Turkey was the organizing principle of the Muslim world for a thousand years. Think about that. We are not only talking about the seat of power; we are talking about administrative control, management; everything. Even today, within Turkey, the level of institutional organization makes most of the Muslim world look pathetic. It is intricate and complex, and frankly, most foreigners can’t fathom it. I have had Turks explain to me, for example, the education system, how funds are allocated for students, which schools they qualify for, and so on, and they have explained it to me many times, and I still can’t grasp it. The point is, the system here is incredibly dense and disciplined; it is a very, very well-built structure.
The country has absorbed 3 million Syrian refugees; there are more refugees in Istanbul alone than in the entire European Union, yet the EU is struggling to accommodate them. This is a government of rare competence.
Under the AK Party and the leadership of Recep Tayyp Erdogan, Turkey has been fast regaining its stature in the Muslim world; it is a rising power with growing regional influence, deep political acumen, and economic strength.
While, yes, the AKP has followed the neoliberal path, it has done so largely on its own terms. In 2013 Turkey paid off its debt to the International Monetary Fund in full, and Erdogan vowed to never take money from them again. He said last February, “The IMF is not just managing loans and money. It gives you the loan and then it tries to govern your politics.”
The rise of Turkey, and its increasing independence and influence, of course, troubles the US. There is little doubt that there are many in Washington who feel nostalgia for the old days of direct and indirect military rule in Turkey under American patronage. The coup attempt on Friday night failed, al-Hamdulillah, but I don’t think any of us should imagine that behind this brief bolt of lightning there is not a storm cloud.
The US government appears to at least have had prior knowledge that a coup would take place, and attempted to portray it as a much larger event than it was; referring to it in a message from the American embassy as a “Turkish Uprising”, rather than what it was; a mutiny within the armed forces; and they gave significant PR support to the traitors in their media. The puschists from the army are followers of Fethullah Gulen, a bitter rival of Erdogan living in luxurious exile in Pennsylvania. On the face of it, the obvious deduction is that the US believed Gulen could deliver Turkey to them without direct American participation. Gulen’s usefulness will now be questionable to Washington; this may lead to his dismissal as an asset, or it may mean he and his movement will receive increased support, financially and logistically, to ensure that they are better equipped next time. This is just speculation, but what is sure, in my opinion, is that the efforts to subordinate Turkey are not going to stop.
Whatever your opinion is about Erdogan and the AKP, whatever your opinion is about the political system in Turkey, if this government falls, if Turkey falls, this Ummah will lose its most valuable strategic fortress. We must all join hands and encircle this country like a human wall, close ranks around Turkey and protect it as we would protect our own futures. Take note of what US Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters said: “If the coup succeeds, the Islamists lose and we win”