Historically, the Turkish nation has been a major player on the international political front. With its geography situating Turkey at the interstices of Europe and the Middle East, the Turkish state has played a unique and highly fluctuating role in both regions. Despite long-standing allegiances to the West, over the past decade; dominated by the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), a large Muslim population and a charismatic leader (Prime Minister) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkey has seen growing trade and relations with its Middle Eastern neighbors, significant economic growth, and a seemingly growing appetite for combative international affairs. Nevertheless, as events continue to unfold in the region, the Turkish state sees an opportunity, an opportunity to rise to prominence and gain regional leadership; an opportunity they are more than willing to seize. In the past, before the current instability plaguing the Middle East, Turkish and Arab relations were at a standstill. Many factors played a role in straining these relations, the most important of which was the fact that the Arabs had not really forgotten that the Turks, then called the Ottomans, had been their colonial rulers. for about five centuries. The rule of the Ottomans, in its early days, enjoyed a life, to some extent, a life of freedom, wealth and general social and communal justice. The Ottoman Empire adhered to most Islamic laws, while governing on the basis of religion, regardless of race and gender. This earned the Ottoman rulers enormous popularity among the Arab colonies and the general Arab population at the time, who enjoyed living under such governance and power. Nevertheless, as its...... middle of paper ......iticalreview.com /turkey-past-present-and-future-leader-of-the-middle-east/>.Juferi, Mohammad Elfie Nieshaem . “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: ​​The enemy of Islam. » Bismikaallahuma.org: 3-4. Print.Tocci, Nathalie, Omer Taspinar, Henri J. Barkley, Eduard Lecha and Hassan Nafaa. “Turkey and the Arab Spring: Implications for Turkish Foreign Policy from a Transatlantic Perspective.” Mediterranean Paper Series 2011 (2011): 1-27. Print. Stuart, Hannah. “A Henry Jackson Society Strategy Briefing.” Turkey and the Arab Spring (2011). www.henryjacksonsociety.org. The Henry Jackson Society, October 2011. Web. May 5. 2012. Turkey and the Arab Spring. " Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Web. May 7. 2012. .