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TURKEY: Obama Offers Islam a Handshake
By Hilmi Toros
ISTANBUL, Apr 7, 2009 (IPS) - On his first visit to a Muslim country this week, U.S. President Barack Obama
proposed "a new chapter" in U.S. engagement with the Islamic world. He drew
much praise, while some remain skeptical.
"The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam," he told the
Turkish Parliament in capital Ankara Monday. "Our partnership with the
Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all
faiths reject."
His words rang sweet to his audience, a change from statements by former
president George Bush, who was not quite so emphatic in offering an
embrace to Islam. "America's relationship with the Muslim world cannot and
will not be based on opposition to Al-Qaeda," Obama declared. "Far from it.
We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."
In symbolic gestures, he met Tuesday with leaders of Muslim, Christian and
Jewish faiths in the main metropolis Istanbul. He also visited Hagia Sophia, a
landmark that was once a Greek Orthodox basilica, later a mosque and is
now a museum, and toured the Blue Bosque with Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"He inspired people, he is the voice of hope," Gulsun Zeytinoglu, a human
resources executive and former board member of the Turkish Women
Entrepreneurs Association told IPS. "He is trying to create new relationships
in a world still influenced by the old paradigm. We need his vision."
Obama endeared himself to Turks simply because he appears, talks and acts
differently from previous U.S. leaders – and because of his middle name
common in Islam. In its extensive coverage of Obama's visit to Turkey, the
state television network constantly referred to him as "Barack Hussein
Obama".
And who would quarrel with his comment: "The United States has been
enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their
family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country. I know because I am one
of them."
"He is solid, he makes no mistakes and got wide acclaim from the media and
people," analyst Nejdet Kivanc told IPS. "But whether he can achieve what he
wants is a question mark. He may end up following the old U.S. policy rather
than changing it."
Veysel Guler, a devout Muslim and a rank-and-file member of the Islamic-
rooted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), also had his doubts. "He
sounds hopeful, but nothing can be solved by words unless you change the
perception of Islam in the West," he said. "The problem is there, not here.
Can he change them? Will he drop America's pro-Israel policy?"
Apart from the overture to Islam, Obama's trip had other political overtones.
Obama described Turkey as a "critical ally." It was significant he chose
Turkey, considered a bridge between East and West and an aspiring member
of the European Union, as the first Muslim nation to visit. The U.S. and
Turkey were close allies in the Cold War against feared Soviet expansion, but
fell out over the Turkish Parliament's refusal to let U.S. troops open a front
against Saddam Hussein in the U.S. led invasion of Iraq in 2003. But that was
a war Obama opposed from the start.
The United States now sees Turkey as a possible means to solve regional
conflicts, on the basis of its strong relations with Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and
Pakistan - all of continuing concern to the United States. Turkey also
maintains ties with Hamas as well as Israel, although Erdogan's clash with
Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum earlier this year
dented Israel-Turkish ties.
Obama's visit to Istanbul coincided with an Alliance of Civilisations summit in
the city at a forum co-founded by Turkey and Spain, and designed to find
ways to overcome cultural divides. (END)
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