Erdogan's reforms

Stephen Kinzer analyses the efforts of Turkey's paradoxical prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to reform a largely islamic country with an eye to bringing it into the European fold: "Will Turkey Make It?"  Kinzer writes:

In little more than a year as prime minister, Erdogan has proven himself more committed to democracy than any of the self-proclaimed "secular" leaders who misruled Turkey during the 1990s. He has secured passage of laws and constitutional amendments abolishing the death penalty and army-dominated security courts; he repealed curbs on free speech, and brought the military budget under civilian control for the first time in Turkish history. He authorized Kurdish-language broadcasting, swept aside thirty years of Turkish intransigence on the Cyprus issue, and eased Greek–Turkish tension so effectively that when he visited Athens in May, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis proclaimed that the two countries now enjoyed "a relation of cooperation based on mutual trust."

This reform program is especially important because Prime Minister Erdogan, who is leading it with passion and vigor, has had a long career in Islamic politics. He prays every day, and his wife wears a head scarf. By clinging so firmly to Islam while pulling his country toward democracy, he undermines the view that the two are incompatible.

All well and good. But, some observers ask, does Erdogan have a hidden agenda? What do we make of a Turkish leader who is both pro-Europe and a devout Muslim? After all, the Ottoman sultans could be considered pro-Europe as well; they simply wanted to see it under Ottoman suzereinty! In any event, December will see a European Union decision on whether to proceed with Turkey's longstanding application for membership. A positive decision would appear to entail a changed understanding of Europe's identity. A negative decision could drive a disappointed Turkey to turn increasingly towards the middle east to find a renewed islamic identity.  No one wants to see that.