بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Erdogan Preserves Western Hegemony by Enabling the Jewish State to Perpetrate Genocide in Gaza
By Islam Mujahid – Wilayah Pakistan
[وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللهَ عَلَى مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ]
“There is the type of man whose speech about this world’s life may dazzle you, and he calls Allah to witness about what is in his heart; yet is he the most contentious of enemies.” [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 204]
Since Netanyahu’s declaration of war on Gaza, Erdogan has adopted a fiery posture towards the Jewish state, while being careful not to offer any form of military assistance to the Palestinians. On October 12th, 2023, Erdogan responded to public pressure and described the Jewish state’s attacks on Gaza as having reached “the level of a massacre”. Yet despite his acknowledgment, Erdogan did nothing to prevent the merciless slaughter of Palestinians. Instead, he watched the bloodshed of Gazans unfold from the comfort of his palace for almost two weeks before dialling up the rhetoric and equating the Jewish state’s military operation as “amounting to genocide”. Once gain he stopped short of embracing any retaliatory measures against the Jewish state, which only emboldened Netanyahu to act with impunity against Gazans wreaking destruction on an unimaginable scale.
Finally on October 28, 2023, Erdogan under intense public pressure retorted “we will declare the [Jewish state] a war criminal”. Immediately, the Jewish state which had already withdrawn diplomatic representatives, announced it was reviewing its ties with Turkiye. And what was Erdogan’s response? He did not sever diplomatic ties or recall his ambassador from Tel Aviv. On the contrary, Erdogan continued to strengthen the Jewish state by supplying much needed oil—from Azerbaijan via the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline— to propel the Zionist war machine and ensuring bilateral trade worth $7.5bn (including agricultural products, machinery, and chemical products) reached the Jewish state. All of this happened, while Gaza was under an intense Zionist embargo—no water supplies, no food, no oil to provide electricity, no medical supplies and no one allowed to leave. Again, Erdogan trampled on demands of the Turkish people “to send armies to Al-Aqsa” to end the Jewish siege in Gaza and liberate all of Palestine.
It is no secret that military power of the reservist Jewish army is no match for the Turkiye’s professional army. The reservist Jewish army is a collection of over equipped prison guards, which have only fought phoney wars with the Arabs. In contrast, the Turkish army is a formidable power, so much so that it serves as America’s principal anchor in NATO and is the organisation’s second strongest army. Under Erdogan’s leadership the Turkish armed forces have enjoyed an extensive military footprint reminiscent of the Seljuk and Ottoman rule and includes successful operations in Azerbaijan—Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean, and Libya. Additionally, the Turkish army for decades conducted counter-terrorism operations against the Kurds (PKK) and more recently against ISIS, and therefore is well equipped to not only free Gaza from the tyranny of the Zionists but also liberate the whole of Palestine in a matter of days.
However, it is evident based on Erdogan’s record that he only deploys Turkiye’s armed forces either to cement America’s primacy in the region or to aid America’s subjugation of Muslims to liberate themselves from colonial rule like in Afghanistan and Libya. Hence, despite the desire of the Turkish army to follow their ancestors the Seljuks and Ottomans to liberate Palestine, Erdogan will not send his troops because this will end America’s control over the Arab and Islamic world. Furthermore, Erdogan’s rant against the West like pointing out Western “double standards” in dealing with Ukraine and Palestine or the “massacre in Gaza is entirely the work of the West” are disingenuous—such statements are manufactured to stymie domestic criticism against his inaction. In fact, Erdogan only acted and cut relations with the Jewish state when Netanyahu refused to agree to US Secretary of State, Blinken’s “humanitarian pause”. In a desperate bid to please the US, Erdogan is now only interested in a post war security role for Turkiye in Gaza and he cares little for the spilling of pure Muslim blood by the Jewish state. If Erdogan is serious about ending Western and American interference in Muslim lands and liberating Palestine for good, then he must implement the commands of Allah (swt):
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِم بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِمَا جَاءَكُم مِّنَ الْحَقِّ يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَن تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللهِ رَبِّكُمْ﴾
“O believers! Do not take My enemies and yours as trusted allies, showing them affection even though they deny what has come to you of the truth.” [TMQ: Surah Al-Mumtahanah: 1] And the verse:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾
“O believers! Do not take My enemies and yours as trusted allies, showing them affection even though they deny what has come to you of the truth. They drove the Messenger and yourselves out ˹of Mecca˺, simply for your belief in Allah, your Lord.” [TMQ: Surah Al Maidah:51].
The practical manifestation of severing ties with Western powers that unequivocally support the Jewish state and are at war with the Muslim world requires Erdogan to execute the following:
1. Cut diplomatic ties with all Western states that explicitly support the Jewish state. Close their embassies and expel their diplomatic and military personnel from Turkiye. Additionally, end all forms cooperation with the Jewish state like commercial trade, military assistance, and the supply of steel and oil, which keeps the Jewish army running.
2. Immediately stop the supplies of weapons, ammunition, and drones (Baykar and other sophisticated drones) to Ukraine. Furthermore, scrap plans to build a drone factory in Ukraine. All such weapons and munitions are to be diverted towards the liberation of Palestine. End all political efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and withdraw all forms of assistance to Ukraine.
3. Immediately withdraw from NATO, nullify all treatise and pacts with America and other Western states. Expel all NATO personnel from Turkiye and permanently close Incirlik, Izmir, Konya, and other air/bases to NATO. The equipment seized (fighter planes, nuclear weapons etc.) on these bases should be re-purposed to defend Turkiye and Islamic interests. Close Kurecik radar station to compromise America’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) thereby reducing the effectiveness of NATO’s nuclear deterrent.
4. Reclaim sovereignty over the Bosporus, Black Sea, Dardanelles Strait, Aegean Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Block all access to all NATO and US warships in the region including the recent deployment of US strike groups off the coast of the Jewish state.
5. With the withdrawal of Turkiye from NATO, a huge security vacuum will appear on NATO’s Southwestern front, which is likely to preoccupy Europe and US with Russia. Adroitly exploit these tensions to deploy military forces in the Levant region and liberate Palestine.
6. Turkiye must straightaway revert to the Gold/Silver standard to strengthen the economy and insulate it from further shocks. This will terminate interest rates, greatly increase the purchasing power of the lira, reduce inflation, and bring stability and affordability to the prices of goods and services.
These points are well within the Erdogan’s grasp and are not difficult to implement. In the past, Erdogan has opposed both the US and Europe, when his own survival mattered. But his focus on local municipality elections, efforts to engineer false ceasefire protests (outside US airbases in Turkiye) to appease his support base, and servitude to America has meant that Turkey’s full Islamic potential cannot be unleashed. Today, the whole Islamic world would be with Erdogan if he sincerely moves for Islam to end Western interference and liberate Palestine. Allah says:
[إِنْ تَنصُرُوا اللهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ]
“Oh, you who have Iman! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.” [TMQ: Muhammed:7].
Nevertheless, if Erdogan continues his unstinting support for the West and the Jewish state, then it is incumbent on the Muslims of Turkiye to work with the army to remove Erdogan, establish the rightly guided Khilafah, and then proceed to liberate Palestine.
[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ]
“Oh, you who have Iman! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.” [TMQ: Al-Anfal:24]