Erdogan presents Turkey as model for Arabs [View All]

[Poll_Blind]

From CBS News:

(AP)

CAIRO - Turkey's prime minister presented his country as a model for an Arab world in turmoil, giving advice on everything from balancing secularism and Islam to challenging Israel during a high-profile visit to Egypt on Tuesday aimed at advancing his growing status as a regional leader.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received a hero's welcome among Egyptians, impressed by his tough stance against Israel and searching for firm direction in a post-revolution period that has turned muddled and confused. His celebrity stood out in even greater contrast as the head of the Arab League admitted Tuesday that the pan-Arab body was "impotent" in the face of the Middle East's uprisings.

But the visit fueled a debate among Egyptians whether the Turkish model he touted - with an Islamic-based political party governing a secular democracy - was really applicable here.

Many are skeptical that Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which often cites Erdogan's party as a model and is likely to gain significant power, can accept Turkish-style secularism.

Despite the necessary demonizing of Turkey because of disagreements with Israel, the world could do much worse (*cough* Saudi Arabia *cough*) than have Arab countries move toward the Turkish model. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the West and America in particular might be ready for Arab countries which are not governed by a tightly-knit group of royal families. Familial monarchies who, as we've seen, are quietly in bed with some of the worst elements of American Corporatism.

PB