ARTICLE: "Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Islam," by Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, 4 May 2008, p. A1.

ARTICLE: "Istanbul's Economic Tension: A lawsuit threatens to undo the pro-Islamic government's record of reform and growth," by Andrew Purvis, Time, 12 May 2008, p. G1.

First one is about a group of Turkish educators who create a sort of Muslim Peace Corps volunteers for pushing an "entirely different vision of Islam" from the nasty stuff peddled so pervasively by the cynical House of Saud.

These Turks are pushing their new package specifically in Pakistan. How much you want to bet this does more to change things than our Spec Ops?

This is classic Sufi moderation that embraces science and technology in a natural coexistence. Good stuff.

According to Time, FDI jumps 30-fold in Turkey since 2002, up to $22 billion. Better yet, Turks are investing abroad, like $28B in Russia last year alone. Russia says it needs $1 trillion in infrastructure by 2020, and Turkish construction firms are ready and willing to clean up while building up.

Oh yes, Erdogan makes a show of punishing the PKK over the border in Kurdish Iraq. Turkey also pours $10B in FDI into the same emerging nation—like 'em or not.

To the surprise of some but not me, such prosperity makes Turks more interested in religion, not less. Abundance has done that everywhere except aberration Europe, where the World Wars so freaked out the locals about nationalism and religion that they've sought defensively to move beyond it. Good luck with that as the population ages and "others" are let in, others who need religion to retain identity.