Turkish Columnist Who Defended Pro-Erdoğan Jihadi Leader: U.S. Is Not As Powerful As People Think; It's Time For The Islamic World To Rise Up

In a July 6, 2019 column in the Turkish Milli Gazete daily, titled "Wake Up, Brother! You Are Stronger Than The U.S."[1] Turkish columnist Şakir Tarım urged readers: "My Muslim brother! Do not be frightened at the overzealousness of the colonialist powers. You are the arbiter. Know your strength and your duty." Arguing that the U.S. is weak, he stated: "Its rout in Vietnam cannot be forgotten. It has had many failures in recent years as well. The July 15 attempted coup, on which they worked for years, was fruitless. The project of the 'Deal of the Century,' about which they put on airs, is not going as they hoped." He added, calling his readers to action: "Before the new strongholds of Islam fall, we must take the lead in our duty. This duty belongs to Muslims!"

Milli Gazete is affiliated with Turkish politican Necmettin Erbakan (d. 2011),[2] who was a mentor and advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Turkish columnist Şakir Tarım (source: Milligazete.com).

Tarım concludes with a line from a poem by Turkish Islamist ideologue Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (1904-1983).[3] Kısakürek's ideas gave rise to a jihadi organization, İslami Büyük Doğu Akıncılar Cephesi ("Islamic Great East Raiders' Front," İBDA-C). In November 2003, İBDA-C blew up two synagogues in Istanbul, killing 20.[4] A week later it blew up an HSBC bank branch in Istanbul and the British Consulate, killing 27, including British Consul-General Roger Short,[5] and wounding 450. At least one of its members was arrested in relation to a July 2008 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul that killed three.[6] In September 1997, members of the organization carried out an attack at a book fair on a stand selling Christian books; a small child was killed in the attack.[7] In 1999, the group assassinated a former Turkish minister of culture.[8] A September 2014 editorial titled "ISIS, You [Fight] From There, We'll [Fight] From Here!"[9] in the İBDA-C-affiliated Adımlar magzine[10] urged readers not to oppose the Islamic State (ISIS) in its "resistance" to U.S. forces. Salih Mirzabeyoğlu, whose real name was Salih İzzet Erdiş, led İBDA-C until he was arrested in 1998 and sentenced in 2001 to death for "attempting to change the constitutional order by force." His sentence was later commuted to life in prison.[11]

In September 2012, Tarım wrote an article titled "Do You Know Salih Mirzabeyoğlu?"[12] defending Mirzabeyoğlu and calling for his release from prison. Mirzabeyoğlu was released from prison in 2014[13] and thereafter met with President Erdoğan.[14] Mirzabeyoglu was hospitalized in May 2018 before he died, and during that time, Erdoğan himself "followed the whole treatment process closely by calling [Mirzabeyoğlu's] family" on the phone.[15] On June 19, 2018, a month after Mirzabeyoğlu died and five days before a presidential election in Turkey in which Erdoğan was a candidate, the Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu Ajansı ran a story titled "An Explanation Of Support For Erdoğan From Mirzabeyoğlu's Family," in which Mirzabeyoğlu's widow described Mirzabeyoğlu's adoration for Erdoğan. The article described Mirzabeyoğlu as a "thinker, writer, and poet" without mentioning Mirzabeyoğlu's leadership of the İBDA-C or his time in prison.[16]

The following is a translation of Şakir Tarım's July 6 article:

"Turkey Must Have Good Relations With The Countries That The U.S. Is Targeting, Because If Those Strongholds Are Overrun, It Is Certain That It Will Be Turkey's Turn Next"

"The days are getting hotter. I am talking about the diplomatic activity, rather than the seasonal heat. The colonialist powers are rushing to reach their goals. Israel believes that if it does not build the Temple of Solomon by the year 2022, it will be annihilated. Such are the beliefs as made clear in the corrupted Torah. The U.S. president's giving 'total support' of Israel is their greatest hope.

"The U.S. views supporting Israel, which is battling Muslims in the Middle East, as being in its interest. The U.S. has made serious calculations regarding the Middle East. The region is in the world's sincere characteristic, its center of culture and wealth. This is why the U.S. prioritizes the Middle East. It wants to control the underground resources and the lands, which are suitable for agriculture. This is the reason it insists [on involvement in] the Middle East.

"The U.S. views Israel's security as a national issue. It brings the Zionists to strategic points. The true purpose of the 'Deal of the Century' is Israel's security. It intends to make Jerusalem the eternal capital of Israel. It sees Egypt, Iran, and Turkey as obstructions to its goals in the Middle East. Because these are countries with historical pasts. It neutralized Egypt with a military coup. It tasked putschist [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah] Al-Sisi with important duties as part of its insidious plans."

"It's Clear That World War III Will Break Out Over Jerusalem"

"After Egypt, it put Iran on its dartboard. The target after Iran is Turkey. Despite frequently hurling threats, for now it is trying to get along with Turkey. Because it is afraid of increasing the number its enemies. Turkey must have good relations with the countries that the U.S. is targeting. Because if those strongholds are overrun, it is certain that it will be Turkey's turn next. This is the real reason for the active diplomatic traffic in the Middle East.

"The U.S. and Europe know how to provide Israel's security. Jerusalem is a symbol for Israel. For the Islamic world, they are sacred places. It's clear that World War III will break out over Jerusalem. The U.S. is in a systematic plot over Palestine. Al-Sisi is being legitimized and prepared for active duty. There is a desire to finish the battle for Palestine by setting up a satellite state under the control of the U.S. and Israel.

"With the 'Deal of the Century' the Islamic countries are being encouraged to disarm. Agreements are being made for this; or threats are being hurled. In fact, we are facing a great 'insistence.' The weapons were cleared out of the Mieh Mieh Camp.

"The U.S. does not want to see any force that can resist it in the region. For this reason, it puts the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, Hamas in Palestine, and other similar organizations around the world on its terrorist list. The Islamic world must show resistance to these insidious plans!"

"The U.S., Which Is Trying To Be The World Police, Is Not As Powerful As People Think"

"On June 24, in Bahrain, there was a 'U.S.-supported' 'Palestine workshop.' Not a single Palestinian was called to the workshop. The Arab League and some countries protested this appearance. They hung Palestinian flags in the hall where the workshop was held. They reacted to Palestine's being discounted.

"Abu Merzuk, member of Hamas's political bureau, protested the workshop, saying 'Palestine is not a property that can be bought and sold.' The Bahrain workshop could not achieve its aim.

"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to the region to form a block against Iran. He visited countries such as the Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Israel is having secret meetings in the region. The colonialists' insidious plans should be followed carefully.

"My Muslim brother! Do not be frightened at the overzealousness of the colonialist powers. You are the arbiter. Know your strength and your duty. The colonialists cannot keep up their cruelty, lies, and sidestepping forever. The tyrants take their power from the ignorance of the oppressed.

"The U.S., which is trying to be the world police, is not as powerful as people think. Its rout in Vietnam cannot be forgotten. It has had many failures in recent years as well. The July 15 attempted coup, on which they worked for years, was fruitless. The project of the 'Deal of the Century,' about which they put on airs, is not going as they hoped. They have twice been forced to postpone the time that they had designated. The Palestine Workshop in Manama, Bahrain, ended with disappointment. Secretary of State Pompeo could not find what he expected in his Middle East tours."

"Before The New Strongholds Of Islam Fall, We Must Take The Lead In Our Duty"

"The U.S. economy is based on exploiting the oppressed and the aggrieved. It is time for the Islamic world, which is oppressed and aggrieved, to rise up. As Malcolm X said: 'Just one person awake is enough to wake those who sleep.' Those who realize what is happening should spend all of their strength warning their Muslim brothers.

"The duty is not even that difficult. Everything is in believing that we can be successful. Necmettin Erbakan believed, and in the one year he was in power he brought together the eight great countries that make up half of the population of the Islamic world by establishing the D-8 [Organization for Economic Cooperation]. He set up the foundations for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He showed how the work should be done.

"This orphan structure should not stay in power. Before the new strongholds of Islam fall, we must take the lead in our duty. This duty belongs to Muslims! To expect others to carry it out would be negligence. 'Get on your feet, stand up straight, and rejoice!'"[17]