|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.jcpa.org/text/Turkey_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdf
Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) (118 pp., pdf) Steven G. Merley - There is strong evidence of Turkish governmental involvement in the Gaza flotilla incident, with Turkish government support channeled through the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network. Since 2006, the AKP has allowed key elements of the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and above all the International Union of Muslim Scholars, led by Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi, to operate freely on Turkish territory. The IHH was not acting alone but rather was an integral part of a Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network. Some of the IHH's key founders fought in the 1990s in the Mujahidin Brigade of the Bosnian Army. There have been multiple reports of terrorist/jihadist activity by IHH, including allegations that IHH was in possession of weapons and explosives, was recruiting soldiers for jihad and sending them into war zones such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya, and that calls had been made from IHH headquarters to an al-Qaeda guest house. That Turkey and its government have become partners of the Global Muslim Brotherhood has implications for both Turkey and its Western allies, including NATO. The IHH president, Bulent Yildirim, sees the Islamic world in direct conflict with the West. How can Turkey maintain its traditional role as a Western ally while its political leadership is tying it to some of the most virulent anti-Western forces?