Haroon Moghul in Today's Zaman

The Arab and Muslim world needs to nurture its thought leadership -- and this offers another space in which Turkey can assist, a role perhaps far more important than business ties. Turkey should marshal its considerable private sector and academic resources to build “Centers for Democracy,” employing its transnational credibility to bolster an already obviously transnational movement. I’m proposing a network of think tanks dotting the democratic Muslim world, linking scholars, activists and fresh minds, giving them real resources to think critically about the common challenges of Muslim societies and then share their learning. For too long, countries that have faced astoundingly similar circumstances have been isolated from one another’s experiences. These centers will create safe spaces to incubate political thought leadership at a crucial time, connecting activists across the democratic Muslim world -- from Mali to Indonesia. These centers will help ideas circulate, ideas relevant to the people proposing them -- in the same way Al Jazeera made it possible for Arabs to speak directly to Arabs, internationally. For there are two interconnected problems facing Muslim societies: The first is the divide between experts in “religion” and experts in “Western” disciplines. These people must talk. Where can they do that? The second problem is the dearth of cosmopolitan leaders. Let’s empower them and give them the strength -- through alliances and regional cooperation -- to confront irredentism. It’s smart for Turkey to focus on business links. These are necessary, but at the same time insufficient. We must ask ourselves: Who will be the leaders of the Middle East in the coming years and decades? How will they face up to common challenges? And how will they build trust, empathy and respect, enough to overcome years of stagnant politics? As the region rises up, it should not hesitate to think ambitiously and act globally. Why shouldn’t political thought, mutual learning and creative politics go through places like Bishkek, İstanbul and Dar es Salaam? The Muslim world needs to begin imagining better futures for its peoples and by its peoples, ending once and for all the frustration and isolation that has marked its societies and kept them from helping one another.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-257668-the-next-muslim-worldby-haroon-moghul*.html

via Haroon