Her trip was well prepared, and she had contacted me in advance from North Carolina, her place of study. She reads our newspaper back home -- in particular about Turkish civil society -- and while over here had spoken with the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), Kimse Yok Mu (a solidarity and aid association) and many other social actors. Her initial question to me was about the Europe's reaction to Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first national government. I explained to her that all of a sudden there was this spirit of reform early in the new millennium and that after a shattering economic crisis -- as well as dissatisfaction with the political status quo -- a pro-EU Turkish government was voted into office. I underlined that what was overlooked was that within Turkey a strong minority had second thoughts: The old guard was and in many ways still is clinging to the privileges they enjoyed for nearly 80 years, but this was changing.I elaborated on the EU and its elites and that they did not see Mr. Erdoğan's government as "Islamist," but that certain foreign media started labeling him in that way -- including the BBC -- and many Turkish newspapers, too. I asked her what she would say if she were constantly being told that her own country is a poor nation of more than 70 million?
Another concern of hers was if the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is an Islamist party and whether it had "Islamized" Turkey. I countered by saying how could this be possible when 98 percent of the population is actually Muslim. She enquired if there has been a religious revival in Turkey. I said citizens who do have religious beliefs are trying to get more involved in civil society, true. But then we spoke about the headscarf ban. I indicated that in this respect the United Kingdom is more tolerant than Turkey ever was. Making a frank point, I argued that Turkish neighborhood gangs will not patrol the streets telling young women to cover up.
Her own opinion was that the physical manifestations of Islam in the public space are a sign of democracy at work, more than authoritarian secularism could provide for. She found that by now more pluralism is available in society and that perhaps a better route toward European integration would be to "moderate" secularism. She met a few people who do support the AK Party but are themselves not religious because they believe that the AK Party creates greater equality and liberalism for civil society in particular.
I mentioned that when I visited her country for the first time in 1986 I saw a picture of Ronald Reagan hanging on the wall behind the baggage carrousel. I told her that from my perspective it is a huge achievement for a picture of the living and elected president of a country to grace all public offices and buildings.
Fethullah Gülen came up: I said that I do not see him becoming the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate or a minister in an AK Party government. Fully aware of the misunderstandings about him in both Turkey and Europe, I said Gülen is no Ayatollah Khomenei; Gülen could actually add a lot of humanitarian value to Turkish civil society.
She asked about the sources of funding for Turkish nongovernmental organizations. I told her about activities in such diverse locations as Didim and Kars and associations like Women in Turkey. She appreciated the bandwidth of present organizations but stated that much needed to be done.
We tackled the different political climate (history and government there, finance and cosmopolitanism here) felt when comparing Ankara with İstanbul.
Her last point was whether EU accession would promote more faith-based groups because the EU might temper the secularist side. I argued that the EU will understand that this European Muslim nation means democracy. Whether there will be more faith-based NGOs is difficult to forecast. She was puzzled that I described Turkey as a European country. She told me Turkey can play a special role and become the bridge-builder with and in the Middle East. She made a fascinating summary in so far as she said, generally speaking, whether more Islamic NGOs are on the rise in civil society, the political culture in Turkey needs more time to develop before civil society really holds enough clout in politics.
So what did a young American expect from her visit to Turkey? Pretty much what she saw, heard and experienced herself -- a positive confirmation of what she had in mind before arriving in Turkey: watching an immense modernization project in the making with remarkable half-time results. In other words, open-minded and well-informed American citizens hold no ill-conceived pre-judgments against Turkey. They want to see Turkey joining the EU while keeping its close links with the US. They know that the majority of the people have religious beliefs. They are curious. If only more European citizens would travel to this fascinating country and question the people who live and work here, too.
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