The June 16 selection of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu as the joint presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), the two leading opposition parties in the Turkish parliament, has triggered heated debate around two issues: whether Ihsanoglu's selection is a signal that the opposition parties have conceded to Turkey’s growing Muslim identity and whether the parties seek to change the country’s south-looking focus on the Middle East.

Ihsanoglu, 70, was born and raised in Cairo. During his academic career, he focused on the development of the Islamic world in all its aspects, and in January 2005, he was elected secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, despite Saudi Arabia openly lobbying against him. With 57 member countries, the OIC is the world's second largest international organization after the United Nations. Ihsanoglu held his position for nine years, until January of this year.

Ihsanoglu’s knowledge and experience are not, however, limited to the Muslim and Arab worlds. He assumed the OIC's top seat during the ongoing aftermath of al-Qaeda’s September 2001 attack on the United States that created worry around the globe and discussions on whether Islam promoted such violence and its (in)compatibility with the values of the Western world. The OIC's position on relations with the West was mixed, but Ihsanoglu arranged for Australia, Canada, the European Union, Great Britain and the United States to assign special representatives to the OIC for the first time in an attempt to try to bridge differences. Russia was also given observer status at the time.

The two opposition parties appear to have blindsided the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with their agreement to put forward Ihsanoglu as their candidate for the elections scheduled for Aug. 10. After all, when the Islamist AKP used its numbers in parliament to select Abdullah Gul to be president in 2007, many in the opposition hit the streets to protest against a first lady who covers her hair. When Gul was sworn into office, the pro-AKP media rejoiced that the country finally had a pious Muslim in Cankaya palace.