"....The panel used Turkey as a case study of Islamism. Turkey's constitution is secular and its armed forces serves as a guarantor of secularism. Yet, the current government is Islamic and tends to invoke Islam as an example of Turkish glory. Gerald Robbins pointed out that "the secular parties in Turkey objected to sending Turkish forces to Lebanon 'to defend Israel' while the Foreign Minister declared that 'we are doing it as part of our Mediterranean Policy." Robbins defined Turkey's foreign policy as the "New Ottomanism." He also emphasized the contrasts in Turkey with on the one hand a burgeoning middle-class, and on the other increased usage of hijabs in Istanbul.
The Turkish government slogans, the panel felt, were not coherent and the defenders of secularism suspected its objectives.
Ephraim Inbar added that "Ataturk brought change to Turkey but unfortunately the Arabs do not have an Ataturk." "
More:The Evening Bulletin - Israeli And U.S. Perspectives On Regional Security
