JERUSALEM – Necmeddin Bilal Erdogan, Turkish strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s second-eldest son (and second-eldest among four children) is organizing a rally in Istanbul on Jan. 1 in which the NATO member allegedly will expressly outline its designs on Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.
President Erdogan’s Son Calls for Turkey to Takeover Israel:”Yesterday Hagia Sophia (Constantinople), today the Umayyad Mosque, tomorrow Al-Aqsa.”
This is Islam.https://t.co/NC637IyuhO pic.twitter.com/825KLsB505
— Pamela Geller ️ (@PamelaGeller) December 25, 2024
The so-called “protest” is being organized under the banner “Yesterday Hagia Sophia (Constantinople), today the Umayyad Mosque, tomorrow Al-Aqsa.” Hagia Sophia refers to the fact Istanbul’s formerly most famous church, which was in almost constant use for more than 1,000 years from A.D. 360 to 1453, was reverted to its previous use as a mosque in July 2020, and given the title Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. It had been a Muslim place of worship after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, until it became a museum in 1935. Islam has a rule that if a place of worship was ever once a mosque – even if it has not had the designation for decades or even centuries – it retains its holiness to Muslims in perpetuity. In the Old City of Jerusalem, the Mosque of Omar, which stands in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, exists for this very reason; because Caliph Omar refused to pray in the church knowing its use would one day be forced to change.
The reference by the younger Erdogan to the Umayyad Mosque is a taunt aimed at Syria to imply its larger neighbor, which now controls enormous swaths of the country, has control of Damascus. The Umayyad Caliphate or Empire, predated the Ottoman one by some 700-800 years, and whose capital was in Damascus.
The third part of the slogan clearly refers to Jerusalem, given that Al-Aqsa is the city’s most famous mosque. (The golden Dome of the Rock is a shrine, not a mosque). The Ottoman Turks ruled the entire area of Syria, Lebanon and modern-day Israel, although they were part of different administrative units, and modern-day Turkey has designs on expanding its living space.
This seems a clear indication of Turkey feeling its oats, and seems to be a nod to the expansionism which has always been a part of Erdogan senior’s platform. He appears to feel the loss of the Ottoman Empire more keenly than most and would like nothing more than to see its former glory restored. With the fall of Assad’s Syria – and the retreat of those other imperial powers Russia and Iran – coupled with the attempts to install a new leader – Ahmed al-Sharaa – who is significantly warmer toward Turkey, even partially relying on his lightning takeover of the country on his backers in Ankara, perhaps he assesses that day is closer than even he might have allowed himself to dream.
Turkey declares war on Israel everyday.
And the Biden team is trying to force Israel to recognize the Turkish controlled ISIS gang that has taken over large swaths of Syria. https://t.co/oCMEyYplRF— Caroline Glick (@CarolineGlick) December 24, 2024
In Caroline Glick’s pithy analysis, she argues “Turkey declares war on Israel everyday.” This does certainly have the ring of truth about it, as President Erdogan is constantly banging the drum for the takeover of Jerusalem – and uses his official X account to show his allegiance to Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock.
Without getting all Psych101, there is quite an interesting political parallel between Bilal Erdogan and Yair Netanyahu, the elder son of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahi. It appears both sons are adept at using the family name to further the messages of their more famous – some might say infamous – fathers. In his own right, Yair Netanyahu is a deeply polarizing figure for his frequently incendiary public statements and his particular choice of targets. Perhaps Bilal Erdogan is doing exactly the same thing by telegraphing and channeling his father’s wishes – despite what the fallout might be.
