"Turkey's choice
THE election by Turkey's parliament of Abdullah Gul, a Muslim and an experienced foreign minister, as the country's president sounds like nothing dramatic. Yet the recent vote was an important step in the evolution of the Turkish state, particularly in terms of setting the course for its future.
A basically Muslim party, the AK, came to power under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2002. It was quite normal for it to select the country's next president, since that official is elected by the Parliament, where AK and its allies have a majority."
More:toledoblade.com -- Turkey's choice