Ankara headed for the restoration of the status of a great power
In 1987, the Welfare Party was created in Turkey, among whose supporters were the current leaders of the country - President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In 1995, a sensation occurred - the Welfare Party, which demanded the strengthening of Sharia norms in Turkey, the spread of Islam in schools, the strengthening of ties with the Islamic world and permission to wear hijabs in universities, received a relative majority of votes. Its leader, Erbakan, became prime minister and began to implement his ideas. In foreign policy, Turkey and Iran began to draw closer together, and within the country, mullahs occupied an increasingly important place in public life. But this course met with sharp resistance from the military and the state apparatus, who are the guardians of the secular course of Ataturk. In 1997, the Welfare Party was banned, and Erbakan was banned from politics for several years.
But already in 2002, the Justice and Development Party came to power, led by Erbakan's successor, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who remains at the helm of the Turkish government to this day. Subsequently, another figure from this party, Abdullah Gul, became president. And Turkey turned toward Islamism, albeit not at the pace Erbakan wanted.
Signs of the development of the process of restoring the imperial course
- Legitimation of wearing the hijab in universities.
- Suppressed by the conspiracy of the military, who were plotting to overthrow Erdogan and Gul, they are being tried.
- In foreign policy, there is a rapprochement with Iran, relations with Israel are spoiled - especially after the attack by Israeli special forces on the "Peace Flotilla". Ankara is increasingly independent from the influence of the United States. It is strengthening its influence on Iraq, the South Caucasus, and Crimea.
- There is a build-up of military potential: fleet Turkey has superiority in the Black Sea basin, the Turkish Armed Forces number more than half a million people and are among the top ten armies in the world in terms of their power. Ankara pays great attention to the modernization of its armed forces: new warships and submarines are being built, plans are underway to create its own fighter, Turkish UAVs are being created, Turkey sells its armored vehicles.
- On February 28, 2011, Prime Minister Erdogan visited Dusseldorf, home to one of the country's largest Turkish communities, as part of a visit to Germany. Up to ten thousand people gathered to listen to Erdogan. Addressing them, Erdogan emphasized that Turks should integrate into German society, but not assimilate. He also called on them to first learn Turkish and only then German. The head of the Turkish government complained about the hostile attitude of German society towards Turks and other Muslims. He compared this phenomenon to anti-Semitism and called both "crimes against humanity." Erdogan said that Ankara would protect compatriots abroad. According to him, special blue cards would be issued for those compatriots who prefer German citizenship to Turkish. These documents would be the equivalent of passports. At the end of his speech, Erdogan called on Turks living in Germany to return to their homeland.
It is unlikely that another recent phrase by Erdogan, which became winged, was forgotten in Germany: "Mosques are our barracks, minarets are our bayonets, domes of mosques are our helmets, and believers are our soldiers." In fact, many Turks took these words as a guide to action, began to pay less attention to the German language, cultivate their traditions more. Especially zealous even took it for a call for the Islamization of Germany. Currently, in Germany, over 2,5 thousands of mosques and houses of worship have been opened. Berlin's Kreuzberg district has already been nicknamed Istanbul - for the pronounced eastern appearance. Turkish women in Muslim headscarves on the streets of German cities have ceased to amaze anyone.
The problem is aggravated by the fact that some Turkish mosques have become a hotbed of Islamism, and the Turkish districts of Berlin or Hamburg have become major hotbeds of crime. Turkish parents often do not send their children to German schools. As a result, in the very center of Europe, a parallel world has actually grown, having nothing in common with the usual for the Germans, and in some places completely hostile to the indigenous people. And Erdogan actually calls for this parallel world to be strengthened.
It is unlikely that the last statements of Erdogan will benefit the relations of Turkey and the European Union. Turkey is increasingly inclined to the scenario of restoring Ankara-Istanbul as a great Islamic state, and the Arab Smoot gives the Turks more and more trumps in their game.
Erdogan, Recep Tayyip.
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