What Egypt Can Learn from Turkey

I returned from Istanbul last week with a new vision for Egypt. Istanbul – and, I’m sure, the rest of Turkey – can be a wonderful model for Egypt to follow as it begins the overdue process of full modernization. Standardized systems and  policies. Efficient and expansive public transportation. High work ethic and accountability. Initiative for innovation. Healthy economy and job creation. Tourism management. Conservation of monuments. Environmental regulation. Or even something as simple as clean streets.

Perhaps the most important lesson that Egypt can learn from Turkey is comfort with diversity. Turkey has a very mixed population, and though the majority are Muslims, you would never know it except for the prevalence of headscarves and the widespread festivities during Ramadan. Turkish Muslims are very modest in their observance of Islam. Religion is a major part of their daily lives, but it remains a private matter. Moreover, Turkish Muslims do not feel at all threatened by the presence of other religious groups, and other religious groups do not feel out of place or intimidated among the Turkish Muslim majority. The society is completely integrated and unassuming. 

I’m not saying that Egypt is completely intolerant of non-Muslims or diversity. Indeed, many different religious and ethnic groups exist in Egypt. But the diversity is not nearly as extensive. It has also long been a source of tension in the country, largely antagonized by the actions of Mubarak’s old regime. Much of the tension in Egypt now exists between different groups of Muslims, especially between the Muslim Brotherhood and its rivals. Egyptians must learn to collaborate with opponents and engage in healthy but productive debate – something entirely new because, up until now, debate was never open in Egyptian politics.

I sincerely hope to see Egypt follow Turkey’s example in the near future. Of course, not all of the conditions that came with Turkey’s transformation can be replicated in Egypt. Complete secularization of the society, for example, or changing the language, or banning headscarves in government buildings - just a few of the reforms that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk imposed. It seems improbable to me that such measures could ever pass in Egypt (but then, I suppose the Turkish people may have said the same thing in the 1920s). But I believe that change is possible, maybe even in the next few decades. In fact, my dad tells me that Egypt was much more like Turkey in many ways when he was a kid – the streets were clean and free of trash, for one thing – and he remains confident that Egypt will overcome the harm and neglect of Mubarak’s regime. In my lifetime, I hope to see Egypt become the new standard for the Arab World.