Word: secularize
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...maintained tranquility between Jews, Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land. But since its founding in 1923, modern Turkey has shied away from any involvement with the Muslim world, once ruled by the Ottomans, instead orienting its foreign policy firmly toward the West. The predominantly Muslim nation is officially secular - it's a longtime U.S. ally and NATO member - and it's currently in a tortuous process of negotiations over eventual accession to the European Union. In the Middle East, until now, Turkey has been largely invisible...
...with Israel's refusal to dismantle the remaining settlements, fractured the accord and led to a second Palestinian Intifada in 2000. Israeli withdrawal of forces and settlements in Gaza came only in 2005, after which Hamas increased their influence in the strip, edging out rival group Fatah, a more secular offshoot of the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas...
...Turkey is playing a far more proactive role in the region; we recognize that," says a Western diplomat based in Ankara. "A country that is Muslim but secular, with close links to the West and Israel but also good relations with Arab countries, is obviously very helpful in terms of mediation and promoting regional solutions to regional problems...
...states. Malaysia suffers from a paucity of good governance, proof that simply holding polls doesn't ensure a healthy democracy. Postelection riots shook Mongolia, while Bangladesh is trying to exorcise two years of military-backed rule with a strong voter turnout in its Dec. 29 polls that ushered the secular Awami League back to office. The Philippines, which staged the region's first People Power movement back in 1986, recently endured a state of emergency. Taiwan, where presidential elections 11 years ago marked the first time ever a Chinese society directly chose its leader, is turning against a new President...
...Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Jamaat contested in 39 parliamentary seats but won only 2, down from 17 in the last polls. "It is amazing," says Sreeradha Datta, a research fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis in New Delhi and longtime observer of Bangladesh. "Bangladeshis really voted the secular fabric back into place...