WASHINGTON (A.A) - 26.05.2002 - American Ataturk Assocition (ASA) presented an Ataturk Award to historian Bernard Lewis at a ceremony in Washington on Saturday.
Lewis was presented the award which symbolized universality and peace, by former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary who is Pentagon's advisor Richard Perle at a ceremony held at the Turkish Embassy in Washington.
ASA Chairman Metin Camcigil, who spoke at the ceremony, said that Bernards Lewis who has been the head of Princeton University's Near East department since 1974, had a very good grasp of Turkey. Lewis said that the award was very valuable to him.
Lewis indicated that Turkey had a well functioning democracy and its success was built on Ataturk's reforms.
''The Islamic world was ahead of the West and then someho0w, the West took over the Islamic world,'' he said. ''Muslims, especially the Arabs, regarded secularims as something against religion that is invented by the Christians. Turkey is the only Muslim country which could live by holding religion separate from the state affairs.''
Lewis pointed to Ataturk's ''feminist'' reforms and added that although feminism was not so popular at that time, Ataturk gave the suffrage right to women which was a turning point for Turkey.
''Democracy is one of the most difficults systems,'' he continued. ''It's a very strong medicine, it might kill you if you don't adjust the dosage well. Democracy, just like Ataturk's reforms, should develop gradually,'' he said and added that the Turks were making progress in democracy.