Reform in the Islamic world

During the course of the next few days, I will be meeting with many of my counterparts from the OIC member countries. We will discuss matters that concern the Islamic world, international problems that we experience and the ways in which the OIC can help resolve them.

Most of these issues are not new. Yet, the urgency to address them has gained further prominence in recent years.

As representatives of governments, we will benefit from each other’s experience and views and also have the added value of the intellectual input coming from our societies. This has become possible thanks to the increasing number of meetings among intellectuals, academics and journalists. The document you have adopted today (Saturday) is a substantive contribution in that respect.

I have been outlining our ideas and vision for the Islamic world in various fora, including the OIC meetings.

We want the Islamic world to be an effective force of good in the world. This cannot be achieved only through foreign affairs. It also requires domestic action. There is need to upgrade educational systems and catch up with scientific and technological advancements. The Islamic world must continue with its evolution towards more democratic, transparent, open societies that are well-governed and function efficiently in economic-social terms.

We cannot allow the problems to linger and increase in gravity. Moreover, issues that we fail to address today will confront us in the near future as more serious problems.

However, in trying to reverse the negative trends, we must at all times be realistic and apply rational methods.

We are fortunate, because the Islamic faith lends itself to a rational and humanistic understanding of the world. This quality of Islam has produced remarkable achievements in the past. But it is not enough to content ourselves with the old times. Our present challenge is to work for similar achievements today and in the future.

This challenge is not about our religion. It is about strengthening our societies and providing for our citizens the highest possible standards in political, economic and social life.

It is a welcome development that the need for positive change is increasingly being recognized in our countries. This is both at the official and public levels. As recent examples, we can mention the various official discussions we have had within the OIC, the Alexandria Library Meeting of Arab intellectuals and the "Congress of Democrats from the Islamic World" held in Istanbul. Most recently, the Arab League Summit held in Tunisia demonstrated the support of governments for the idea of reform and development.

The Turkish experience on reform and progress can be a source of inspiration for others who want to embrace modernity while preserving traditional values.

The issue of reform is high on our agendas. We have been working hard for this. Generating our own ideas about reform and articulating them effectively is all the more important in this period, when various views and initiatives about reform are being discussed. Turkey is following these discussions closely. We, like others, are making the following points: reforms must be generated from within, not imposed, agenda and pace of reform are essentially a matter for each country, the needs and sensitivities of societies must direct the reform initiatives, reform is a gradual process, reform cannot be thought as isolation of international problems that preoccupy our hearts and minds, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and Iraq.

We believe that we must engage in these discussions and apply our input effectively. We must take the bull by the horns. Only then can we reverse our longstanding passivity.

There is no doubt that without resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, regional stability and peace will not be possible in the Middle East. However, I am also certain that, if this problem were solved today, the reforms we aspire for would not come automatically. Therefore, the work on reforms must start without delay.

To advance on this course, the Islamic world needs to act with greater confidence. As Muslim societies, we share a cultural heritage and tradition that is rich and humanistic in its values. These values are fully compatible with contemporary universal values.

We must also recognize that the challenge extends beyond national borders. We need to mobilize our collective efforts to increase efficiency and productivity in all fields. The OIC is a relevant platform to facilitate this across a wide geography.

Our societies point in the direction we must advance. Change is never easy. But to delay the changes that are necessary is a worse option.

We have much work ahead of us. This work can be facilitated by nongovernmental contributions such as this symposium. I am therefore very pleased to see the highly useful document that you have adopted. I congratulate you on your work and contributions. Turkey will continue to encourage and participate in such initiatives.