Israel Matzav

Turkey mentioned many times in Breivik manifesto

Turkey's Today's Zaman describes Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik as 'obsessed with Turkey' (Hat Tip: Joshua I).

There are 237 references to Turks and Turkey in the manifesto, but this number does not take into account the many other references to Ottoman history (written mostly focusing on the state of religious minorities) and the Seljuk Empire. He accuses the Ottoman Turks of genocide of various minorities, including the Armenians, the Orthodox Greeks and the Assyrians.

There are lengthy analyses of the Ottoman Tanzimat (Reformation) era, the Declaration of Reforms (Islahat Fermanı) period, the period under Abdülhamid II and the Committee of Union and Process government and its ruling triumvirate -- Enver, Talat and Cemal Paşa -- as well as the early republican period. After a 40-page analysis of the Ottomans and the early republican era, on page 187, he concludes: “[Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan's efforts to further re-Islamize Turkey are entirely consistent with a return to Turkey's Ottoman past as the heartland of an empire established by jihad and governed by the Shariah. Indeed, both the current Erdoğan administration and the regime headed by the overtly pious Muslim [Necmettin] Erbakan a decade ago reflect the advanced state of Islam's ‘sociopolitical reawakening' in Turkey since 1950-1960, when the Menderes government, pandering to Muslim religious sentiments for electoral support, re-established the dervish orders and undertook an extensive campaign of mosque construction. Despite Frank Gaffney's apparent failure to understand this continuum of related historical phenomena, I share his acute concerns. And ultimately, we agree that Turkey's bid to join the EU should be rejected.”

The problem isn't so much with Breivik's beliefs as with the manner in which he acted upon them. Of course, the Turks may now try to use this as a weapon in their quest for admission to the European Union.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Anders Behring Brievik, European Union, Oslo bombing, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, Utoya massacre

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:57 PM