When the West imagines a more perfect Turkey, it inevitably invokes the figure of Ataturk, irrespective of how undemocratic he was. What matters was his desire to be European, even though Ataturk would still be denied membership to the EU. When the West imagines a more perfect Arab world, it inevitably invokes the figure of Ataturk, irrespective of the fact that he was European, not an Arab. What matters was his embrace of secularism, as a Muslim. Etcetera. Etcetera.
Reciting Ataturk
