MEMRI, Special Dispatch No.5959
A heated debate on the presence, and activities, of a number of terrorist organizations in Turkey was sparked when, on February 2, 2015, non-Islamist Turkish media outlets reported that calls for killing Egyptian security officials and threats against Egypt were being issued by Muslim Brotherhood (MB) operatives in Turkey.
The independent Turkish daily Cumhuriyet wrote that three Istanbul-based television channels – Rabia TV, Al-Sharq, and Misir Al-A'an – belonging to MB operatives have been broadcasting threats and warnings against a major conference on investment to be held in Cairo in mid-March 2015. The next day, February 3, Hurriyet Daily News published a report titled "Turkish Foreign Ministry Backs Egyptian Broadcasters In Turkey."
Other Turkey-based channels and websites considered to be MB and Islamic State (ISIS) organs, disseminate propaganda; some, such as the ISIS-affiliated Takva website, even recruit for ISIS.
In Turkey under the AKP, the numbers of those sympathetic to the MB and to Islamic terror organizations such as ISIS are rapidly growing, and, as shown by a recent survey, over 20% of Turks approve of the use of violence in the name of Islam. The anti-West rhetoric of Turkish government officials is also contributing to the spread of belief in conspiracy theories among the public.[1]
Following are excerpts from the Turkish media on the issue of MB channels' incitement against Egypt emanating from Turkey:
Cumhuriyet Headline: "Orders To Kill Coming From Istanbul"
Previously, on February 1, 2015, Cumhuriyet wrote, under the headline "Orders To Kill Coming From Istanbul," that following the death of Saudi King 'Abdallah, who was known to be opposed to the MB, the MB had stepped up their activity from Turkey in an attempt to tip the power balance in the Middle East in its own favor.[2] The article said that MB-affiliated TV channels, such as Misir ("Egypt") Al-A'an, Rabia, Al-Sharq, Mukemmillin, and many others had broadcast calls to violence and death threats against Egyptian President Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi and his security officials.
Cumhuriyet noted that a Misr Al-A'an anchorman had said, "Kill all his [i.e. Sisi's] security officials. I must tell the wives of these officials, 'Your husbands will be killed. If not today, tomorrow or the next day. I must tell you that the March [investment] conference organized by that Dirty Dog [Sisi] will be a failure. With the death of King Abdallah, Sisi's backbone is broken.'"
The article continued: "On the Rabia channel, it was said that all foreigners should leave Egypt before the [upcoming] investment conference. Mukemmillin said, 'Do whatever you want to the police, but not to their families.' Similar calls for violence were made on other channels as well."
Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman to Cumhuriyet: "What They Are Doing Is Terrorism"; MP From Turkey's Main Opposition Party CHP: "From The Outset, The AKP Has Tried To Create A Stir In Egypt"
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty told Cumhuriyet: "We will carry this to international platforms. UN member states have an obligation not to interfere in other states' domestic affairs, and to fight terrorism. For us, this is terrorism."[3] He added: "There are many such [television] channels, some of which are broadcasting in Turkey. These broadcasts are a direct threat to our national security, because they are humiliating [Egypt], calling to violence and crime, [and] inciting terrorism. No country can accept that." Abdelatty went on to say that Egypt would take the necessary diplomatic initiatives to stop these broadcasts in other countries, including Turkey.
Murat Ozcelik, deputy chairman of Turkey's main opposition party CHP, said about the anti-Egypt broadcasts from Turkey:[4] "King 'Abdallah was known to be an adversary of the MB. Hoping that this perspective might change with [the new Saudi] King Salman, [Turkish] President [Erdogan] attended the funeral, where he may have conversed with others. From the outset, the AKP has tried to create a stir in Egypt, and is continuing to do this. Now they are renewing [their meddling] in Egypt, after King 'Abdallah's death.
"AKP wants an Egypt that [shares] its own mission and path. With every passing day, Turkey is further Islamized; [the AKP] goal is to establish a Caliphate. [While] the Turkish people knows nothing about the AKP-MB relationship, the [AKP] policies are extremely dangerous. Many MB and Hamas members are sheltered by Turkey, and as if this weren't enough, they are now preparing to bring [Hamas political bureau head] Khaled Mash'al here."
Ozcelik added that the AKP was working to change the Arab world: "According to AKP, ISIS is a construct that can be purged of its radicals."
Hurriyet Daily News: "The Turkish Foreign Ministry Backs Egyptian Broadcasters in Turkey"
A Hurriyet Daily News report titled "Turkish Foreign Ministry backs Egyptian broadcasters in Turkey"[5] stated: "The three [MB-affiliated] channels' [Misr Al-Aan, Rabia, and Al-Sharq] calling for violence and calling on foreigners to leave Egypt have aroused concern in Cairo. The channels allegedly called on foreigners to leave the country prior to the investment summit next month, and claimed to have received intelligence information according to which police and soldiers would be targeted and killed.
"Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç told reporters on February 3 that television channels with alleged links to the MB that are broadcasting to Egypt from Turkey is entitled to freedom of expression as set out by Turkish law: "Anybody with the right of legal habitation [and] with a work permit in our country can use freedom of expression within the boundary of the law, and can act in accordance with this framework.'"
Endnotes:
[1] Todayszaman.com, February 2, 2015. The article included the results of a January 2015 survey conducted by the Ankara-based METRPoll according to which 20% of the Turkish public – over 15 million of Turkey's population of 79 million – approve of the use of violence in the name of Islam; this figure, according to the article, is up from 13% a few months ago. Asked "Who masterminded the Charlie Hebdo attack?" 31.1.% answered that it was a radical Islamic group, while 44.3% said that it was foreign intelligence services; this figure was 56% among AKP voters.
Asked who the real victims of the attack were, only 21.7% said it was the 12 Frenchmen who had been killed (15% among AKP voters), while 42.6% said that it was the Muslim world (55.3% among AKP voters), and 24% said that it was Muslims in Europe. Of those polled, 55% (65.8% among AKP voters) said that they believe that Islam is still the target of Crusades.
[2] Cumhuriyet, February 1, 2015.
[3] Cumhuriyet, February 3, 2015.
[4] Cumhuriyet, February 3, 2015.
[5] Hurriyet Daily News, February 3, 2015.