In his June 19, 2019, column[1] in Turkey's Yeni Şafak daily, a mouthpiece of Turkey's ruling AKP (Justice and Development) party, the paper's editor-in-chief, İbrahim Karagül, focused on the June 17, 2019 death of former Egyptian president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi. The column was also published in translation on Yeni Şafak's English-language website.[2]
Presenting Morsi's death as an assassination, Karagül blamed it on a conspiracy by the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, calling them "hitmen" for the multinational forces behind them, primarily the U.S. and Israel. Linking this alleged conspiracy to the Jews, he added: "Those who crucified Christ and drove Prophet Muhammad from Mecca also martyred Morsi."
Yeni Şafak editor-in-chief İbrahim Karagül.
Karagül went on to accuse Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed of, inter alia, launching a war against Turkey, involvement in the July 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, and attempting to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Implying that plots are now underway to assassinate President Erdoğan, Karagül wrote: "We know that there are miscreants waiting in ambush to apply [the] Morsi scenario in Turkey!"
The column comes days ahead of a do-over of the March 2019 Istanbul mayoral election, after opposition CHP party candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu defeated AKP candidate Binali Yıldırım when it was first held on March 31.[3] On May 6, the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey decided to annul the election results for Istanbul but not for any other city, and set the date of the second election for June 23.[4]
Following is the text of Karagül's column, in the Yeni Şafak translation:
"We have lost another martyr in the struggle put up since the time of Adam.
"Those following in the path of Ibrahim [Abraham], Ismail, Musa [Moses], Isa [Jesus] and Muhammad, those fighting for justice, and those standing in the ranks of the divine, have given another sacrifice to the world's miscreants and evils.
"Mohamed Morsi, who was a believer, a patriot, a good man, a man who turned his back on all the world's ugliness, a man who shouldered the grief of thousands of martyrs who bore the Rabia symbol on their backs, a man who shed light on Egypt's thousands of years of dark, cruel history, a man who held onto God's messengers and their messages against the Pharaoh who was at war with God – this man has been martyred.
"Those Who Crucified Christ And Drove Prophet Muhammad From Mecca [meaning the Jews] Also Martyred Morsi
"He could no longer resist against the systematic torture and prolonged murders ongoing for the past six years. He took his last breath and perished from this world. He fought for his cause, paid the price and left. Those who crucified Christ [meaning the Jews], drove prophet Muhammad from Mecca, those who made the messengers of God suffer, their companions are the ones who drove Mohamed Morsi from this world.
"He was abandoned to the mercy of the U.S. and Israel in Egypt's dungeons, he was interrogated and subjected to torture by them, and martyred in accordance with their assassination plans.
"The Egyptian Junta, Saudi Arabia And The UAE: They Desecrated Humanity's Homeland
"The Egyptian junta, upon the instructions of the Saudi administration, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the U.S. and Israel, destroyed the people's freedom resistance and slaughtered them in the squares. A front of 'enormity,' a Crusader front was established against justice, freedom, against humanity's honor, against the emotions of a nation, and against their beliefs.
"They defiled these lands, this region, these archaic cities, the motherland of humanity; they waged war against God's justice and attacked everything sacred. They chose slavery over freedom, they chose seeking a master over dignity, and challenged Allah's will.
"Instead of Allah and His messengers, they chose the tradition of the Pharaoh.
"They Sold Their Honor, Islam's Holy Sites, And Their Countries – They Sold That Which They Were Meant To Safe-Keep By Allah On The Holy Lands
"They utilized their power, wealth and weapons against the innocent. They turned their weapons toward the pure. Upon their masters' orders, they rushed to enslave the innocent as they themselves have been enslaved.
"While doing this they sold their honor, Islam's holy sites, their countries, wealth and dignity. They sold Allah's gifts on those lands, and defiled all that is sacred to use as fodder in a dirty negotiation.
"Saudi Arabia's Administrators! Why Are Your Fingerprints All Over Every Evil?!
"I ask Saudi Arabia's administrators, why is it that from Sudan to Syria, from Yemen to Libya your fingerprints are all over the blood spilled?
"When are you going to give up your efforts of defiling these lands with the instructions of Israel and the U.S., when are you going to stop your atrocities against the region's peoples and using them in your negotiations, when are you going to stop striving to ignite civil wars and give up on the Muslim civil war project?
"When are you going to abandon your efforts to add Islamic nations to your monopoly, to release Islam's holy sites, to relinquish them as your hostages and to stop using them as your own personal bargaining chip? When are you going to stop striving to please your American, British and Israeli bosses?
"Muhammad Bin Salman And Muhammad Bin Zayed! Are You Using The Kaaba And The Prophet As A Bargaining Chip Too?
"Muhammad bin Salman and Muhammad bin Zayed, you are the ones who murdered Mohamed Morsi. You are the ones who turned Egypt into a bloodbath. You are the ones who have divided Libya. You too are the ones who have blockaded Qatar. You are the ones who devastated Yemen. And now you are the ones plummeting Sudan into a civil war and preparing it for a western invasion!
"You sold out Jerusalem, serving the Palestinians up on a silver platter. Were you the ones taking the most tangible steps on the path to declare Jerusalem as the Israeli capital?
"Are you using Mecca and the Kaaba as a bargaining chip too?
"Is prophet Muhammad even up for negotiation? Did you promise the West that you would deliver them from the 'Islam threat'?
"You Launched A War Against Turkey And Targeted President Erdoğan – You Have The Blood Of The July 15 Martyrs On Your Hands Too!
"You funded their terror organizations all across the region. You attacked Muslim countries and communities on behalf of the U.S., Britain and Israel. Your betrayal will not be forgotten for generations. You openly declared war against Turkey. You funded coups in this country. You conducted assassinations, and smuggled terror gangs into our cities. You schemed and plotted to eliminate the president of the Turkish Republic. You planned and partnered up. You are the invaders of this region, it's enemy and the zone of evil.
"You tried to do in Turkey what you did in Egypt. You stood side by side with your bosses, with the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETÖ) during July 15. Just as the blood of the Rabia martyrs is on your hands, so is the blood of the martyrs of Turkey's July 15 coup attempt.
"You martyred Mohamed Morsi and are also behind the assassination attempt on president Erdogan in Marmaris on July 15.
"Now you have once again set your sights on Turkey.
"You are planning new scenarios with Erdoğan's enemies in Turkey and with terror groups in Syria.
"We Know That There Are Miscreants Waiting In Ambush To Apply Morsi Scenario In Turkey!
"We know that there are miscreants waiting in ambush to apply Morsi scenario in Turkey. They tried once, and we know that they want to give it a second go. Just like those two crown princes, they too are the internal invaders of this country, we know.
"We know that they too are cooperating with the U.S., the U.K. and Israel. We know of this country's Muhammad bin Salmans and the Muhammad bin Zayeds, and we are watching them. Slavery and dishonor is plaguing the region, infiltrating countries. In this country too, there are who are hiding behind Allah's Quranic verses but take action according to their masters' instructions, waging wars against Allah's justice.
"Mandate, tutelage and the spirit of slavery have been ongoing for centuries, and today it is taking place in the front being established against our nation, against our country's struggle.
"Arab Nations And Arab Intellectuals, Can't You See That Those Two Crown Princes Will Destroy You Again?
"Arab nations and Arab intellectuals! Since 1991, all wars have taken place on Arab territory. The destroyed, burned and ruined towns all belong to Arabs. Have you never thought why this is the case? Are you not aware that your governors and those in power are all putting you, your country, your values, your lands, your holy sites up for sale? Can't you see that other countries will be carved up, that the Arab peoples will once again pay a heavy price, that their homelands will turn into ruins through them too?
"The evils committed by those two crown princes today in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Turkey will actually come back to bite you, will come back to bite Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries; can't you see that the great trap has been set up through them? If you don't stop them, the 21st century will conclude with the enslavement of the Arab world, can't you see this?
"We Face A Joint Threat, So A Joint Fight Is Essential
"The matter transcends Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. It is so much more than that. The freedom of the region, the independence of states and the honor of nations are at stake. This fight isn't limited to specific countries alone. If hostility knows no borders, then neither will this struggle.
"We face a common threat. We need a joint struggle. Now there are two fronts, two axes: the Western invasion along with their partners in the country and the resistance of the region and its countries. Morsi is not the first martyr, nor will he be the last. But this tide will turn, and when that happens, the oppressors of today will collapse on their masters.
"However, we will never again allow them another chance to implement this scenario in Turkey. Those who have their hopes tied on applying a Morsi scenario in Turkey, the multinational forces behind them, hitmen like those two crown princes – it will be sufficient for all of them to just take a look at the history of the past millennium."
