Sir, It is not surprising that the FT supports the democratically elected Islamist government in Turkey (editorial, “Talking Turkey”, July 15 and previous articles). This is the form of government that is practised and advocated by western European societies based on their circumstances and history. The problem is that other countries may have completely different problems and circumstances.

The difficulty for the FT, which is prepared to question and discuss any other concept or idea, is that it is not prepared to discuss whether democracy is the best form of government for different people under different circumstances. May I remind you that the political and social progress of Turkey from the 1920s to the 1990s was not the result of a democratically elected government but the result of the principles laid down by an enlightened soldier, Kemal Atatürk. We would probably not have a Turkish state today if it were not for him.