But Will he Conquer the Sunni Jihadist Movement?

Submitted by Alex (United States), Sep 24, 2014 at 16:27

I love the fact that Dr. Pipes made Erdogan look like the hack he really is. Bravo. One troubling trend I have noticed is related to the confluence of Erdogan's apparent campaign to revive the Ottoman Empire and ISIS' declaration of the caliphate. ISIS seems too extreme in tactics even for the most hardened jihadi clerics and terrorists, such as Atman Alzawahiri, Abu Muhammad Almaqdisi and even the super-radical Abu Qatada, who have all condemned the group's behavior. ISIS' revival of the caliphate though, as Dr. Pipes has previously predicted, does seen to be resonating with Sunmi Muslims, especially those linked with the international branches of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the past few weeks, I have seen HAMAS leaders, Yusuf al qaradawi, and even a personal contact who i suspect of being a Brotherhood sympathizer, advocate that the caliphate is a worthy goal, just one to be achieved by less brutal and more realistic means. One line of propaganda that I find troubling for Israel in particular is the claim that the Ottoman Empire provided a secure and harmonious environment for Jews. I even heard a HAMAS leader make this exaggerated claim during the recent fighting in Gaza.

I fear that as ISIS is wiped out militarily, Erdogan's attempt to revive the Ottoman Empire will become increasingly well received around the Sunni parts of the Middle East and perhaps even South Asia, and that pro-Ottoman propaganda--as designed by Erdogan and company--will be legitimized even in some Western diplomatic circles. I

If I can trouble Dr. Pipes, I wonder if in his view I am way off base in my anxieties here?

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