(Part One)

Reading political reality must be a conscious reading and abstract of feelings, and judging it must be based on fixed rules, in the sense that we must understand reality as it is, not as we would like it to be, and that judgment must be based on the Islamic belief and not in boats manipulated by waves and winds, just as judging people and ideas must be based on a firm base based on the Islamic creed; otherwise, we lose our awareness and are led into destruction. While we rejoice and be glad, we see the matter as a cloud bringing us rain, but it is a wind, within it a painful punishment, or a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water! The Ummah should not allow anyone to deceive it and bring it into a state that drains its energies, capabilities, time, and hope, and then it returns desperate and forsaken, especially since it has in its hands the Book of its Lord who He revealed as a guidance and light, so it is not misled as long as it takes its criteria and judgments from it and base its ideas on it. The Ummah has previously rallied around false leaders who were factory-produced and it praised and drew upon them false stances and swaggering rhetoric although these leaders did not prevent the Ummah from defeats followed by defeats and did not turn back a tampering hand; rather, they led it into destruction and manipulated its important and vital issues in favor of the enemies of the Ummah, starting with Mustafa Kamal, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Yasser Arafat, and it will not be the end with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

He was born on February 26, 1954, in the Kasımpaşa neighborhood in Istanbul, and his family came from the northern province of Riza. He joined the Islamic Imam-Hatip (Imam and Preacher) school, and accompanied Necmettin Erbakan, and served many positions before becoming mayor of Istanbul in the year 1994. He was imprisoned for four months and banned from any political activity due to his recitation of a poem by the famous Turkish poet Ziya Gökalp in which he says: “Mosques are our barracks, domes are our helmets, minarets are our bayonets, and the believers our soldiers”, then a general amnesty was issued for him.

After leaving the Virtue Party, Erdogan founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with his friend Abdullah Gul. After arriving at the Prime Minister’s Office, he abolished Erbakan’s previous policies, most notably the policy of (turning towards the East) and continued to move towards Europe and the West. In 1994, he said: “The secular doctrine on which the Turkish regime is based must be abolished because Islam and secularization cannot coexist. He considered that if Turkey had adopted an Islamic system that recognized all citizens as Muslims, it would not have faced the Kurdish problem in the south-east of the country.” He criticized the constitution and said that it was written by drunkards. Then he recoiled after that to say: “He sees secularism as a guarantee of democracy,” and stressed not to distort secularism by misinterpreting it and showing it as contrary to religion. The man also denied Islamism from his party, saying: “Some label us an Islamic party, while others see us as a moderate Islamist party. But we are neither this nor that. We are a conservative democratic party and not a religious party, and everyone should know that.” He also stated to the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir on 12/12/2009, saying: “The Justice Party is not an Islamic party, and we refuse to describe its government’s foreign policy as the Neo-Ottomanist, and we refuse to consider its sympathy for Gaza as being based on an Islamic standpoint.” If we read the introduction to the political program of his party, we will discover the reality of this party. As the program says: “Our party forms the ground for the unity and integration of the Turkish Republic; where secularism, democracy, the rule of law, processes of civilization, democratization, freedom of belief and equality of opportunity are considered essential”.

Despite the clarity of the man’s words, we find those who argue about him, describing his party as Islamist and his state as the model that the Islamists must weave along the same path. His famous speech is the biggest response to these people; he said arrogantly, “The civilization of Muslims cannot compete with the civilization of the West.” When Erbakan was asked in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper – before his death – about the motives that made Erdogan defect from the Virtue Party, he said: “Erdogan did not establish a party on his initiative, but was given orders to establish a party, why did Erdogan become a puppet in this project? Because he has weakness in terms of position, money, the presidency, and the post.” Then he said: “We are not satisfied with his loyalty and being a partner to the Zionists in some programs.” Oya Akjonensh, a prominent leader of the Islamic Saadet (Happiness) Party said, “The AKP is the party of businessmen and the wealthy. They are the ones who have benefited the most from its policy, and it is a pro-American, pro-European, and liberal party in its economic policy”. The chief adviser to Abdullah Gul had denied the possibility of Turkey turning into an Islamic state and said: “Turkey is based on foundations that cannot be changed or modified, the first of which is the secularism and democracy of the state.”

Those who defend Erdogan want to force the man to wear the Islamic dress, even though he is in complete harmony with himself and his ideas. He leads a clear secular approach, completely separates religion and state, and the religious aspect that he is keen to highlight and show is the ritual aspect, and there is no evidence or facts to prove his pursuit and orientation to apply Sharia rulings in political, economic or social affairs. The man on more than one occasion declared that he was a Muslim man leading a secular state, and when he visited Egypt after the January 25 revolution, he offered his advice to the Egyptians to adopt a secular state, so why do some insist on dressing Erdogan a dress that he does not want to wear, but he explicitly invited them to wear his secular dress, which he sees as a
“viable solution”!

There is no doubt that Erdogan’s (heroic) stances in Davos and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and his withdrawal of his country’s ambassador to the state of Jews because he felt insulted, and his claim to stand with the Syrian people against the tyrant regime of Bashar made him very popular in the Arab world, and he benefited greatly from it, so that he became the object of hope for many who are not accustomed to such stances from the leaders of their countries; however, in the midst of these (heroic) positions, we do not forget the fact that Turkey is a major player in the march of normalization with Jews, in which all the countries of the region have been involved without exception. There is no doubt also that Turkey’s claim that it supports the Palestinian resistance is a false claim. Normalization and support for the resistance are two opposites that do not meet, and we must not forget that his red lines in Syria did not benefit the people of Syria in anything, but the revolution in Syria has been stifled and the areas that were under the hands of the armed opposition to the regime are handed over, and the plot continues to hand over the rest of Idlib. In addition, the distinguished relations between Turkey and the United States and the fact that Turkey is a member of NATO, which has declared economic, political and military relations with Jews, nominate it to play the role of the marriage contract that is to be completed between Arabs and Jews.

Erdogan’s position on the Palestinian issue and the relationship with the Jewish entity:

After years of tension and estrangement following the (Israeli) commandos killing ten of Turkish activists who were on board the ship (Mavi Marmara) that was seeking to reach the besieged Gaza Strip in 2010, Erdogan sacrificed Gaza, and the international demands to lift the siege on it, and has concluded after many rounds of negotiations in a number of European cities an agreement to normalize relations with the Jewish entity in 2016. The agreement included: the return of ambassadors and visits, a commitment not to act against each other in international organizations, and the return of security and intelligence cooperation between the two parties. In return, Turkey waived the condition of lifting the blockade of Gaza in exchange for allowing it to build a modern hospital, a seawater desalination plant, and a power plant in the Strip.

On June 26, 2016, the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, visited Ankara and met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, and they agreed in this regard that “Turkey will not allow Hamas any military activities against Israel from Turkish territory, whether in terms of planning, direction or implementation, while Hamas continues to maintain its offices in Turkey for diplomatic activities”, in exchange for the Jewish entity conceding a condition and a demand to expel Hamas leaders from Turkey. In November 2016, the two sides exchanged ambassadors, and the Foreign Ministry of the Jewish entity appointed the diplomatic Yehud, Eitan Naih, as ambassador to Ankara, and Turkey sent Ambassador Kemal Wakim.

In November 2016, when the Jewish entity was hit by a fire wave, which led to the burning of settlements in the occupied West Bank, Turkey offered to send a large firefighting plane to help extinguish the fires, and the Turkish government was the first to provide assistance to extinguish the fires, and Erdogan provided three fire-fighting planes, and Netanyahu said at the time that he appreciates this offer and the assistance provided by the Turkish government.

The evident reality is that Erdogan does not see a problem in the occupation of about 80% of Palestine, but rather considers the Jewish entity a legitimate state, and he still recognizes its right to exist on the land of Isra and Mi’raj, calls for the American two-state solution, and incites Hamas to publicly recognize the Jewish entity!, Rather, he sees the problem only in the settlements, because they constitute an obstacle to “peace”.

Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem:

In December 2017, Erdogan threatened to sever ties with the Jewish entity if the United States recognized Jerusalem as its capital. This did not happen. Neither has he severed ties with the Jewish entity, nor has he taken a stance towards America, which the threat must be to cut ties with and not with its shadow, the Jewish entity. Erdogan said at the time that such a move is a “red line” for Muslims. Then he reiterated the same words after America implemented its plan to actually move the embassy and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of “Israel”. On May 8, 2018, in a television interview with (CNN), he said: The US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem is a grave mistake. On May 14, during his visit to London, he said: “The United States, with its last step, chose to be part of the problem, not the solution, and lost the mediating role in the peace process.” These were nothing but hollow statements that had no effect on the ground, even the extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul, which Erdogan called for to denounce the Jewish entity violations against the Palestinian people after the killing of more than sixty Palestinians and wounding two thousand with bullets by the Jewish entity’s army on the borders with the Gaza Strip, in events that coincided with the inauguration of the new US embassy in East Jerusalem. Even this summit had no effect other than to throw ash in the eyes through words of denunciation and condemnation. Before the opening of the summit, Erdogan declared in a speech to thousands of demonstrators who gathered in central Istanbul at his invitation to show their support for the Palestinians that the Islamic world (failed in the Jerusalem test) and did not succeed in preventing moving the US embassy to the Holy City. The failure is the failure of the rulers who are watching what is happening, but rather they are participating in the conspiracy against Palestine, whether those who did not express any objection to that American move, or those who renounced, condemned and denounced. Erdogan has sought to lead the Muslim world with mere rhetoric, engaging in a war of words with the Jewish entity to repeat the biography of former Arab leaders who have traded the cause to win the friendliness of the peoples who view the issue of Palestine as a vital issue of the nation’s issues.

Deal of the Century and the Turkish position on it:

On Tuesday 28/01/2020, US President Trump announced at a press conference in Washington the alleged Deal of the Century, in the presence of the Jewish entity’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The plan includes the creation of a (connected) Palestinian state in the form of an archipelago linked by bridges and tunnels, and making Jerusalem the undivided capital of the Jewish entity. On Thursday, 30/01/2020, during the Anadolu Media Awards ceremony, Erdogan said, commenting on that deal of the century: “Jerusalem is not for sale.” He also said: “They call it the Deal of the Century, what deal is this! This is an occupation project.” He added, “We as a Turkish nation, our view of Palestine today is the same as that of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.”

It is noteworthy that on March 5, 1883 CE, Sultan Abdul Hamid issued a legal draft known as The Second Will abolishing Jews ownership of the land entirely, and prohibiting the sale of any inch of Palestine to the Jews, which remained in force until his removal from the throne in 1909, and during that period Sultan Abdul Hamid purchased the land that its people wanted to sell. In 1896 CE, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, may Allah have mercy on him, refused to sell Palestine to the head of the Jewish Agency, Theodor Herzl, to establish a Zionist state that brings together the Zionists, and on that day Sultan Abdul Hamid responded to Herzl by saying: “I won’t sell anything, not even an inch of this territory (Palestine). Because this land is not my own, but rather belongs to the Ottoman state, and by Allah, if you cut my body piece by piece, I will not give up an inch of Palestine.” Indeed, Sultan Abdul Hamid was able to protect Palestine, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and was able to torpedo Herzl’s “deal of the century”, and the Zionists’ dream came true only after the Ottoman Islamic Caliphate was overthrown. What did Erdogan do in response to that deal of the century, except to talk about red lines that are growing day by day.

Erdogan’s position on the Syrian issue:

On September 5, 2012, Erdogan said, “In the shortest possible time, if Allah wills it; and embrace our brothers. That day is close, with Allah’s permission, we will read Al-Fatiha near the grave of Salahaddin Ayyubi, and pray in the Umayyad Mosque, and we will freely pray for our brothers near the grave of Bilal al-Habashi, Ibn Arabi, Takia Sulaimaniyah and the Hijaz railway station”. But this did not happen. Rather, Erdogan implemented the American plan in Syria, which is to prevent the regime from falling, and the most prominent of which was Turkey’s withdrawal of fighters loyal to it at the end of 2016 to fight ISIS in the city of al-Bab, while Aleppo fronts were in dire need of support and fighters as the battle to siege and suppress Aleppo continued from February 2016 until Aleppo fell to the hands of the regime in December 2016. This is how it became apparent that Aleppo was for the Syrian regime in exchange for the city of al-Bab for the Turks in a clear deal between the Russians and the Turks. The battle of al-Bab lasted nearly three months, and the Turkish-backed Euphrates Shield forces entered the city of al-Bab on 23 February 2017, thus expanding the Turkish geography within the Syrian territories between fighting ISIS to fighting the Kurds without contact with the regime, which was also expanding in other more vital areas, where the regime’s control of Eastern Ghouta came at the end of March 2018, shortly after the forces affiliated with the Turkish military operation named Ghosn al-Zaytoun took control of the city of Afarin in mid-March 2018. The scenario was repeated again in the battle waged by Turkey and its allies against the Kurds in Ras al-Ain and Tell Abyad under the name Peace Spring, so that Turkey could take full control of the border, while at the same time large areas of Kurdish control moved to regime control without fighting. Thus, all Turkey’s moves were accompanied by expansions and territories restored to the regime on the one hand, and more full domination and control over the remaining factions in the Syrian revolution, the most recent of which was Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Al-Nusra) following the recent Idlib events and the understandings that preceded the implementation of the Sochi agreements, and the suppression of any voice opposing the agreement; where Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has arrested more than thirty members of Hizb ut Tahrir who instigate people to keep the  orientation of the revolution as one, towards the overthrow of the regime on the one hand, and to break away from external influence and reject insidious international agreements on the other hand.

Turkey has set up 12 observation posts in the governorates of Idlib and the countryside of Hama and Aleppo, in agreement with the Russian and Iranian side, with the aim of implementing what is known as the de-escalation agreement in the areas that separated the Syrian regime forces from the opposition, and entered into force under (de-escalation), but this de-escalation was unilateral, as the massacres committed by the regime and its ally Russia increased under the eyes of the Turkish guarantor, and the regime began to control the remaining areas under the control of the Syrian opposition.

And the Syrian areas began to fall successively from the hands of the Syrian opposition with a Russian-Turkish agreement that includes the conduct of military patrols with the two sides agreeing on the clause ‘combating terrorism’ in Moscow’s quest for full control of the territory under the control of the revolutionary factions, the last of which was the city of Saraqib in Idlib province, the last stronghold of the Syrian revolution. It is known that in order to fight ‘terrorism’, you must stick to a peg, as happened in the Syrian city of Al-Bab. Where the countries of the world agreed to fight (ISIS) after giving it the green light at the beginning of the revolution to penetrate into the Syrian cities, so that Bashar al-Assad will continue to work and kill under the pretext of fighting ‘terrorism’ with his allies.

What Erdogan committed in Syria, for example, is a betrayal of Islam and a crime against Muslims. He was the first contributor to defeating the revolution, and he stands by Russia and coordinates all his steps with it, so how do these people view Erdogan as their hope and inspiration, and at the same time see Russia and Iran as the Ummah’s enemy?!!

Erdogan was the one who handed over the city of Aleppo on a golden plate to the Bashar regime after this great city remained for years insurmountable for him and all those who lined up on his side, Russia, Iran and its party and their slaves and sacrifice, when Erdogan opened Operation Euphrates Shield coinciding with the regime and its parties’ attack on Aleppo, i.e. in the time when Aleppo and its people were in desperate need of those who would respond to their help, so it happened, and there was no strength or power except in Allah.

It is no longer hidden from anyone that America, and Russia behind it, were not seeking to bring down its agent, the tyrant of the Levant. Rather, it sought to abort the revolution and restore the situation to what it was before its beginning in 2011, where America was the actual implementer of the saying (Assad or we burn the country) and now it is trying to finish what it started with; perhaps northern Syria is the last stronghold and the last fortress in this revolution.

All the danger is in the agreements of Putin and Erdogan, who have mastered the function of manipulating the factions loyal to him in order to allow Russia and the criminal regime to single out the regions one after another, and then controlling them. And in order to produce the play well, a policy of intense brutal air strikes on the people, schools, markets and hospitals are followed, with the deliberate collapse of the factions that are supposed to be ready to defend their areas and to create complete chaos with which it is impossible to control things. Then the call for surrender is launched under the name of bloodshed and the preservation of what remains, and the betrayals of Geneva, Astana and Sochi become the ceiling of the aspirations of the revolution and the people.

[Continues in Part Two …]

 

Hamed Abdel Aziz – Egypt

Source: Al-Waie Magazine – Issue 407 – Dhul-Hijjah 1441 AH corresponding to August 2020 CE