President Obama famously stated as president-elect that he intends to visit the capital of a Muslim country during his first 100 days in office.

On her Saturday visit to Ankara, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that Obama will visit the capital himself in April. This trip would presumable be the one that Obama promised. If so, it is a great choice.

[Associated Press.]

I always wanted Obama to choose Turkey. First, it is a democracy and no authoritarian nation should have the honor of hosting such an important - even monumental - speech. It should go to a nation that has adopted civilized manners of government. Second, Turkey is a country that is enviably placed to connect both the world of Islam and the West. Not only due to its geographic placement, but also because it is a Western-style secular democracy that is majority Muslim and the center of a once dominant Islamic Empire that stretched from Morocco to Budapest and even knocked on the gates of Vienna twice. Turkey’s combination of history and the present make it a nation that can truly create a strong bridge between people and prove the “clash of civilizations” mongers on both sides wrong. That there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy. Turkey is, in my view, the indisputable place to make a speech about building a strong rapport between Islam and the West. And, finally, Turkey is such a great country why wouldn’t you want to speak there?

I look forward to Obama’s speech, but it will require more than just words. Muslims are not hostile to the West, millions of them live in the West and millions more actually makes up sizable minorities and even a plurality and a majority in Western nations.
But what Muslims are opposed to, and what creates a gap between Muslims and the West in not anything akin to misunderstandings, but, rather, the policies pursued by Western governments, particularly the United States. Obama himself stated to Arab broadcaster al-Arabiyaa that “I will be judged by my actions.” And he will be. Palestine, support for dictators, and American troops in the region all speak louder than any fine rhetoric. Why is Obama planning to leave 50,000 U.S. troops in Iraq? Arabs strongly oppose foreign troops in their countries and region, as Americans would.

Turkey is a great country, Obama is a great speaker. Here’s hoping for a great speech and a new rapport based on mutual respect and mutual interest.