BY TURKER ALKAN
RADIKAL - North Korea recently held a nuclear weapon test and so threatened the world, particularly the US and Japan. Two days ago it spoke of nuclear war and reiterated that it might carry out its threats! Apart from North Korea, notable 'warm' conflict areas (which might cause the use of violence inside and outside Turkey) include Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. These conflict areas have two characteristics: Religion plays an important role in almost all of them, and Turkey would be obligated to be involved in these conflicts one way or another. The Arab-Israeli conflict is a result of disagreements between Jews and Muslims dating back to ancient times.
The unpreventable fight between the Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq prevented the establishment of a stable government. In the Caucasus, Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians are in a war which resists solution. Interpretations of Islam, the place of women in society, and the definition of Sharia were prominent issues in the latest presidential elections. The disagreements caused violence. The Taliban showed the cruelest examples of what a theocratic administration can do. It's still dominant in rural areas of Afghanistan, and as if this weren't enough, Taliban soldiers are now also attacking Pakistan.
Pakistan, an Islamic state under its Constitution, must not be implementing Sharia rigidly enough. Pakistan has nuclear weapons, and Iran is trying to make them. Sudan and Somali (sometimes Nigeria) should be added to this picture of chaos and violence. We're facing conflict zones from our southern borders to beyond our eastern ones. According to Islam, there are infidel countries which wars should be waged against and Islamic countries which shouldn't be fought. But many Muslims are fighting each other!
The fact that religious beliefs cause conflict inside and outside Turkey brings up a question: If these countries had adopted secularism, could at least one of the reasons for war have been ameliorated? The path through Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan looks like a fault line which might cause great earthquakes. Thanks to its secular character and its ties with the US, the European Union, NATO and Islamic countries, Turkey might ensure that this fault line isn't overly strained and it may play a constructive, creative role. In his visits this month to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu may be considering such things.