Turkish Islamist Newspaper Close To Pres. Erdogan Calls To Form Joint Islamic Army To Fight Israel

Turkish Islamist Newspaper Close To Pres. Erdogan Calls To Form Joint Islamic Army To Fight Israel. (Memri).

On December 12, 2017, ahead of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul,  the Turkish daily Yeni Şafak, which is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling AKP party, published an article  titled "A Call for Urgent Action,"[1] which also appeared on the paper's website under the title “What If an Army of Islam Was Formed against Israel?"[2] 

The article called on the 57 member states of the OIC to form a joint "Army of Islam" to besiege and attack the state of Israel. It notes that such a joint army will greatly exceed the Israeli army in manpower, equipment and budget, and presents statistics to prove this.

It also advocates establishing joint bases for the army's ground, air and naval forces that will arrive from all over the Muslim world to besiege Israel, while noting that Pakistan, as the only nuclear country, has "a special status" among the OIC countries. An interactive map provides information on military forces stationed in various locations and the role they can play in the potential joint Muslim attack on Israel.

The Source Of The Yeni Şafak Article: The SADAT Company Website

The main points of the article are taken from the website of the Turkish SADAT International Defense and Consulting Company, which provides consultancy on defense and warfare, both conventional and unconventional, and on military organization, training and gear. The company has an agenda of promoting pan-Islamic military cooperation. According to its mission statement, it seeks "to establish defense collaboration and defense industry cooperation among Islamic countries, to help the Islamic world take its rightful place among the superpowers by providing... strategic consultancy and training services to the militaries and homeland security forces of Islamic countries."[3]

According to Israeli security sources, the SADAT company is involved in aiding Hamas, and seeks to assist – with funds and military gear – the creation of a "Palestine Army" to fight Israel.[4]

SADAT Founder Adnan Tanrıverdi

The SADAT company was founded by Erdoğan’s senior advisor on military affairs, retired general Adnan Tanrıverdi, and is chaired by his son, Melih Tanrıverdi. Adnan Tanrıverdi (b. 1944) served in the Turkish army's Artillery Corps and headed the Home Front Command in northern Cyprus.  He is an expert on assymetric warfare, and was dismissed from the Turkish military in 1996 for his Islamists leadnings. A former Turkish army officer, Ahmet Yavuz, described him as "an enemy of Atatürk" and stated that his dismissal from the army was not surprising.[5]

The Yeni Şafak article is based on a PDF booklet featuring a number of articles by Tanrıverdi, as well as other materials, that appeared on the homepage of SADAT's website and has since been removed.[6] Some of the articles are virulently anti-Israel and promote the goal of arming the Palestinians and forming an Army of Islam to eliminate Israel.

One of these articles, titled "SADAT and the Future of the Muslim World" describes Israel as "the outpost of the new Crusade and a dagger in the heart of Islam," and "the eyes, ears and fist of the Christian World." A second article, titled "How to Solve the Palestinian Question?" emphasizes the need to utilize the OIC as the basis for a permanent defense cooperation committee, and also describes his vision of establishing military bases for the purpose of liberating Palestine. An article titled "Palestine Too Should Have an Army" articulates Tanrıverdi's vision of forming a Palestinian army equipped with tanks and other heavy weaponry, and adds that this army, along with a united Army of Islam, can bring about Israel's military defeat within 10 days and its diplomatic defeat within 20 days.

The fact that Yeni Şafak echoes Tanrıverdi's articles indicates that regime-associated media is promoting an agenda of attacking Israel.

"Turkey Is Forming Alliances"

"In recent years, Turkey has launched a series of collaborations with [OIC] member states. The joint military drill with our Iraqi neighbors conveyed a clear message to the terrorists, and Turkey is [also] engaging in new collaborations with Qatar, Somalia and other Gulf and African countries. In this context it should be underlined that Turkey is taking steps to realize the model of the 'Army of Islam,' forging alliances with many Muslim countries to increase its military mobility." Read the full story here.

President #Erdogan of #Turkey keeps beating war drums today. He said: "Know this. We were ordered to wage a [war] campaign [by God], the victory belongs to Allah. And don't forget this. What is Allah saying in His [Quran] verses? Help from Allah and imminent victory [Quran 61:13] pic.twitter.com/C1qpXhkSHV

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 7, 2018