Man of the Century: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Gail Heriot

Never laugh when over a million people tell you that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ought to be Time Magazine’s “Man of the Century.”  About ten years ago, there was a raft of news stories about all the votes Ataturk (whose name, bestowed upon him by the Turkish National Assembly, means “Father of the Turks”) was getting in the Time Magazine poll.  Ultimately, Winston Churchill got more votes than Ataturk (1.36 million vs. 1.34 million), but Ataturk was the early favorite and gave Churchill a real run for his money.  (Note that Lenin, Castro & Hitler also did pretty well.  Votes are not necessarily cast for the “most admired.”)

Westerners tended to see this as a joke.  They regarded Ataturk–who founded the Republic of Turkey as a modern secular state–as a local hero, but not a world player.  But in the cold light of the 21st century, it looks like Ataturk’s fans had a point.  Keeping the lid on what has come to be called “Islamism” may, in the grand scheme of history, turn out to have been every bit as important as defeating nazism and ultimately communism in Europe.

Maimon reports what he terms the “melancholy” aspects of the news from Istanbul:  “[M]any if not most women now wear Islamic (or Islamist) costume – ranging from headscarves to the full Saudi or Iranian black burqa.”  If he is right that twenty years ago that would not have been the case, then there is reason for worry.  Is there a 21st century Turkish secularizer out there?