Arab press: "We are now neighbors with Europe"

There has been wide reaction to the start of Turkish-EU accession talks throughout Arab countries, which sent a combined enormous cadre of media representatives to follow the start of the talks in Luxembourg on Monday night. While Syrian newspapers have carried headlines like "We are now neighbors with Europe," Lebanese and Jordanian newspapers have referred to Turkey as "the Middle East's European neighbor."Newspapers in Bahrein and Qatar carried articles noting that Turkey's European dream had come true, declaring it a victory for secular Islamicism in Europe. Messages of congratulations also rained in on Turkish diplomatic representatives in Arab countries.  Speaking with news agency Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he believed Turkey would be an important representative for the Islamic world. General Secretary of the Arab Union, Amr Musa, said he was pleased with the start up of talks between Turkey and the EU: "I congratulate Turkey. If Turkey becomes the only Muslim country in the EU, it will be an important bridge between the Christian and the Islamic worlds." Â