Internet
UK Turkish groups ‘using anti-Kurdish [propaganda]’ (LINK ONLY)
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Demonstrations
‘Powderkeg’ in Germany amid Turks-Kurds conflict
(AFP) Syrian Kurd Mohamed Zidik, 76, still buys his bread and baklavas from Turkish neighbours in Berlin, but he knows better than to expound on his views about Ankara’s offensive in his hometown. Since Turkish forces launched their assault on Kurds in […]
Academics & Education
Erdogan’s foundation to open school in Budapest
(Hungary Today) The Budapest Metropolitan Government Office has given permission for the opening of an elementary and high school established in Budapest by the lobbying organization of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — liberal news site 24.hu reports. Answering the portal’s questions, […]
Government & Politics
Hungary would have to ‘use force’ to fend off new wave of migrants: PM
(Reuters) Hungary would have to “use force” at its southern border with Serbia to protect the European Union’s frontier if Turkey delivers on a threat to open the gates for refugees through the Balkans towards Europe, Hungary’s prime minister said. Prime Minister […]
Government & Politics
Two Belgian Islamic State militants escape camp in north Syria: Belgium
(Reuters) Two Islamic State militants from Belgium have escaped custody in northern Syria in the course of Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish forces there, the head of Belgium’s security assessment agency said on Wednesday. Paul Van Tigchelt, head of OCAD, told a parliamentary […]
News: Europe
British and Irish women who recruited for Isil found in makeshift jail after escaping detention camp (LINK ONLY)
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Military
Lisa Smith may have fled Syrian camp following Turkish assault (LINK ONLY)
Eye on Islamism is no longer printing excerpts from articles published by certain news sources. To read the original article, click here.
Internet
Gündogan and Can ‘like’ controversial Turkish football Instagram post Ilkay Gündogan and Emre Can have embroiled themselves in a row over a controversial military salute celebration. The German internationals liked an Instagram post featuring Turkey players that is thought to be political.
(Deutsche Welle) Germany players Ilkay Gündogan and Emre Can have found themselves mixed up in the contentious debate over a military salute celebration performed by Turkish international footballers, after the pair both liked an Instagram post showing the celebrations. The two German-born […]
Government & Politics
Erdogan threatens Europe with refugees after Syria criticism
(Bloomberg) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to send millions of Syrian refugees settled in Turkey to Europe, as he bridled at criticism of his military offensive against Kurdish fighters. “If you try to define our operation as an invasion, then our job […]
Government & Politics
People who confronted Celtics’ Enes Kanter outside Cambridge mosque did not commit a crime, police say
(Boston Globe) The people who allegedly hectored Celtics center Enes Kanter outside a mosque over his political opposition to Turkey’s president didn’t commit a crime, Cambridge police have determined. In a statement Tuesday, police announced their findings in their review of the […]
Government & Politics
Greece: EU members refusing refugees should be sanctioned
(AP) Greece said Friday it will call on the European Union to impose sanctions on member states that refuse to accept refugees, as senior European officials visited Ankara and Athens to try and stem a surge in migrant arrivals overwhelming Greek islands. […]
Government & Politics
Celtics’ Enes Kanter says he was harassed outside of Cambridge mosque
(Boston Globe) New Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter said he was harassed outside of a Cambridge mosque Friday afternoon because of his political opposition to Turkey’s president. Kanter, a 6-11 Turkish basketball player signed by Boston this summer, posted a video to […]
Government & Politics
EU commissioner says ‘urgent need’ to prevent migrant departures from Turkey
(AFP) EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday there was an “urgent need” to stop illegal departures from Turkey as Greece struggles to cope with a sharp increase in the refugee arrivals. “Irregular arrivals to Greece increased over the past weeks and […]
Clerics & Preachers
US Muslim leaders hail Erdogan for Islamic leadership Erdogan in New York meets US Muslim community leaders
(Anadolu) Leaders of [the] U.S. Muslim community in New York on Sunday applauded President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his active role that he plays in the Muslim world. “We need a centralized leadership,” said Siraj Wahhaj, an African-American imam of Al-Taqwa mosque […]
Immigration
Number of Turkish asylum-seekers more than doubles
(Swiss Info) The number of Turkish refugees in Switzerland has risen by around 130% since a failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan three years ago, according to the NZZ am Sonntag. The newspaper, quoting information from the State Secretariat for […]
Government & Politics
Turkey plans to return one million Syrians, warns of new migrant wave in Europe
(Reuters) Turkey plans to resettle 1 million refugees in northern Syria and may reopen the route for migrants into Europe if it does not receive adequate international support for the plan, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. Turkey, which hosts 3.6 million […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
CAIR’s research director endorsed jihadist-supporting charity
(IPT) The lead author of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) 2019 Islamophobia report has repeatedly endorsed a terror-tied Turkish charity. CAIR research director Abbas Barzegar, the lead author of “Hijacked By Hate: American Philanthropy and the Islamophobia Network,” has supported the […]
Government & Politics
Erdoğan-linked U.S. foundation received over $50 million in donations — IRS
(Ahval) The United States’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has disclosed that the U.S.-based Türken Foundation, established by foundations with close ties to the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has received $54.3 million in donations since its founding in 2014. The […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
Turkish-origin politician forms Migrant Party in Sweden Mikail Yuksel, dismissed from Center Party, says new party will fight against Islamophobia and for the rights of migrants
(Anadolu) A Swedish politician of Turkish origin, expelled earlier from the Center Party, has formed the Migrant Party. Talking to Anadolu Agency, Yuksel said his party will represent migrants. He said for the first time such a party has been formed in […]
Clerics & Preachers
Erdoğan’s ‘Uniting Ummah’ event in New York divides U.S. Muslim leaders
(Ahval) Two leaders of the American Muslim community said on Friday that their names had been added as guests to a flier printed for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s planned event in New York City in September, although they had rejected the […]
Clerics & Preachers
San Francisco imam claims Egypt’s Morsi killed by ‘Zionist agents’ Khalid Siddiqi says those allegedly responsible for the former Egyptian president’s death were ‘working for Satan’
(Times of Israel) An imam in San Francisco claimed the death of former Egyptian president [Mohamed] Morsi during a court hearing this month was the work of “Zionist agents.” Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was Egypt’s first democratically elected leader. […]
Demonstrations
Muslim Brotherhood supporters, jihadists label Morsi a ‘martyr’
(IPT) Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s death Monday during a court hearing triggered immediate, often predictable reactions. The Muslim Brotherhood, which Morsi spent his life serving, accused Egypt’s military rulers of killing him. U.S. Brotherhood-linked groups and individuals followed suit, describing Morsi […]
Government & Politics
‘Backsliding’ Turkey’s EU bid slips further away: Commission
(Reuters) Turkey’s hopes of joining the European Union are fading, the bloc’s executive said on Wednesday, blaming authoritarian rule for worse conditions in courts, prisons and the economy. Still considered a security ally, Turkey’s candidacy to join the world’s largest trading group […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
Muslim Reform Movement founder opposes Omar, CAIR and Islamism abroad
(Christian Post) I interviewed Dr. M Zuhdi Jasser in January 2017, July 2017, and September 2018 on a range of topics including Islamism and what he believes is its antidote, the Muslim Reform Movement. This is a follow-up interview. Jasser is president […]
Clerics & Preachers
Germany debates ‘mosque tax’ to replace foreign funding
(AFP) Support is growing in Germany for a “mosque tax” to make Islamic institutions less dependent on potentially anti-democratic or “radical” foreign funding sources, a media report said Sunday. The federal government sees it as “a possible path,” according to an answer […]
Government & Politics
Trump pushes to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group
(NY Times) The White House is pushing to issue an order that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, bringing the weight of American sanctions against a storied and influential Islamist political movement with millions of members across the Middle […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
‘Ugly and disgusting lie’: PM attacks eight-year-old report about Muslim immigration
(Sydney Morning Herald) Prime Minister Scott Morrison says an eight-year-old report claiming he once urged the Coalition to score political points with Muslim immigration is an “ugly and disgusting lie.” The story, which was published by the Sydney Morning Herald in 2011 […]
Law Enforcement
Dutch police arrest new tram attack suspect, suspect terror motive
(AFP) Dutch police said they were investigating a terrorist motive for the Utrecht tram attack, as they arrested a new suspect on Tuesday over the deadly shooting. Authorities said they had found a suspicious letter in a getaway car used by Turkish-born […]
Law Enforcement
Dutch police arrest suspect after three shot dead on tram
(AFP) Dutch police on Monday arrested a Turkish-born suspect over a shooting on a tram in Utrecht that left three people dead in what officials said was a possible terror attack. Police had earlier launched a huge manhunt for Gokmen Tanis, 37, […]
Clerics & Preachers
Muslims say Germany should provide Bundeswehr with imams The Bundeswehr provides Catholic and Protestant clergy for soldiers, but no spiritual counsel for Muslims. According to the government, key questions must be answered before the Bundeswehr's religious ranks are expanded.
(Deutsche Welle) Nariman Reinke, a naval petty officer, is one of about 1,500 Muslim soldiers who serve in the Bundeswehr. Born to [Moroccan] parents in 1979, Reinke has been in the military since 2005 and has twice deployed to Afghanistan. But being a Muslim […]
Government & Politics
Greece’s Muslim minority complain of ‘marginalisation’ in Komotini
(AFP) Outwardly, Komotini looks like other Greek cities, but there is a major difference: it has nine mosques whereas there are none in Athens. The northeastern city has existed from the second century and was captured by Ottoman-era Turkey in the 14th. […]
Academics & Education
Strasbourg: Capital of the EU and ‘the future of Europe’
(Gatestone) “New York, Geneva and Strasbourg are the only cities in the world which are home to international institutions without being national capitals,” an official page of the French city proudly proclaims. “The choice of Strasbourg as the European capital following the […]
Clerics & Preachers
U.S. Islamists who rallied to Khashoggi’s case silent about NBA star threatened by Turkey
(IPT) Turkish NBA star Enes Kanter did not join his New York Knicks teammates when they play the Washington Wizards in London today due to his fear he could be assassinated by Turkish spies. An Istanbul prosecutor on Tuesday drafted an extradition […]
Children & Teens
Syrian Kurds say American teen among 8 captured foreign ISIS fighters
(Stars and Stripes) U.S.-backed forces in Syria said they have captured eight foreign Islamic State fighters in the town of Hajin, including one American teen, days after announcing they had detained five others. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, said Wednesday […]
Government & Politics
Muslim widow caught between Sharia law, Greek courts in legal drama
(Washington Times) Hatice Molla Sali will discover Wednesday whether she faces a life of poverty in her twilight years. That is when the European Court of Human Rights is expected to rule on the 68-year-old Muslim widow’s case against an Islamic court […]
Government & Politics
CAIR chief announces democracy group in Khashoggi’s memory
(IPT) An organization aimed at fostering democracy in the Arab world will be dedicated to the slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s memory, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) executive director Nihad Awad announced last weekend in an Al-Jazeera interview. Khashoggi, a U.S. […]
Clerics & Preachers
Turkey says Trump working on extraditing wanted cleric Gulen
(Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump has told his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan that Washington is working on extraditing a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused of orchestrating a failed Turkish coup in 2016, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Sunday. “In Argentina, Trump told Erdogan […]
Clerics & Preachers
Trump: US will not hand over Erdoğan foe for Turkey
(Hill) President Trump on Saturday rejected reports that his administration is considering extraditing a foe of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for a trip to California that extraditing exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen was “not […]
Clerics & Preachers
U.S. Justice Dept denies exploring extradition of Erdogan foe to appease Turkey
(Reuters) The U.S. Justice Department on Friday denied that it was planning an extradition deal designed to persuade the Turkish president to ease off on a probe over the killing of a journalist in an Istanbul embassy. NBC News reported on Thursday […]
Clerics & Preachers
To ease Turkish pressure on Saudis over killing, White House weighs expelling Erdogan foe 'Once they realized it was a serious request, the career guys were furious,' a U.S. official said of request tied to Khashoggi killing.
(NBC) The White House is looking for ways to remove an enemy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. in order to placate Turkey over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to two senior U.S. officials and two other people […]
Government & Politics
Erdogan-linked activist looks to form political party for migrants in Vienna
(Breitbart) The former vice-president of a group linked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is forming a political party in Vienna to counter “xenophobia” and to specifically give a voice to migrants. The new migrant party, which so far has no name, is […]
Government & Politics
Open Day at the mosque: ‘Everyone must contribute’ The Cologne Central Mosque has been making headlines recently, and the effects have not all been negative. On the contrary: An especially large number of curious, non-Muslim visitors attended this year's mosque Open Day.
(Deutsche Welle) “If not now, then when?” thought Dana and Julia. The two young women have travelled from their hometown of Olpe to the Central Mosque in Cologne, not despite but precisely because of the negative headlines surrounding its opening by the […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
Erdogan says he will consider referendum on Turkey’s EU bid
(Reuters) President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he would consider putting Turkey’s long-stalled bid to join the European Union to a referendum, signaling exasperation with a process he says has been waylaid by prejudice against Muslims. A direct vote on whether to […]
Government & Politics
Austria may ban four-fingered MB salute
(IPT) The Austrian government is considering outlawing a four-fingered salute representing support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan popularized it and began using it after Egypt’s military toppled the Brotherhood in 2013. Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers around the […]
Government & Politics
Turkish far-right Erdogan greetings cause concern in Germany The Turkish president's opening of Germany's largest mosque and use of hand gestures associated with extremists have led to German politicians' concerns about the role of the DITIB association.
(Deutsche Welle) Politicians in Germany expressed concern Monday about the use of Turkish ultra-nationalist symbols during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent state visit. Erdogan supporters welcomed him with the Grey Wolves (Bozkurt) hand sign when he arrived in Cologne to open Germany’s largest mosque […]
Demonstrations
Rival rallies as Erdogan opens mega mosque in Cologne
(AFP) Thousands of demonstrators hit the streets of Cologne Saturday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened one of Europe’s largest mosques at the end of his visit to Germany, with police out in force to manage rival rallies. The inauguration capped […]
Clerics & Preachers
Erdogan in Germany: What you need to know about DITIB mosque association Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is opening a new central mosque in Cologne. DITIB, a controversial Turkish-Islamic umbrella group, provides the financing and imams. But what is DITIB?
(Deutsche Welle) The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) is the largest umbrella organization of mosques in Germany. DITIB manages about 900 mosques in the country, including the central mosque in Cologne, and has about 800,000 members throughout Germany. Its ties to […]
Clerics & Preachers
Turkish intel will run ‘operations’ against political opponents on US soil, Erdogan spokesman says
(Daily Caller) The Turkish government plans to continue “operations,” including in the United States, against supporters of a political opponent of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a top adviser to the Turkish president said Friday. Speaking to reporters ahead of Erdogan’s trip this week to […]
Government & Politics
CAIR chief to meet with Turkish and Iranian presidents
(IPT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani invited Nihad Awad, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) executive director, to meet with them in New York during this week’s U.N. General Assembly meeting. “It’s not about photo ops for […]
Government & Politics
Turkey’s Erdogan to open Cologne mosque in controversial state visit The Turkish president's hopes of addressing the German-Turkish community are closer to becoming reality. His upcoming state visit was described as a 'betrayal' by journalist Deniz Yücel, who was imprisoned in Turkey.
(Deutsche Welle) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will officially open a new central mosque in the western German city of Cologne, the Turkish-Islamic organization DITIB confirmed on Tuesday evening. Erdogan will open the mosque at a ceremony at the end of his […]