Turkey at the shores of purgatory

With hearts pounding for the (Sunni) Muslim paradise but minds not too silly to risk a (Shiite) Muslim hell, officialdom in Ankara is going through the country's century-old conundrum: Unfortunately, Muslim Turkey is privately viewed as an "infidel land" both by Wahhabi (or other fellow) Sunni Arabs and by the Shiite (not-so-fellow) Persians. It is simple to understand. For the Wahhabi and other Arab Sunni supremacists, Turkey, despite its all-too-willing Islamists, is too Western, too secular, too infidel and too un-Arab. For the Shiite supremacists, despite its all-too-willing pro-Muslim-solidarity rhetoric, Turkey is too Western, too secular, too infidel and too Sunni. 

Turks are trying something - most probably in vain. They sang music to Persian ears numerous times in nice, Kodak-moment pleasantries during state visits in both Ankara and Tehran. In one such moment, last April, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said: "Whether it's Shiite or Sunni does not concern me; what concerns me is Muslims."  

Mr. Erdo?an was honest and not. Honest, because what concerns him really is Muslims when they should come against others. And not, because it does concern him a lot whether it's Sunni or Shiite when the two sects should come against each other. Unlucky for him, the Persians have mastered "taqiyya" much better than the Turks, and have not provided any indication of taking him seriously - other than giving him fake hugs, and that, despite his "awfully Western attire."

Mr. Erdo?an and his men are not luckier when they play their role to a much more "home" (read: Sunni) audience. In a recent fancy state visit to the Saudi Kingdom, Turkey's top Muslim cleric, Professor Mehmet Görmez, said: "Turkey and Saudi Arabia are among the biggest countries...