Rami Makhlouf’s daily blasts Turkey; Draws MB link

Oh what a difference a few weeks make! From the Makhlouf owned daily… translated in today’s Daily briefing from Mideastwire.com. For a trial please email info@mideastwire.com

On May 12, the state-controlled Al-Watan daily carried the following opinion piece by Nizar Salloum: “The “Turkish model” presents itself – as it is presented by those promoting it – as being a “secret recipe” for the Islamic world and especially the Arab world which seems to be rejecting the principles of the modern state governed by “secularism” on the legal and cultural levels. But at a time when this recipe-model was one of the reasons behind the cultural and political divide between Turkey and the Arab world states throughout the last eight decades, it is now presented as an element of rapprochement between the two sides, although it appears that the Turkish government is not completely interested in presenting its “secularism” as it truly is, and might reproduce new approaches that are far away from its philosophy in the context of its current dealings with the problems of the (Arab) Islamic world and its countries.

“Ever since the eruption of the events in Syria – over a month ago – the Turkish official performance seemed to be rash and improvised. Indeed, apart from the arrogant “reformatory preaching” of Recep Tayyip Erdogan on more than one platform and European stage, the engineer of “neo-Ottomanism” Ahmet Davutoglu seemed to be unable to come up with solutions for alleged problems in dealing with these incidents! With the exposure of the nature of some parties in the Syrian opposition, and especially the Muslim Brotherhood group whose leader Riad al-Shakfa appeared from Istanbul, but also the call to hold a conference for the Syrian opposition in Istanbul as well, the “Turkish model” appeared to be going through a test, whose outcome might determine its fate… Historically speaking, the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 was in one way a compensation for the absence and fall of the Ottoman Empire.

“Consequently, it came in response to Ataturk’s “secularism” since it offered a full religious detail in the face of the secular one… But this is the first time – in public at least – that the Turkish model appears to enjoy a relationship with it, maybe through its adoption of a political state that is completely opposed to it and its history. However, it is not certain whether this is due to Ottoman and pre-Ataturk awakenings, or to cooperation with the American strategy that is currently trying to reproduce Islamic “non-Jihadist” authorities that are “well-behaved” in the face of Israel and in the management of the Arab states system… Still, while Turkey’s current political and economic prosperity is due to its secular history and Davutoglu’s strategic corrections, its handling of the Syrian situation will push its model toward new positions that point toward the beginning of the recanting of its principles…

“If this were to happen, it will need secret recipes that are no longer present in an Islamic world that is far away from the climates of secularism and governed by the exhausting and obstructing MB details. Today, the Syrian events constitute the most important test to the Turkish model, as well as to its ability to remain truthful to itself and its history.”