Word: turkeys
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When President Obama visits Turkey early next month, some observers are expecting he will use the occasion to deliver on his promise to deliver a major foreign policy speech from a Muslim nation in his first 100 days. But indications are that he will not give the speech in Turkey. The White House and State Department have not yet decided on the location for the speech, which is meant to undo some of the damage done to America's image in the Muslim world during the George W. Bush Administration. (Read "Turkey Sees a Greater Role in Obama's Foreign...
Istanbul, Turkey Ironically, the sweet spot for Obama's speech may well be the country he visits next month, in his first trip as President to a Muslim nation. Turkey, says Hooper, is "the bridge between the Islamic world and the West, and it's a good setting for bridge-building, for establishing increased dialogue." In the past, many Muslims regarded Turkey with some suspicion because of Ankara's strident secularism; Turkey was seen as a country ashamed of its religion. But with an Islamist party now in power, that perception is changing. Turkey has also emerged as a player...
...other hand, that whole bridge-between-East-and-West thing is a bit of a cliché; every Western leader who has ever given a speech in Istanbul has made that point. If Obama wants to be different, he may need another location. "Turkey is a safe choice, but not an inspired one," says the Arab diplomat. "It's like shooting terrorists from a Predator drone - you get the job done, but you don't really engage with people on the ground...
Rethinking Tradition Politics is not the only focus of the soft revolution. Its most fundamental impact, indeed, may be on the faith itself. In the shadows of Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, Turkey, a team of 80 Turkish scholars has been meeting for the past three years to ponder Muslim traditions dating back 14 centuries. Known as the hadith, the traditions are based on the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and dictate behavior on everything from the conduct of war to personal hygiene. (See pictures of Iranians...
Harder to gauge will be the long-term influence of Iraq's neighbors on the direction of the country. Iraq shares borders with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Kuwait. It's a tough - and nosy - neighborhood, populated by regimes jostling for influence among the various internal factions in Iraq. The key issue is Baghdad's ability to cobble together a semblance of national unity that will enable it to fend off its neighbors. The fear is that Iraq will become a new Lebanon, a multisectarian country whose diversity is both its blessing and its curse. Will Iraq...