Especially since August 1990, when Saddam Hussein crossed the Kuwaiti border, America's footprint in the Middle East has been wide and deep. From outright military intervention, loans, social programs, and ongoing, intensive diplomacy; to a highly questionable second intervention in Iraq and the endless war in Afghanistan which followed September 11, 2001; to the seeming inconsistency of its support for the overthrow of its own ally Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, followed by the anomalous refusal to intervene in bloody Syria to this day, the erratic character of American policy brings to mind the image of a ship without a rudder. None of these incoherent actions have won Arab heart, sad to say. Consequently, the governments in Muslim nations from Egypt to Pakistan are unable to make public gestures of friendship toward America without losing the esteem of the people they lead. Unlike most other Muslim countries, we in Turkey are proud of our relations with the United States. From Pakistan to Egypt, close ties with America make those countries' politicians appear sheepish before their populations. Not in Turkey. Why? Because we embrace modernism, Islam and democracy without seeing any contradictions, or viewing these as "Western values". The recent American-Turkish defense agreement for Patriot missiles, for example, has not resulted in any mass anti-American protests, unlike other countries with military relations with the US. Turkey is a modern, constitutional, modern Islamic country, which has undergone two military coups, but these have only led to a renaissance of Turkish democracy. Thus, while Egypt's military looks menacingly over the shoulders of its democratically elected government, Turkey's civilian leadership governs the people in serenity, by overwhelming popular consent. In the midst of a lingering worldwide economic downturn, Turkey has also experienced impressive GDP growth since 1999, including 11% growth in 2012. Thus, Turkey is an economic bright spot to the West as well as a political role model to its Arab neighbors. But what of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, our popular Prime Minister Some say Arab governments cannot espouse a Turkish Model because Erdogan is against freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Groundless demagoguery, I say. Hundreds of journalists are not in prison simply for criticizing Erdogan and his government, as it may appear to those who fail to put in proper research. This case in question is actually a step toward a more solid democracy by exposing and shattering a state within a state in Turkey that sought to divide the country into pieces and preventing a third military coup. Everyone jailed pending trial in this case has been arrested on suspicion on grounds of evidence within an independent judicial system. The number of journalists arrested is merely six, not hundreds. Also, everyone working for press organizations is described in the press as a journalist. In the same way that 10 journalists have been arrested in England recently for bribing police officers, people accused of crimes which have nothing to do with freedom of expression are on trial in the proceedings involved. Most of the press gave the impression that the defamation charges brought against the world famous pianist Fazil Say were the result of Erdogan's intolerance of freedom of ideas. As in many European countries, defamation in public is also a crime in Turkey, and Fazil Say used insulting language in his Tweets. The Turkish state, which until recently was continually being fined by the European Court of Human Rights, has largely resolved this due to the advances it has made in transparency and equality, yet it is also equally true that there is much work still to do. But I need to see Erdogan's government invest much more in art and opinion to help create a higher quality in the lives of Turkish people and the next generations to come. In places where states provide rewards for moderation while sanctioning anti-system behavior, we can safely say that democratization is in process. In Turkey, the state has paved the way for the mutual adaptation of true Islam and democratic transformation by preventing radicalism through education and rewarding participation. This can pave the way for North African Arab countries to eventually establish new democracies while putting Turkey once again in the spotlight as a role model in the region. We all know Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in this case is not going to take United States as an example since there is no way to explain this to a traditional conservative public even if they wanted to. But MB can and should take Erdogan's example and extrapolate this example to their democratic development. Remembering the percentage and the structure of corruption in Turkey before Erdogan, the multi-layered corruption reminds me of Egypt today. But Erdogan succeeded in tackling every single governmental division one by one taking his time with each and every one of them, privatizing the suitable branches and turning them into self-sufficient departments, which naturally cannot harbor corruption due to a circular checking system. Yes, he did have a lot of opposition in the process but the people supported him no matter what and upheld him with their votes. Looking at these examples, I can safely say if West keep trying to walk on Muslim lands without a negotiator like Turkey, it will be like trying to find your way in a country where you don't speak the language without an interpreter. Turkey is and has to be that interpreter, that negotiator for West to East and East to West. Ceylan Ozbudak is an Istanbul based Turkish political and current affairs analyst, TV commentator, columnist and executive director of Building Bridges, an Istanbul-California based NGO. She writes Op-Ed articles for several papers and website in Turkey and abroad. She can be followed on Twitter via @ceylanozbudak
