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Erdogan suggests name change for Arab League

"Why don’t we just call it the 'Islamic League' instead of the Arab League?" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a remark that is bound to raise eyebrows in Arab capitals.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the opening session of Arab League's foreign ministers meeting at the League headquarters in Cairo September 13, 2011. Erdogan told a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo on Tuesday that the recognition of a Palestinian state was "not an option but an obligation". Arab states will push for a fully fledged Palestinian state at the United Nations next week. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh  (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2R8UK
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the opening session of the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting at the league's headquarters in Cairo, Sept. 13, 2011. — REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The remarks of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the recent summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, where he urged unity among Islamic nations against what he considers to be a perfidious West, and the threat of terrorism from radical Islamic groups, left many with the impression that he was vying for the leadership of the Islamic world. 

There are few indications to suggest, however, that the Islamic world wants Turkey to play such a role. The Islamic world also appears to be as far as ever from the unity that Erdogan has been calling for. Much to Erdogan's disappointment, relations between Islamic countries have proved to be more complex than he imagined. 

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