred to as the “teacher” of several of Turkey’s leading political figures, including President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, Turkey Party (TP) leader Abdüllatif Şener and former Prime Minister Recai Kutan.
Erbakan was sentenced to two years, four months behind bars in a lawsuit known as the “lost trillion” case, but was able to defer serving his sentence by submitting medical reports to the court. The lost trillion case concerns the disappearance of more than TL 1 trillion the Treasury granted to the RP. In 2008, President Gül pardoned Erbakan.
Erbakan will be laid to rest on March 1 after funeral prayers at İstanbul’s Fatih Mosque. A statement from the SP read that the party is not planning a big ceremony for its leader. “Our leader did not want an official ceremony after his death,” the statement read.More Here and Here.
The departure of Najmuddin Erbakan(Necmettin Erbakan) is a great tragedy of our times. Najmuddin Erbakan could be truly called as the modern icon of Islamic Movement. He was a epoch making personality and one of the architects of modern history. The way vast multitudes of people thronged in his last journey and the way young and old, known and unknown people showered their love and affection towards their departed leader speaks volumes about the stature of the leader. It epitomises the overwhelming sway he held over the Islam loving people throughout the world. It also illustrates the deep impact he made throughout the Muslim world with his untiring struggle for the cause of Islam.
One of the famous poems of Allama Iqbal is Tulu Islam (The Rise of Islam). In it Allama succinctly and beautifully depicts the rise and renaissance of Islam throughout the world once again. The words mellow you. The poet of the East has listed out various factors leading to the renaissance of Islam in the world. One of the factors highlighted by the Allama is as follows:
Ataa momin ko phir dargaah-e-haq sey honay walaa hai
Shikoh-e-turkmaani, zahan hindi, nataq aaraabi
The Muslim is to be endowed again from the God’s Court with
The prophecy of the Allama had blossomed into reality soon after his demise. Moulana Syed Abul A'ala Moududi personified Zahan hindi (Wisdom of Indian) in the 20th century. Undoubtedly Moulana's real and major contribution could be termed as idealogical and intellectual contribution. He stimulated the intellect and presented the Islamic thought in its glorious form. At those times the critics of Islam were hell-bent in attacking Islam in all possible ways. Moulana effectively silenced them with his thought provoking, down to the earth and intellectually stimulating rejoinders. Besides he gave shape to the Islamic Idealogy and with his endeavours Islam rose to greater heights as an Ideological power house.
During the same period the Arab world witnessed the rise of two towering personalities viz Hasan al Banna Shaheed and Syed Qutb Shaheed in Egypt. These legendery leaders known for their superb communicaion skills, eloquence and power of speech mesmerised the Islamic world. They were the primary architects of Islamic renaissance in the Arab world.
Twentieth century witnessed Islamic revival in larger scale throughout the world. Infact it could be easily termed as the century in which Zahan Hindi (Wisdom of Indian) and Nataq A'arabi (Eloquence of Arab) flourished and had lasting impact. The mammoth contribution of Moulana Moududi in the intellectual arena pointed to the dream of Allama Iqbal's Zahan Hindi (Wisdom of Indian). Similarly the emotional appeal and action packed contribution of Hasan al Banna and the Ikhwan symbolised Allama Iqbal's Nataq A'arabi. The beautiful and forceful convergence of Intellect and emotion triggered a new wave of Islamic Renaissance throughout the Islamic world. This new wave of synergy influenced and altered the course of the century.
The outcome of that synergy of intellect and emotion could be seen everywhere. Some eighty years back, Muslims were wary of revealing their Muslim identiy. They were diffident and hesitant to proclaim themselves as Muslims. But, today one can see mind boggling confidence and exuberance among the Muslims throughout the world.
The rise of Islam as the biggest force in the intellectual and idealogical world is one of the fruitful culmination of thes two great men. Infact Islam has emerged as the Idealogical super power of our times.
In this way the dream of Zahan Hindi and Nataq A'arabi of Allama Iqbal were fulfilled. Shikoh Turkmani was the one which needed to be fulfilled. And it take long time. It got culminated in the fag end of the twentieth century with the rise of Marhoom Najmuddin Erbakan as the symbol of Shikoh Turkmani. He gave new vigour and power to Islam and created shock and awe among the Baatil.
The role of the Turks had been significant in the entire history of Islam. They were in the forefront in propagating and safeguarding Islam. They had plaved a major role in the history of Islam. Allama Iqbal had symbolised the grandeur, dignity and respect as Shikoh. Turks had increased the grandeur to manifold.
The return of the Turks to the Islamic camp, I feel, is the biggest event of the twenty first century. And Najmuddin Erbakan had played a vital role in this historic turnaround.
What is Shikoh-e-Turkmani?
If you want to feel the impact of Shikoh-e-Turkmani just go through the numerous write-ups, comments and observations published in American and western magazines. They scream with the provocative heading "The return of Ottomans" and depict the shock and awe that has engulfed the western psyche.
If you want to feel the Shikoh-e-Turkmani go to You Tube and just see the mesmerising speech of Tayyip Erdogon which he delivered in the Summit held at Davos. He lambasts the Israelie Prime Minister.
From a speech delivered by Sadatullah Husseini in a Taziyati Function held at Hyderabad.
