Following the March 15, 2019 massacre perpetrated by Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant in the two New Zealand mosques, Hashem Al-Naggar, a researcher of Islamist movements, blamed the massacre on Turkish President Receb Tayyip Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) organization, which Erdogan supports and sponsors. Al-Naggar's article reflects the outlook of Egypt, which is in conflict with Turkey over the latter's support for the Egyptian MB.
Writing in the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram, Al-Naggar claimed that the rise of the extremist right in Europe and its terror against Muslims is a response to subversive activity by Turkey and the MB, who spread extremist Islam in Europe, with the aim of cultivating a young generation of Muslims who will wage jihad there. He added that, for years, Ergodan has been spreading a discourse of hate against Europe and sponsoring terrorism in its countries; he is also acting to renew the Ottoman expansion in Europe and encouraging separatism among Europe's Muslims. The violence of the racist European right against Muslims will not stop as long as the MB and Erdogan continue their efforts to Islamize Europe, he concluded.
The following are excerpts from their article:[1]
Hashem Al-Naggar (source: elfagr.com)
"The terrorist who perpetrated the attack in the two Christchurch mosques called to restore the days of Europe's victory over the Ottoman rule, and this is new proof that it is Erdogan's actions in the heart of Europe that provoke the racist religious urge for revenge [against Muslims].
"It all began with a delusion harbored by some Western researchers and politicians, who thought that Erdogan may transform Turkey into a bridge between East and West,... impose stability in the Middle East and keep extremism and terror from reaching the West, thanks to his control over the MB. These [researchers and politicians] ignored Erdogan's actions in the Arab world. Many in the West do not understand who Erdogan [really] is and are unaware of the goals of the MB and the means it uses, and the result is the current events on the ground: the new Ottoman sultan [Erdogan] is threatening Europe with refugees and terrorists and with the robust presence of the MB [there]. He has also nurtured hatred for Europe and reawakened the battles of the past. This caused the radical right in Europe to take up arms and direct them at innocent Muslims in mosques. These Muslims are victims of the [MB's and Erdogan's] insanity of politicizing religion and of people who take advantage of the Muslim presence in the West to gain political profits...
"The project of political Islam in Europe has failed, so the only way Erdogan could see to extract himself from the mess in which he found himself was to direct the weapon of religion at Europe and pressure it, so as to gain [some achievements and] prop up his collapsing leadership... When threats did not work, he turned to settle scores with Europe in practice, especially after accusing its countries of being party to the made-up coup [attempt against him] in 2016 and of assisting the supporters of [his rival in exile, Fethullah] Gulen. Throughout the last few years, and using rhetoric that ignores the fact that [the era of] Crusader wars, Islamic conquests and existential battles in the world is over, Erdogan sponsored the flow of terrorists into Europe, as attested by heads of state, intelligence apparatuses and witnesses from within these [terror] organizations.
"[After] examining the content of Erdogan's speeches at various events, we cannot be surprised by the way he exploited the tragedy of the New Zealand victims, [a tragedy] for which he was principally responsible. In his populist speeches, which belong to past [eras] of [interfaith] wars, he claimed to represent the Islamic world in the fight against a hypothetical European threat, and [alleged] that there is a European conspiracy against Islam... [all this] in attempt to rally the Muslims around him in defense of the religion, the [Islamic] identity and the holy sites. In his speeches he divided the world into two parts – the Abode of Islam and the Abode of War[2] – just like the Al-Qaeda organization did.
"To tackle the scenarios of [people] distancing [themselves] from the political Islam project in the Arab region... Erdogan is trying to gain influence on the Middle East by renewing the old Ottoman expansion in Europe. He has transformed the MB mosques and Islamic centers in America and Europe, as well as the mosques run by Turkish imams, from ordinary houses of worship where Muslims perform their religious rituals... into tools for implementing the global caliphate project and for waging the greater jihad. [His aim is] to eliminate Western culture and destroy it from within, as set out in MB documents and writings.
"Implementing Erdogan's and the MB's vengeful project requires diverting the Muslims of Europe from the track of social integration, citizenship, cultural-educational coexistence, and respect for the interests and the security of the countries [where they live] to a track of rejecting the surrounding society, rebelling against [its] rules on the grounds that they are incompatible with the shari'a, and isolating themselves from other sectors of society. This leads to demands for special Muslim systems of education, welfare, culture and law, which will be supervised and controlled by the MB and by Erdogan, who is behind [the MB], as a first step towards establishing their parallel state [within Europe].
"The dissemination of extremism in European mosques and Islamic centers that are controlled by the MB and by Turkish imams is intended to cultivate a generation that raises the banner of jihad in defense of this hypothetical [Islamic] state, with the intention of transforming it into an actual reality. Thus, the threat to the security and the interests of the majority of Muslims living in the West stems from the activity and discourse of reckless people... who claim to have undertaken the sacred mission of converting the heretical and perverted Western societies to Islam. The terrorist crime in New Zealand and other crimes [of this sort] are only a response by the radical right organizations to the rise of an extremist Muslim right that accuses the West of heresy and uses religion and history to justify its actions. The violence of the racist right will not stop as long as the MB and its Turkish leader [Erdogan] plan to Islamize Europe. The price of the racist and religious extremism and mutual violence is paid only by innocent people of [all] faiths who renounce the actions of [the extremists from] both [sides]."
