Constitutional secularism barred Turkey from leading the Islamic world

Evidence

In explicitly defining Turkey as a secular society, however, Ataturk prevented the Turkish republic from succeeding the Ottoman empire in that role. Turkey could not even become a charter member of the OIC because of the commitment to secularism in its constitution. So long as Turkey continues to define itself as a secular state, leadership of Islam is denied it. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 485