The deadly Israeli assault on the aid flotilla left 9 Muslims (of Turkish origin) martyred and many others injured. Despite many bold statements from the Turkish government led by the AKP, Gaza remains occupied and our brothers and sisters continue to suffer. No one should compare the AKP to the Uthmani Khilafah, as the Khilafah actually acted to protect the Ummah and its honour. More importantly, it is only through the re-establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah that the Muslims will be alleviated of the suffering imposed at the hands of the occupiers and the agent Muslim rulers that litter our lands.
On May 30th 2010, six cargo ships carrying 663 civilians departed for Gaza. Their intent was to break the Israeli-Egyptian sanctions that have crippled the Muslims of Gaza, by bringing medical supplies, construction materials and other aid. Israeli Defense Forces raided the flotilla's largest ship, the MV Mavi Marmara in international waters. Nine activists – all Muslims of Turkish decent – were shot and martyred by the Israeli commandos and dozens of others were injured. Turkey’s response was to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv and to halt joint military exercises with Israel. Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Relations for Turkey, told the Turkish daily Hurriyet, "Israelis have three options: They will either apologize or acknowledge an international-impartial inquiry and its conclusion. Otherwise, our diplomatic ties will be cut off."
Using Palestine for political gain
It is well known that the plight of Muslims living in Palestine is something dear to the hearts of all Muslims. The current Muslim rulers have been shamelessly using the occupation as a way to achieve political gains with the Ummah. For example, Saddam Hussein launched Scud Missiles at Israel during the Gulf War in 1991. The damage was minimal but it was an attempt by Saddam to bolster support from the Muslims. Similarly, the Turkish government, led by the AKP, has used the flotilla issue to prevent further loss of support from its political base in Turkey.
Since March of last year, the AKP has been losing its credibility amongst its citizens for 3 main reasons:
With the deteriorating economy that began in October 2008, Erdogan confidently assured the Turkish citizens that the crisis had already bypassed the country. As time elapsed, the citizens did not see any improvement – rather their conditions worsened.
Failure to restore the rights of Muslims (i.e. wearing the hijab in public institutions) has put the AKP in a strategic dilemma domestically as it has not been able to deliver on promises made to its grassroots supporters.
Failure of Turkey to be accepted as a member of the European Union.
With the threat of being marginalized or deemed unworthy of governing the country, the AKP was in dire need of reversing its collapsing political fortunes.
On January 28th of this year, when a registered Turkish NGO, IHH (İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı), along with the Free Gaza Movement announced their plans to send boats full of aid to Gaza, their announcement was made with the knowledge and support of the Turkish government since the MV Mavi Marmara was a ship purchased from a government owned and established company - İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. Furthermore, they set sail from Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa port, with the full authorization of the Turkish authorities.
After the horrific incident in which the 9 Muslims were killed and dozens more injured by Israeli forces, bold statements were made by the Turkish government officials including:
President Erdogan calling the incident a “bloody massacre” and that the raid, “deserves every kind of curse”.
Turkish Foreign Ministry officials stating that the raid could result in “irreversible damage” to their relations with Israel.
Zafer Caglayan, Minister of Foreign Trade and member of AKP stating, "The inhumane attitude and the state terror conducted by Israel may cause the discarding of all trade figures, no matter how high they might be."
Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Relations for Turkey giving the ultimatum for Israel to apologize, acknowledge an impartial inquiry or suffer the consequence of diplomatic ties being cut between Turkey and Israel.
It is quite clear that none of these threats will materialize for 2 reasons. Firstly, we saw a similar statements made by Erdogan at the Davos conference after the Gaza massacre in 2008-2009 when he said to Israeli President Shimon Peres, “Your voice is high and I know it is because of a psychology of guilt. When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill. I know very well how you hit and killed children at the beaches. You have prime ministers who had said they felt quite happy when they entered in Palestine on tanks.” Erdogan also lashed out at the audience who applauded Peres after his speech saying, "I also condemn those people who applaud this cruelty. I believe that applauding the people who killed children is a crime against humanity." None of these comments materialized into any action.
Secondly we see the Turkish Government actively involved in a strategic relation with Israel including:
Drones – Reuters reported that Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul stated that, “a diplomatic crisis with Israel after the Jewish state stormed a Turkish-backed aid convoy will not affect the planned delivery of Israel-made Heron drones to Turkey”
Oil – A major pipeline project between Turkey and Israel, known as MedStream, is under way. The pipeline, if realized, will ship oil, natural gas and electricity from Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan to southern Israel and from there to India.
Land – The recently demined lands between the Turkish-Syrian border is being sold to an Israeli company.
Trade – Trade between Turkey and Israel was $1.4 billion in 2002 when AKP came to power, and has since surged to $3.3 billion in 2008 – a 134% increase.
On June 30th – only one month after what Erdogan termed a “bloody massacre” – the Israeli Trade and Industry Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer met Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels. This meeting only further supports the notion that the AKP is not serious about following through with any of its empty threats as they are nothing more than populist attempts to regain the favour of the Muslim masses.
AKP: Uthmani resurgence or political opportunism?
Some media have attempted over the years to portray the AKP government as having similarities to the Uthmani Khilafah. More specifically, the move by Turkey to strengthen its ties with other Muslim countries and to speak out against the atrocities in Gaza in 2008-2009 has given President Erdogen the nickname “Sultan Erdogen” – similar to how the Khulafah were given the title of Sultan during the Uthmani Khilafah. Let us look at how the Uthmani Khilafah assisted Muslims in need:
Aceh: In the early 1500’s, the Portuguese invaded Aceh - a small but strategically important land mass that is located in Indonesia. In 1547 the the first Achinese envoy reached the Uthmani Khilafah with requests for weapons and military support. Sultan Selim II sent a letter to Aceh, stressing that it was the Khalifah’s duty to accept the requests of Muslim rulers when they need aid in fighting invaders. He mentioned how he would send a fleet and that his troops would have the duty to repel the Portuguese invasion. Sultan Selim II’s warm attitude towards the Achinese was further stressed by his call to the other governors of the Khilafah to assist the ambassador and all Achinese envoys in every way possible, without the need to inform the central government.
Algeria: After Algeria had liberated themselves from the Spanish occupation in 1517, they rejoined the Uthmani Khilafah. Knowing that the Spanish would return, the Khalifah sent Janissaries (personal body guards and troops of the Khalifah), galleys and cannons as support. Unfortunately the Spanish returned in 1518, defeated the Uthmani army and killed the appointed governor. As a response, the Khalifah sent the Uthmani Admiral Hayreddin Barboussa. Under his leadership, the Uthmani army engaged in battle against the Spanish for the successful liberation of Muslim lands.
Palestine: In 1901, the Jewish banker Mizray Qrasow and two other influential Jewish leaders came to visit Sultan Abdul Hameed offering to pay all of the debts incurred by the Uthmani Khilafah, assist in building the state navy and provide a loan of 35 Million Golden Liras without interest for state funds in exchange for allowing the Jews to visit Palestine to visit their holy sites and to allow the building of settlements near Jerusalem.
Abdul Hameed refused to even meet them. He told his assistant, "Tell those impolite Jews that the debts of the Ottoman state are not a shame, France has debts and that doesn't effect it. Jerusalem became a part of the Islamic land when Omar Bin Alkhattab took the city and I am not going to carry the historical shame of selling the holy lands to the Jews and betraying the responsibility and trust of my people. May the Jews keep their money, the Ottoman's will not hide in castles built with the money of the enemies of Islam." He also told them to leave and never come back to meet him again.
Later in the same year, the founder of the Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl, visited Istanbul and tried to meet Abdul Hameed. Abdul Hameed refused to meet him and he told his Head of the Ministers Council to "Advise Dr. Herzl not to take any further steps in his project. I cannot give away a handful of the soil of this land for it is not my own, it is for the entire Islamic Nation. The Islamic Nation that fought Jihad for the sake of this land and they have watered it with their blood. The Jews may keep their money and millions. If the Islamic Khilafah State is one day destroyed then they will be able to take Palestine without a price! But while I am alive, I would rather push a sword into my body than see the land of Palestine cut and given away from the Islamic State. This is something that will not be; I will not start cutting our bodies while we are alive."
From the above examples, it is clear that it would be a grave injustice to compare AKP to the Uthmani Khilafah. The AKP broadcasts empty slogans, while the Uthmani Khilafah acted upon the book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of RasulAllah (saw) to defend this noble Ummah right until it was destroyed.
Something to think about
When reviewing the AKP government’s track record, by only analyzing its policies and accomplishments, and ignoring all its slogans, empty rhetoric and broken promises, one must ask if the AKP is really any different from other Muslim governments. Has it done anything to truly help our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere? At the very least, has it severed all ties with nations that occupy Muslim lands? How much longer do Muslims in Turkey have to wait until they see real change?
It is only through the re-establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah on the method of the Prophet (saw) that this pernicious occupation can be removed.
May Allah (swt) give us the strength to change the current situation to that which pleases Him and in the manner that He has prescribed.
“The Imam is a sheild from the back of which the Muslims fight and protect themselves. If the Imam commands to fear Allah and guides, his will be a big Reward, if he orders other than this he will bear the burden of it.” [Muslim] (PAM)
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