ERDOGAN: TURKISH REPUBLIC IS CONTINUATION OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
This is a significant statement since, unless you count the Islamic State, the Ottoman Empire was the last caliphate — the last state to claim the allegiance of all Muslims worldwide, and to present itself as the government to which all Muslims owed allegiance. But Kemal Ataturk, the founder of secular Turkey, would have disagreed with Erdogan. Ataturk established the Turkish Republic as a repudiation of the Ottomans. He abolished the caliphate and sent the last caliph into exile. He outlawed public manifestations of Islamic piety such as turbans, and mandated the wearing of Western-style hats, declaring that “the civilized world is far ahead of us. We have no choice but to catch up. It is time to stop nonsense, such as ‘should we or should we not wear hats?’ We shall adopt hats along with all other works of Western civilization. Uncivilized people are doomed to be trodden under the feet of civilized people.”
Hats were more than just headgear: because of their brims, they interfered with the prostrations that were and are an essential element of Muslim prayer. He also mandated that Turkish be written in Roman rather than Arabic characters, and forbade imams from preaching anything other than the sermons they received from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which never sent sermons touching on political aspects of Islam. Ataturk placed other restrictions on Islamic practices, and introduced secular, Western-style marriage laws. “Islam,” said Ataturk, “this theology of an immoral Arab, is a dead thing.” But he hadn’t reckoned on Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Turkish Republic is continuation of Ottomans: President Erdoğan,” Hürriyet Daily News, February 10, 2018 (thanks to Fjordman):
The Republic of Turkey is a continuation of the Ottoman Empire, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 10.______________________________________________________
“The Republic of Turkey, just like our previous states that are a continuation of one another, is also a continuation of the Ottomans,” Erdoğan said in remarks he made during a commemoration ceremony to mark the centenary of the death of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II at the Yıldız Palace in Istanbul.
“Of course, the borders have changed. Forms of government have changed… But the essence is the same, soul is the same, even many institutions are the same.”
Erdoğan added this is why Sultan Abdulhamid is one of the “most important, most visionary and most strategic minded” individual that made his mark in recent 150 years.
Sultan Abdulhamid II, the son of Sultan Abdulmecid, died in 1918, and was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Erdoğan also criticized those with “bigoted” viewpoints about Sultan Abdulhamid.
“Some people insistently try to start this country’s history from 1923. Some unrelentingly try to break us from our roots and ancient values,” he added.
Erdoğan said the big picture brings character and memory to a nation.
“We take pride in our history without making discrimination,” the leader added on the day eleven Turkish soldiers were killed in cross-border operations….
Turkey’s Erdogan threatens US forces in Syria with “Ottoman slap”
BY ROBERT SPENCER
SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/02/turkeys-erdogan-threatens-us-forces-in-syria-with-ottoman-slap;
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Trump was right when he said NATO was obsolete, and wrong when he
declared that it was “no longer obsolete.” At very least, the pretense
that Erdogan’s revanchist neo-caliphate, is an ally of the United
States, needs to be ended. It is already ended functionally; it just
needs to be made official.
“Turkey’s Erdoğan threatens US forces in Syria with ‘Ottoman slap,’” Stockholm Center for Freedom, February 13, 2018 (thanks to David):
“The US’s decision to give more financial support to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will affect Turkey’s decisions,” said Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday ahead of a visit this week by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Erdoğan has also slammed remarks of Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk, the top US commander in the anti-ISIL coalition, who said if Turkey hits Manbij it would face a sharp response. “Those who say they will give a sharp response have not been hit by the Ottoman slap,” Erdoğan said.
In his speech to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s parliamentary group in capital Ankara, Erdoğan remarks came after Pentagon requested an extra $300 million to train and equip the SDF, predominantly made up of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), while demanding nearly as much to build a “border security force” with the SDF in Syria.
It is wrong to say that NATO equals the US, Erdoğan has continued by pointing out that all countries in the alliance are equals to the US and called on the US to abide by its NATO obligations. “What kind of NATO membership is this? What kind of NATO alliance is this?” he asked. “As president of Turkey, I say NATO is not equal to the US, all countries in the alliance are equals to the US.”
American support for the PYD/PKK has long vexed Ankara, as Washington views the PYD/PKK-led SDF as a “reliable partner” in its fight against ISIL and continues to provide it with arms and equipment in the face of strong objections by Turkey. Erdoğan has also stated that Turkish security forces were taking utmost care in avoiding harm to civilians during “Operation Olive Branch.”…
