The genius of Turkey is a perfect example, says Robert Hefner

Focusing mainly on issues such as modern social change and religion, Hefner has explored topics such as civil democracy and Muslim politics and education and civil society in Muslim countries in his projects in addition to serving as the elected president of the Association for Asian Studies, the largest professional association for Asian studies in the world. He has also been invited to be the editor of the “The New Cambridge History of Islam Volume 6, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.”

Intellectual dynamism in Turkey

“I am surprised by two things,” says Hefner about his impressions of Turkey. “One is that the basic level of socioeconomic development is significantly higher than I expected. I think Turkey emerges as a very sophisticated, complex place, indeed, much more than I expected.”

“The second thing has to do with Islam and Islamic scholarship,” adds Hefner. “I’m talking about the people with whom I’ve talked who think of themselves in various ways as intellectuals or Muslim intellectuals. And I had expected that, perhaps because of controversies in Turkey over secularism, that perhaps the level of the intellectual vigor would not be as great as I have encountered in other countries. But I have been very impressed by the dynamism, the openness and the self-awareness that Turkish intellectuals of a broadly Muslim background have. With Turkey, I am really interested in knowledge, in how intellectuals, be they Muslim or non-Muslim, respond to the challenge of living in the modern world and developing an intellectual tradition that is capable of responding to that challenge.”

Hefner appreciates the new orientation of Turkish foreign policy, which is being criticized by certain groups. “I think there have been some discussions in the media about the influence of Ahmet Davutoğlu on Turkish foreign policy,” notes Hefner. “There was an article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal; it forecasts that Turkey will be as Iran is today in another 10 years. I think this is indicative of a small tendency in the Western media to see the outreach that Turkey is making in the Islamic world as indicative of Turkey turning its back on the West and the United States. The US does have a special relationship with Turkey. At times I go to Washington, and there I am struck that Turkey is regarded as a special friend. This has not changed with the new government, with the AKP [Justice and Development Party] government. There is a need for a more proactive policy in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East on the part of Turkey; I think it is in the interests of Turkey and the Muslim world, as well as the West, that Turkey plays this role, because Turkey is a very sophisticated country with politicians, some of whom have Muslim backgrounds. I think they have a strong commitment to reaching out to the majority Muslim countries in the Middle East and perhaps in Asia.”

Genius of Turkey

Hefner highlights that Turkey’s developments and the initiatives are being observed by Muslim societies very closely. “I do most of my research in Indonesia,” explains Hefner. “There are a couple of parties that pay enormous attention to what is going on in Turkey, some just with curiosity, some with great enthusiasm. I have a student who is doing research in Morocco, and I know that Muslim-oriented parties are very keen on what is happening in Turkey.”

“The alliance of civilizations is inevitable,” explains Hefner. “It is the nature of the world we live in. It is not merely something we should dream of, although we need to work harder for it. It is already a reality. We may need to go one step further and recognize that some civilizations or some units within the civilizations are not just aligned with other civilizations, but they are themselves intersections of several cultures. Turkey, I think, is a Western country as well as a country with roots in the Middle East, which is a healthy example of a kind of mixture, a very fertile mixture of civilizations. There are some countries elsewhere in the world that play a similar role. But there are some countries which play this role more successfully than others, integrating several civilizations into their own self identity and into the other countries. That is part of the genius of Turkey.”

As for Samuel Huntington’s the thesis of the clash of civilizations, Hefner argues, “The debate is over and Sam Huntington lost.”

Obama reciting the prayer call

In this respect, it is not only Turkey’s relations with Muslim countries that are of interest, but also Muslim countries’ relations with the US in the future. “Obama spent many years in Indonesia,” says Hefner, indicating that he knew Barack Obama’s mother. “His mother worked in Indonesia when I did in the 1970s. I didn’t know her well; I met her a couple of times.” At this point Hefner shares some interesting facts about Obama. “He can recite the Islamic call to prayer in Arabic. He knows a good deal about Islam. He lived with Muslims. He lived in close, intimate friendships and family relationships with Muslims. I am delighted to say that the president of the US has a positive and sophisticated view of Islam,” he says. “However, Obama has found to his surprise -- perhaps he was a bit naïve -- that his ability to build that coalition for the type of change he had hoped to see in US relationships with Muslim-majority countries was not as great as he hoped. Government policies are never determined by one person.”