Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week welcomes dozens of leaders to Istanbul for a summit aimed at overcoming splits in the Islamic world despite doubts over Ankara’s ability to narrow divisions between Muslims.
Turkey’s hosting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on Thursday and Friday is a new symbol of its desire to be seen as a major power in the Islamic world, especially in lands once controlled by the Ottoman Empire.
But the policies of Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government have at times been divisive, in particular over five-year civil war in Syria where it has been accused of aiding fundamentalist rebels in the hope they will oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Hit by a crisis in relations with Egypt’s secular rulers and at times tricky ties with Shiite Iran, Turkey has sought to build alliances with fellow overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Turkey’s ambitious foreign policy aim of “zero problems with neighbours” unravelled as crises erupted on almost all of its borders and the summit is a chance for Erdogan to show its ability to solve rather than create crises.
“Hosting the OIC summit is prestigious and an opportunity for Turkey. It comes at a very good moment when Turkey needs to restore its image in the Muslim world,” Jean Marcou, political scientist and research director at Sciences Po Grenoble in France told AFP.
There is a security lockdown around the summit venue in Istanbul, the former capital of the Ottoman Empire from where the Sultans once ruled Muslims from the Balkans to Arabia.
The opulent arrangements of the most significant guest — Saudi King Salman — have also raised eyebrows in the Turkish press with reports saying some 500 luxury cars were hired for his delegation.
Muslim countries have failed to find a common position over the conflict in Syria, where Turkey and Saudi back rebels fighting Assad and Iran is a strong supporter of the regime.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the summit was being held at a time when “the Islamic world is experiencing many disputes within itself.”
“Fratricidal conflict cause great pain. Sectarianism divides the ummah,” he told OIC foreign ministers on Tuesday, using the Arabic world for the Muslim community.
“Hopefully, this summit will pave the way for healing some wounds.”
The summit takes place in the wake of a bilateral meeting in Ankara on Tuesday between Erdogan and King Salman which underlined the importance ties with Riyadh now have in Turkey’s foreign policy.