'Turkey's Erdogan seeks to form common Muslim approach'

By S.Ahmet Aytac

ANKARA

Many see Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the spiritual leader of all Muslims around the world, and he is trying to develop a common language and attitude for all Muslims, an expert analyst told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview, Hamit Emrah Beris, a professor at Ankara's Gazi University and deputy head of Turkey's Public Order and Security Undersecretariat, says Turkey has strong historical ties with the region and stands apart from most Islamic countries.

“The most important problem in terms of Islamic societies is the distance between the rulers and the ruled. The administration of many Islamic countries with authoritarian regimes prevents the true demands of their people from being reflected in state policies,” Beris said.

"In such regimes, rulers prefer to find Western allies and act in accordance with their policies, rather than listen to the voice of the community to defend their power.

“Islamic societies are mostly divided and unfortunately, they don’t have the ability to appear and act together. Because most regimes have their own agendas, interests, and engagement with Western countries."

Turkey, in this respect, stands apart from most Islamic countries, he argued, due mostly to its strong historical ties with the region.

"President Erdogan is not only the leader of Turkey, he is also the spiritual leader of all Muslims around the world, in the view of many Muslim societies. Erdogan is trying to develop a common language and attitude for all Muslims but this approach is not compatible with the interests of many authoritarian governments in the region."

So establishing a European Union-style bloc of Muslim states in the near future is unlikely, he said.

Crises in the Muslim world

“The world we live in has faced many massacres, savagery, and humanitarian and political crises in the last century and unfortunately they are gradually growing. Many of these problems are experienced in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, where many Muslims live,” said Ahmet Uysal, a professor of Middle East studies at Istanbul University.

The nearly 70-year-old Israeli-Palestinian issue is once again flaring up for the Muslim world as well.

Despite widespread international opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

When we face these kinds of problems we turn to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Uysal said.

The OIC is holding an emergency summit on Dec. 13 in Istanbul to discuss recent regional developments, especially Jerusalem.

The OIC is the second-largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states whose population is over 1.6 billion.

The organization was founded in 1969 following after an Australian citizen was arrested for setting fire to the pulpit of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the OIC will send a “strong message” to the U.S. and Israel.

"The Islamic world is still under the severe control of the West and the region is fragmented. Also, the majority of these countries in the Middle East are not democratic governments.

“Therefore, rulers act in accordance with their own interests, not the priorities of the people," he said.

"Organizations such as the D-8 and the OIC generally make ineffective decisions. But maybe this time, during OIC Istanbul summit, it will change.

“The Muslim world should react decisively against the U.S. decision on Jerusalem," he added.