Nothing can be said that reflects poorly upon the image of Islam and Muslims. In that way, Turkey and the Western establishment media have a great deal in common. “Turkey’s Acik Radyo silenced as broadcast license revoked amid free speech concerns,” Reuters, October 17, 2024: An Istanbul-based independent radio station has gone off air after […]
Erdogan Mouthpiece in Turkey: ‘The West May Become the East and the East May Become the West’
Ibrahim Karagul, the editor of Yeni Safak, the Turkish newspaper that is the mouthpiece of the AKP, President Erdogan’s party, in March 2020 wrote a column about all the fantastic changes that he thought our giddy globe would soon undergo. East would become West, and West become East, and the powerful become powerless, and the powerless […]
Turkey: The New Superpower?
In March 2020, Ibrahim Karagul, then of the Turkish government mouthpiece Yeni Safak, reflected the self-image and aspirations of the Turkish regime. For that, his piece remains relevant, and is worth examining in depth. Karagul asserts that Turkey is one of the “new superpowers.” Yet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has alienated nearly everyone. If […]
Jejune and Vapid Vaporings From Turkey
Back in 2020, MEMRI published a translation of a strange and incomprehensible piece by Ibrahim Karagul, who was then the editor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s mouthpiece, Yeni Safak. Here, then, is a glimpse into the mind of the Turkish intelligentsia: Of course, we are going to learn from the past, from human history, […]
In Turkey, Time Has Stopped and History Has Been Reset
Back in March 2020, Ibrahim Karagul, who was at that time the editor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s mouthpiece, Yeni Safak, managed to say absolutely nothing in a great many words. I tried to find something that made sense; I failed; perhaps you can do better. Yet one thing was clear when the piece […]
Turkey: 43 Islamic jihadis indicted in Islamic State jihad attack at Istanbul church
Indicted? Why? They were just trying to accomplish quickly what Erdogan is doing more slowly. “Istanbul court OKs indictment in deadly church attack,” Hürriyet Daily News, October 5, 2024: An Istanbul court has accepted an indictment against 43 defendants involved in a deadly attack on the Santa Maria Church in the city’s Sarıyer district. The […]
Erdogan: ‘The only step to stop Israel’s arrogance and state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries’
Erdogan may be right, for the only thing that is the root of the burning hatred of Israel is the Islamic principle “Drive them out from where they drove you out” (Qur’an 2:191). The Israelis did not in fact drive the Arabs out, but that is the prevailing myth. The conflict has everything to do […]
Erdogan: ‘Just as Hitler was stopped by an alliance of humanity, Netanyahu will be stopped in the same way’
Erdogan is ignoring Hitler’s profession of admiration for Islam. Erdogan is ignoring also the fact that the mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, lived in Berlin during World War II and collaborated with the National Socialists. He even made broadcasts in Arabic calling upon Muslims to support the National Socialists, based on the common hatred […]
Erdogan: ‘Hamas is a resistance group that strives to protect its lands’
Meanwhile, the U.S. still officially classifies Hamas as a terrorist group. Either the U.S. or Turkey is eventually going to change its stance on this. It is likely to be the U.S. “Erdoğan: Hamas is a resistance group that is defending its lands,” A News, September 25,2024: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday that […]
Why Erdogan’s Call for a Pan-Islam Military Alliance Against Israel Will Not Amount to Much
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a pan-Islamic alliance to defeat Israel: “Turkey’s Erdogan: Islamic countries should form alliance against ‘Israel’s growing expansionism,’” Jerusalem Post, September 7, 2024: Erdogan hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ankara this week and they discussed the Gaza war and ways to further repair their long-frozen ties during […]