Book Review: Hanna Lucinda Smith 'Erdogan Rising: a warning to Europe'

As Pakistanis, Turkey, and Turkish history have always amazed and fascinated us. We have a special relationship as Muslims, and every Turkish soap is now a household name in Pakistan. Well, the man behind all of this is Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His rhetorically eloquent and appealing speeches in which he spoke fearlessly about Islamophobia and Western biases always drew media attention. He has a fascinating personality, and it's difficult to ignore what he says and does.

Leading a country with many facets due to its geography, which connects East and West and surrounds a region rife with conflict, chaos, and war. The internal and external conflict that Turkey is currently facing is also reflected and amalgamated in the personality known as Mr. Erdogan.

In her book 'Erdogan Rising: A Warning to Europe,' Hanna Lucinda Smith takes you on a tour of Turkey through the eyes of ordinary people, telling you how they perceive Turkey's current leader.

The transition that Turkey has gone through since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, from Mustafa Kamal Ataturk's secular approach to today, is an interesting story of a changing Turkey. Erdogan has boldly addressed the issue of the befuddled nation by first becoming mayor of Istanbul; the unprecedented development that Istanbul experienced during his tenure is his greatest achievement.

Load shedding, water, and gas shortages were common problems prior to Erdogan's presidency, but Turkey is now on par with any developed country.

The integration of refugees into Turkish society and providing them with a dignified life in refugee camps equipped with modern sewerage systems adds credibility to Mr. Erdogan's work.

Mr. Erdogan's current challenges include engaging with his neighbors, particularly the complex Kurdish problem on the Syrian border, balancing the secular vs. Islam approach, rising political challenges, particularly after the coup attempt, and tolerating dissent. To control the chaos that he is currently facing, he must seriously reconsider his policies.

Turkey's engagement with the European Union (EU) is also facing difficult times, and it appears that the Turkish people regard rejection of the EU as a betrayal. Mr. Erdogan saw this as a challenge and wisely used it for political gain.

The crux of the book is that you cannot ignore Mr. Erdogan in today's geopolitics; the only challenge he faces today is tension within Turkey, not from the outside. If he can deal with that, he will be a warning to Europe, as the book suggests.