Elections are nearing in all Muslim countries. And now is the appropriate time for Muslim leaders to win the popular vote of the invaluable Muslim constituents in their countries by engaging in fiery rhetoric against the kuffar and the zalimun.
And like always Erdogan is at the forefront. This time he has taken it up a notch (by his standards) by directly engaging in a war of words on twitter against Netanyahu. [1]
He has once again called for an emergency OIC and called upon the Muslim leaders to support the Palestinians. [2]
In the final communique issued at OIC, the leaders of the Muslim countries have called for a formation of an “International Protection Force” and the statement goes further in which the leaders “angrily lashed out at the United States, saying that Washington was complicit in the actions of Israel against the Palestinians. It denounced the savage crimes committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the US administration”. [3]
While it will please the Muslims who never read past the headlines, any analyst worth his salt can see that these condemnations are nothing more than token gestures. We should not expect the proposed “International Protection Force” to be formed any time soon.
Why?
To begin with, no military attache was present at the OIC. Not that I know of.
The proposed International Protection Force will have to act beyond the jurisdiction of the UN because the US has made it quite clear through its ambassador at the UN that they are fully backing Israel, in case the continued patronage of Israel by the White House has not made it obvious enough.
And acting without the UN (and the US by extension) jurisdiction will incur significant diplomatic, economic and military backlash. To counter this, we will require a proper strategic estimate which cannot be done without consulting the veteran military leaders.
And speaking of the economy, there has been no mention of any boycott or sanctions against the United States. Therefore, these token condemnations of the US are as effective as the comedians in the US “roasting” their politicians and leaders.
Why?
Because every single Muslim leader and their respective nation is, in one way or another, dependent upon the United States. Their trade is done in US dollars and conducted in the institutions and trade routes overseen by the United States and its allies. And in these “emergency OIC summits” no mention has been made about creating an alternate matrix where Muslim countries can operate without US jurisdiction.
Without creating a power base that is free from the American influence, all our leaders can do is insult the Israelis on Twitter.
The perfect illustration of this ineptitude is seen in our most vocal critic of Israel, the Hero and the so-called Mujaddid of this Ummah, Erdogan. Who, despite all the fiery rhetoric and posturing just cannot seem to break ties with Israel.
Beyond token condemnations, trade between Israel and Turkey have flourished and will continue to flourish. [4] [5]
Erdogan’s own son-in-law was reported to be working on securing a direct gas-pipeline between Israel and Turkey.[6]
In between all the threats and war of words, the economic ties between Israel and Turkey were never in any real danger of being severed. Indeed, just last Tuesday Erdogan’s AKP party struck down a call in parliament by the mostly Kurdish HDP to cancel all economic, military, and political agreements with Israel. [7] [8]
While Erdogan’s strong words may make some people feel good, it really does nothing for us. More so when he continues to establish ties with Israel.
Defenders of Erdogan will argue that Erdogan is struggling against the secular Kemalists to hold on to power, but the fact of the matter is Erdogan’s AKP has not only aligned with the openly secular MHP party instead of the existing Islamic Parties, but they have also been leading the charge in cracking down on Islamic activists and dissidents, accusing them of colluding with Gulenists or even being Gulenists when the fact of the matter is, most of Erdogan’s dissidents couldn’t be further from the Gulen movement and Gulenist ideology. With the entire nation relatively united in their hatred for the Gulenists since the failed coup, it is a convenient card for Erdogan to use to delegitimize any kind of dissent. The most recent victims of these crackdowns and smear campaigns have been Alparslan Kuytul and his Furkan movement. [9][10][11][12]
That should tell us enough about Erdogan’s prioritization of empowering his Islamic constituents.
Why is he doing this? What purpose does it serve?
Erdogan’s top priority is winning the Presidential elections of 2019. And his alliance with MHP is an added measure of security in case his AKP does not manage to secure the majority votes needed for Erdogan’s Presidency. [13]
What this shows is Erdogan’s support for the Palestinians is not unconditional.
The reality of the matter is Erdogan is not the valiant defender of the Ummah as his supporters perceive him to be. He is the leader of his nation, first and foremost. And his policies are rooted in preserving national interests which are achieved by often serving American interests. If it entails maintaining ties with Israel and its patrons or cracking down on his Islamic constituents who oppose his policies, then he will do so without any hesitation.
And that should be enough for all of us to realize that these OIC summits are nothing but lip service to the Muslims in Palestine. Every single one of these so-called Islamic leaders is dealing with the devil under the table to secure their own power. Within their own borders and beyond it.
This is not to say that Erdogan is a Muslim with malicious intentions. This is not to imply he is a sleeper cell or a crypto-Jew that is actively working to preserve American interests. And this definitely does not mean that AKP is turning into a purely secular nationalist party.
Rather, it is the proof of the weakness of Erdogan’s political methodology. And that is making ideological compromises for securing short-term power with weak promises of fulfilling vague long-term goals.
To Erdogan’s credit, he does keep the MHP on a leash as a small party, as most of its major leaders have left for CHP or IYI. However, it does set a wrong precedent and only divides the loyalties of the Islamic parties and its constituents. The perfect illustration of this is Saadet, the biggest Islamic opposition party has taken a leaf out of Erdogan’s book and allied with nationalist CHP instead of seeking alliances with Islamic parties. [14]
These moves by the powerful Islamic Parties isolates the non-Turkic people and empowers the Nationalists at the expense of a true Islamic Unity. Case in point Erdogan’s campaign at Afrin was more about pleasing his nationalist constituents. While the success in Afrin does give a short boost to Erdogan’s stocks it further creates resentment within the Kurds and the Kurdish issue will remain a sore point for American strategists to exploit in order to keep the Turkish influence within the Middle East in check so that even if Erdogan actively wishes to, he cannot send his troops to aid the Muslims in areas like Palestine and Syria. Thereby reducing Erdogan’s options to empty rhetoric and petty posturing, leaving the Muslims at the mercy of their oppressors.
Time and again good men with great intentions fall for the American stratagem by trying to be too pragmatic. Mohamed Morsi of Egypt learned the lesson the hard way when he compromised with Sisi. Erdogan’s supporters will hope that their leader does not commit the same mistakes.
However, the odds of Erdogan fulfilling his promises of “liberating the Ummah” which, to be fair he never made, but his supporters assume he did, remain low. More so when he continues to isolate his Islamic constituents in favor of better chances at winning the elections by allying with the nationalists. One can only imagine how many compromises Erdogan will make in his maneuvers to secure the Presidency. Grand aspirations for fulfilling Neo-Ottoman fantasies, while it may please some, stand in sharp contrast with Erdogan’s actual political practices. And that does not bode well for Muslims in Palestine, given Turkey’s track record with the mess that has been Syria. If there is anything that the Palestinians can learn from Syrians, it’s that they cannot rely on Erdogan to protect them if Israelis decide to slaughter them. [15]
Erdogan has no real leverage over Israel. Something his supporters fail to acknowledge. And he definitely does not have any leverage over the Gulf Nations who are becoming more open in their roles as the protectors of Israel. [16] [17]
If we really wish to stop the oppression of the Muslims at large, if we really wish to liberate ourselves from the yoke of the ever-powerful American influence we need to pursue a method of politics that strengthens our unity and empowers the Islamic constituents as opposed to isolating and weakening us further.
If we are really concerned about the Ummah at large, we should be looking for leaders who have the conviction and the foresight to go beyond those token gestures and hollow rhetoric. We should be looking for leaders who can back up their words through actions. We should be looking for leaders who look out for the interests of the Ummah before the interests of their nation. We should be looking for leaders who base their politics on the Quran and Sunnah, not pragmatism and compromise that continues to entrench Muslims further into the American sphere of influence. We should be looking for leaders who have the mettle and wisdom to liberate the Ummah from its subservience to the Americans and its allies.
As long as we settle for having leaders like Erdogan, whose politics is defined by compromises, we cannot do anything to stop the Israelis.
The Ummah has to collectively struggle for its emancipation from its oppressors. And that struggle has to be rooted in the Quran and Sunnah. If there is no leader who can serve our interests unconditionally, then we must work towards grooming leaders who can.
May Allah protect us all and give us the strength to overcome our oppressors.
2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAdEvR5VcHI
3.http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/erdogan-calls-worlds-muslims-back-palestinians-gaza-1661529752
4.https://www.dailysabah.com/economy/2017/01/12/turkish-israeli-free-trade-agreement-to-be-expanded
9.https://ahvalnews.com/furkan-foundation/turkey-charges-islamist-leader-insulting-erdogan
11.https://anfenglish.com/news/akp-mhp-alliance-s-panic-for-2019-bahceli-admits-26160
12.https://crescent.icit-digital.org/articles/furkan-turkey-s-genuine-islamic-movement
14.http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/chp-felicity-party-leaders-meet-amid-alliance-discussions-125250
17.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43632905
