The recent election of an Islamic party with fundamentalist roots in Turkey will help set a positive example to the numerous Middle-Eastern countries struggling with fundamentalism, according to a speaker in George Sherman Union Conference Auditorium Friday night.

More than 100 people attended the debate, which was presented by the Boston University Society for Middle Eastern Studies and Euro-Asian and Turkish Association. During the debate, titled ‘Turkey Under a New Government: New Options and Direction?’ three panelists debated what the new controlling party in Turkey means for Turkey and the United States.

Cengiz Candar, a columnist for the Tercüman Daily, said the country has always been a ‘role model’ to the rest of the Muslim world, but was never seen as legitimate because the government was not religious. Now that the fundamentalist party is now in control, the Middle East will now look to them for leadership.

Candar, a supporter of the AK party, disputed claims made by the Middle Eastern community that the election of AK party represents a revolution in Turkey.

‘It is better to have this Islamic government [in Turkey],’ he said. ‘Turkey has always acted as role-models for the Muslim world.’

Candar said ‘Turks are good Muslims,’ while Osama bin Laden represents Islam gone bad. Turkey can now act as the new Middle-Eastern role model.

‘The United States has accepted this party and what it represents as an alternative to Islam according to Osama bin Laden and what he represents,’ he said.

‘Stay with us, stay with Turkey,’ he said later.

Candar said though many people believe Turkey is now ‘at the crossroads,’ he does not remember a time the country was not.

‘It has become a stereotype to talk about Turkey at the crossroads, but for as long as I can remember Turkey has always been at a crossroads,’ he said.

However, Etyen Mahcupyan, a columnist from the Turkish Zaman Daily, said he believes the new governing party in Turkey is negative for the country.

‘We can interpret that the state will either make [the country] more Muslim or less democratic,’ Mahcupyan said.

Mahcupyan said it is near impossible for a secular state to be ruled by a government with religious roots.

According to Mahcupyan, the secular bourgeoisie, which formerly controlled the government, will now play a fundamental role, either negatively or positively, in the new government and the future of the state. If they take an active role and attempt to destroy the Islam party, it could have implications on how free the democracy is. However, if they take no role the fundamentalist party could take too much power making the government less secular.

‘This will be a historical test of what both the government and the bourgeoisie will do,’ he said.

Malik Mufti, a political science professor at Tufts University and author, took a more objective role in the debate. Mufti brought up the idea of the military playing the role of a third party in Turkey and what this means to the nation.

He also suggested the idea of the Kurds acting as a threat to the Turkish government, should the United States enter a war with Iraq. There has been an ongoing war between the Turkish and the Kurdish people, and if Turkey continues to fight the Kurds it could result in ‘a war worse then Vietnam,’ he said.

He also laid out many different options for paths the country could take, as war approaches and as they bid to join the European Union.

‘This is the thing about Turkey,’ Mufti said. ‘Everything is about to happen.’

Zana Citak, a student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, attended the debate because she said she is from Turkey and thus is very interested in current political situation there. Turkey is especially interesting now because of the many options with which they are presented, she said.

‘Turkey is a very unique case,’ Citak said. ‘The country is secular being ruled by a party with Islamic roots; at the same time the country has aspirations to join the European Union while trying to maintain good relations with Iraq.’

Boston University student A.J. Porter also attended the debate Friday because she is interested in international relations.

‘Turkey is in the middle of everything literally,’ Porter said. ‘After this debate I really realize how interconnected everyone is. I wish more Americans would take interest in what’s going on because this affects them more then they realize.’