Martin Savidge hosts Gareth Jenkins, a British analyst and author, and Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish journalist, to discuss whether Turkey is leaning West or moving East. Some highlights from the conversation include:

• The ruling Justice and Development (AK Party) has been accused of being both too Islamist and too pro-Western
• Islamism in Turkey has more to do with values and identity than imposing Sharia law
• While Islam is more prominent in Turkey today, the paradox is that the Islamicization of Turkish society began with secularist military after the 1980 coup
• Turkey’s religious minorities feel more threatened by hard-line (secular) nationalists than the ruling AK Party
• It’s wrong to think that Turkey’s Islamist groups are posing threats to democracy while the secular groups are serving democracy — it’s not simply black and white
• On eroding relations between Israel and Turkey, when Israel bombed Gaza, Turks sympathized for the plight of the Palestinians and the level of anti-Semitic rhetoric rose in Turkey, but before the Gaza war, Turkey was trying to establish peace between Israel and Syria
• The Turkish government has not been critical of other ruling Muslim governments — like Sudan — for human rights abuses
• On Turkey’s increasing resentment toward the European Union, there have been racial and religious prejudices by prominent members France and Germany
• Do Arab countries fear a dominant neo-Ottoman Turkey in the Middle East? Or, is there a growing sympathy in the Arab world for Turkey asserting its Muslim identity?
• A Turkey that has prestige in the Muslim world and keeps its ties with West is good for peace and stability in the region

GUESTS:

Gareth Jenkins is a British analyst and author based in Turkey since 1989. His book Political Islam in Turkey: Running West, Heading East? was published last year, and his history of modern Turkey is forthcoming.

Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish journalist and a regular columnist for the Istanbul-based Hurriyet Daily News. His upcoming book on liberalism and Islam addresses the East-West divide. Having criticized both secularism and Islamic extremism, he has lectured extensively about faith, science and tolerance.

For more on Worldfocus’ coverage of Turkey:

• Watch the Worldfocus signature video: Rising Islamist groups challenge secularism in Turkey
• Read Do Islamist groups pose a threat to democracy in Turkey? by Dr. Ömer Taşpınar, the director of the Turkey Project at the Brookings Institution

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Lisa Biagiotti and Ben Piven

The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured conflict for more than a decade in what has been called the deadliest war since World War II. More than 5 million people have died and the country is also the site of the largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission in United Nations history.

In the last year alone, more than a million people have fled the fighting in eastern Congo. For more on the conflict, read our Q&A: History, rebels and crisis in eastern Congo.

Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosts a panel featuring a range of voices and perspectives on eastern Congo:

Séverine Autesserre is an assistant professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She researches civil wars, peace building and peace keeping, humanitarian aid and African politics. Her upcoming book is called Failing the Congo: International intervention and local violence. Before entering academia, Séverine worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo for humanitarian and development agencies.

Nancee Oku Bright currently heads up the United Nations’ Great Lakes team of the department of peacekeeping operations, which covers MONUC and Burundi. She served in MONUC and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as chief of the Africa section, as well as chief of the advocacy and public information. A Liberian, she is also the director of the documentary film “Liberia: America’s Stepchild,” which aired on PBS in 2002.

Michael J. Kavanagh is a journalist with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting who reports about post-conflict development across Africa. He has been reporting on Congo for five years and his work has been regularly featured on Worldfocus.

- See Michael’s reports:     War in DR Congo: The story of Pascal and Vestine
Rape as a weapon of war in DR Congo
- See Michael’s Q&A: History, rebels and crisis in eastern Congo.
- See Michael’s blog post about covering Congo: Giving a human face to Congo’s conflict.

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Lisa Biagiotti, Katie Combs and Stephen Puschel

The disputed region of Kashmir — a source of tension between India and Pakistan — has seen renewed attention following the attacks on Mumbai. But often the interests of India and Pakistan dominate the discussion of Kashmir.

Worldfocus’ radio show discusses the Kashmiri people, their history and the human rights situation in Kashmir.

Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge has reported from Kashmir and hosts a panel featuring a range of voices and perspectives on Kashmir:

Mohsin Mohi-Ud Din is a Kashmiri-American who is involved in humanitarian efforts in Kashmir, working independently with the Kashmir People’s Tribunal. Mohsin is a Fulbright scholar to Morocco and the drummer of a Kashmiri rock band Zerobridge. He blogs at the Huffington Post. He currently works for the international Human Rights NGO, Human Rights First.

Haley Duschinski is a cultural anthropologist at Ohio University who travels to Kashmir annually. Her research focuses on violence and war, human rights and transitional justice in Kashmir within the context of the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan. She answered questions about Kashmir from Worldfocus viewers here.

Azmat Hassan is a career diplomat of 33 years standing and former ambassador of Pakistan, where his postings have included Ambassador of Pakistan to Malaysia, Syria and Morocco, and Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York. He is currently on the faculty at Whitehead School of Diplomacy.

Chitralekha Zutshi is a professor of history at the College of William and Mary. She is the author of the book, “Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity and the Making of Kashmir.” She is currently exploring how Kashmiris see their own past.

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Lisa Biagiotti, Katie Combs and Stephen Puschel