Is Erdogan Calling for Jihad In Turkey?
Prime Minister Erdogan's May 5 speech, with its religious imagery and outrage about events in Syria, could be seen as a rallying cry for a Turkish religious obligation to fight the regime, writes Pinar Tremblay.
A rather long speech Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave at his party’s consultation and assessment meeting at Kizilcahamam, Ankara, on May 5, marks a turning point in Turkish foreign policy.
Erdogan spoke about many domestic issues but almost his entire speech was structured upon this moral clarity on what is right for Syria.
Erdogan’s speech first and foremost was designed for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) base, and was written by well-versed Islamists for observant Muslims. This becomes intensely acute because it is heavily imbued with Islamic tones, and asks you not to be anxious, to listen to your conscience, to pray for God’s help, that God’s help is near and that there should be no “doubt” about many of the rather problematic issues of the Syrian civil war.
This is where it gets a bit difficult, because politics is all about doubt. On the other hand, religion provides the comfort of belief and trust. That is only one of the reasons why, when you marinate political rhetoric with religious flavors, it almost always magnifies the effects.
