Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proclaimed that “‘Jews in Israel’ beat Palestinian woman and children, telling his audience at an Istanbul meeting of the Turkey Youth Foundation that Muslims must ensure Israelis are ‘taught a lesson.’” He went on: “But as Muslims, will confront these people [the Jews] if they have courage to deal […]
Hugh Fitzgerald: Erdogan Cracks Down on the Kurds
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is livid at the United States for allowing Kurdish forces to fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). And meanwhile, Turkey is still cracking down on the Kurds: Turkish police detained 90 people on Tuesday over suspected links to outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels, the government said, and the main pro-Kurdish […]
Turkey: Al-Qaeda promoter operates bookstore, sells jihadist books openly with no government interference
“Osman Akyıldız, a known figure among radical groups, was in fact investigated on charges of terrorism with respect to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). But just like many jihadist cases in Turkey, he was quickly released thanks to the political cover provided by the Islamist government of President Recep […]
Erdogan threatens military action against US-backed forces fighting against the Islamic State
Not a friend. Not an ally. Turkey should be removed from NATO, and our international alliances reconfigured in light of the realities of the global jihad. “Syrian Kurdish-led fighters take Hajin, last town held by ISIS,” by Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, December 14, 2018: BEIRUT — U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by […]
Turkey’s Religious Affairs top dog: Children who don’t study the Quran are close to Satan
Then when they read all that about “kill them wherever you find them” (Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, cf. 9:5), and “strike the necks” of the unbelievers (Qur’an 47:4), and that unbelievers are “the most vile of created beings” (Qur’an 98:6), and that Muslims should be “merciful to one another, ruthless to unbelievers” (Qur’an 48:29), and that […]
Turkey: Muslim columnist says he opposes education, sports, culture, and enlightenment
He said it. His anti-intellectualism follows in the footsteps of the caliph Umar, who is supposed to have said when ordering the ancient, fabled library of Alexandria to be burned: “If the books agree with the Qur’an, they are superfluous. If they disagree with it, they are heretical.” “I am against education, sports, culture, and […]
Erdogan: Turkish intelligence orchestrated anti-Saudi campaign in Western media over Khashoggi murder
Erdogan wanted to weaken the Saudis in order to strengthen Turkey’s bid to be once again the leader of the Islamic world. The Western media eagerly played along, wanting to use the Khashoggi murder as a stick they could use to beat Trump, as well as to weaken the opposition to the Islamic Republic of […]
Turkey’s religious affairs top dog: Important area of cooperation with Europe is efforts to eliminate Islamophobia
If Ali Erbaş really wants to end “Islamophobia,” here is how he and his fellow Muslims could accomplish it. They could call upon Muslim individuals and groups to: 1. Focus their indignation on Muslims committing violent acts in the name of Islam, not on non-Muslims reporting on those acts. 2. Renounce definitively, sincerely, honestly, and […]
Turkey: Academic suspended for mocking Quran on social media, criminal complaint filed against him
An academic at a university in Turkey’s western province of Aydın has been suspended pending an investigation after he allegedly mocked verses of the Islamic holy book on social media…The unnamed academic was removed from duty at Aydın Menderes University on Wednesday after the university rector, Cavit Bircan, filed a criminal complaint against him. Why […]
Turkish President Erdogan threatens to build long-range missiles within three years
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised that “Ankara will produce first long-range missiles by 2021.” This is a matter of concern coming from an Islamic leader as ambitious and aggressive as Erdogan. He accused Europe of starting a war between Islam and Christianity in 2017, after a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) […]