President Obama's trip to Turkey April 6-7 is undoubtedly significant. The visit follows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip abroad last month, which included two separate bilateral stops, Israel and Turkey.

There is much talk about political Islam and its future these days. The ascendancy of political movements with clear Islamic agendas is being watched closely from Egypt and Lebanon to North Africa.

The excitement Turkey generates in the Arab world and beyond (the Balkans, Europe and parts of Africa can easily be added to the list) seems to be sustained by the confluence of substantial changes in three areas: Turkey, the region and the world.

Hours before the Turkey-Germany match in Basel, here is my wildest UEFA finals cup scenario: Turkey beats Germany and Russia beats Spain. Turks and Russians, the two nations the Europeans have historically feared the most, play the final.

If there is one golden rule for understanding Turkish politics, it is this: You can never take anything for granted in Turkey. A case filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has come as a shock to many Turks as well as international observers.

According to a Herald Tribune report ("Young Iraqis are Losing their Faith in Religion," March 3, 2008), Iraqi youth are losing their religious faith.

The debate over lifting the headscarf ban has turned into a larger debate about freedoms in Turkey. While the vast majority of Turks support the expansion of civil liberties, there seems to be a fundamental disagreement as to how freedoms should be prioritized. The problem with this is that until and unless the question of freedoms is taken as a whole, there will be no guarantee for civil liberties in Turkey.

The race for the presidential nomination in the US is heating up. While John McCain seems to have secured his nomination for the Republican Party, the battle on the Democratic side is not subsiding, and the Obama-Clinton rivalry is likely to continue for a few more weeks. What after that?

Freedom of religion and worship is a fundamental human right that everyone should enjoy regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or religious preference. The right to follow a particular religion and practice its rituals is recognized as legitimate by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

A debate over the headscarf is revealing new dimensions of political discourse in Turkey. While conservatives and liberals use the universal language of basic rights and liberties, laicists use a heavily religious language to prove that the headscarf is not a religious obligation.

The debate over the headscarf issue is increasingly becoming a debate about who defines modernity in Turkey. The traditional vanguards of modernity are claiming to own modernity in a way that leaves practically no space for those they define as the "other," which in the language of militant Turkish secularism turns into "enemies of the republic," "backward-looking dogma obsessed people," "religious fanatics," "ethnic nationalists," etc.

Turkey is deadlocked again over the headscarf issue. The matter is about more than lifting or enforcing the headscarf ban. As in all critical issues, it goes to the heart of the established order.

Last week Turkey witnessed a first. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan broke his fast with 1,000 Alevis in Ankara. The fast was in observance of the beginning of the month of Muharram.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül’s visit to the White House, his first such visit to the US as president and the first visit by a Turkish president in 11 years, comes at a time when US-Turkish relations have taken a new turn.

Everybody from Ankara to Brussels is asking the question “With the Justice and Devlopment Party (AK Party) strengthening its position in government and Abdullah Gül as the new president, will Turkey renew its efforts to join the EU as a full member?” No matter how the AK Party and the Turkish people answer the question, much still depends on what happens next in Europe.

Abdullah Gül has been elected the 11th president of the Turkish Republic. Some analysts called his candidacy controversial and warned of a major backlash. All that is past now. A number of challenges lie ahead for Gül. The challenges, however, are not only for him but also for the future of Turkish democracy. Gül received 339 votes in the third round. This is more than the last three presidents got: Turgut Özal got 263, Süleyman Demirel 244 and Ahmet Necdet Sezer 330. The choice of the new Turkish Parliament reflects the will of the majority of Turkish voters. According to a recent poll conducted by research firm Konda, if there was an election today the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) would get 54 percent of the vote. This means two things: First of all, there is still a steady flow of votes from the center-right (Democrat Party, DP, and Motherland Party, ANAVATAN) to the AK Party. And second, Gül’s presidency has been interpreted as the right choice by both the AK Party and other center-right voters.  

For those who are serious about the United Nations Alliance of Civilization initiative chaired by the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain, I have a suggestion: Give a new start to the initiative by lifting the sanctions on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). This will send a powerful message to the Turkish people as well as other Muslim countries that the Europeans and Americans are serious about improving their relations with the Islamic world. Last week, the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICFY) held its first international advisory board meeting in Kyrene/Girne, northern Cyprus. The theme of the meeting was “Youth for the Alliance of Civilizations.” The meeting was opened by a keynote address by Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Turgay Avci, who emphasized the significance of the fact that such a meeting was taking place in northern Cyprus. He also reiterated the Turkish Cypriot people’s will to help create a united island and integrate with the rest of the world.