Erdogan offers 'Arab Spring' neo-laicism

Following criticism in Egypt, the Turkish PM repeats his support for secular governments where he says all religious groups are treated equally. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday repeated his controversial call for uprising-hit Arab countries to adopt "secular states," following Turkey’s model. "Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state of law. As for secularism, a secular state has an equal distance to all religious groups, including Muslim, Christian, Jewish and atheist people," Erdogan said during a visit to Tunis, the place where the wave of pro-democracy revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa began late last year."Tunisia will prove to the whole world that Islam and democracy can co-exist. Turkey with its predominantly Muslim population has achieved it," Erdogan said. His administration is seen by many as a model for post-revolution Arab countries, though Islamic groups in Egypt were split over his pro-secularism remarks there."On the subject of secularism, this is not secularism in the Anglo-Saxon or Western sense; a person is not secular, the state is secular," Erdogan said, describing Turkey as democratic and secular. "A Muslim can govern a secular state in a successful way. In Turkey, 99 percent of the population is Muslim, and it did not pose any problem. You can do the same here." Erdogan traveled to Tunisia following a rapturous welcome in Cairo and issued the kind of trademark warning to Israel that has earned him hero status on his "Arab Spring tour."