Islamic Awekening Magazine

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AW

AKE

NIN

G

ISLAM

IC

Bahrain and

Irans Stance

NecmettinErbakans Political

Career

Assessing Sanctionsagainst the Metropolis of

Islamic AwakeningErbakans Most Popular

Speeches

Whats Next for Egypts

Muslim Brotherhood?

Friends and Foes of

Syria

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8

20

22

26

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Necmettin Erbakan wasborn on Oct. 29, 1926,in the Black Sea town

of Sinop, home in antiquity toDiogenes the Cynic. His fatherwas one of the last Islamic judges

of the Ottoman Empire, whosesystem of religious courts wasreplaced by a secular legal codeafter the founding of todaysTurkey by Kemal Atatrk in1923. Mr. Erbakans father senthim to high school in Istanbul.Necmettin Erbakan graduatedfrom Cumhuriyet Primary Schoolin Kayseri and then he had to goto Trabzon because of his fathersappointment and he nished hisprimary education successfully.

Erbakan was brought up byShaikh M. Zahid Kotku Hz. who

was the Imam of IskenderpaaMosque and a naqshbandishaikh and other enlightenedand Scholar Muslim leaders.Shaikh Kotku had a deep effecton Erbakan in terms of moral

maturation.After graduating from theprimary school in 1937, hecontinued his education inIstanbul High School. After that,he achieved a perfect scoreand began to study in IstanbulTechnical University. One ofhis friends in University wasSleyman Demirel who also verysoon became a politician.

In 1948, during summer term,Erbakan who graduated from

ITU, faculty of mechanicalengineering with a good degree,

got the chairmanship as anassistant at Engine Departmentof the Machine Faculty. Duringthe following years, he preparedhis doctorate thesis. Althoughonly doctors and professors were

able to teach in universities, hewas given a special permissionfor teaching only when he was anassistant.

In 1951, he was sent to AachenTechnical University in Germanyby the fellowship of ITU for theaim of improving his scienticresearch with Professor Smith.He prepared three theses intwo years. One of them was hisdoctoral thesis, and then he gotthe fame as a Doctor-Engineer.

Erbakan made successfulresearch about engines which

Necmettin Erbakans

Biography

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use little fuel oil for GermanyEconomy Minister. After his thesis

was published in some of theimportant magazines, Prof. Dr.Flats who was the director of thegreatest engine factory at thattime, DEUTZ, invited him to makeresearch about the Leopard Tanks.

He married with NerminErbakan, a graduate of economics,in 1967.

They have two daughters,Zeynep born in 1968, Elif born in1974 and a son Muhammed Fatihborn in 1979.

He lived and worked in WestGermany for several years,specializing in diesel enginedesign. His German remaineduent and lyrical. He waselected to the legislature as anindependent in 1969 and formedan Islamic party the followingyear, but it was banned by themilitary government in 1971. Here-formed the party in 1972 andtwice during the 1970s served as a

deputy prime minister. In 1980 themilitary again banned the partyand briey imprisoned Erbakan.He was prohibited from engagingin politics from 1980 to 1987.

When he returned to politics,Erbakan became a leader ofthe pro-Islamic Welfare (Refah)Party, which was well organizedon the local level and opposedwhat many saw as the arrogantcorruption of the leaders of the

established parties. In the run-up to the 1995 parliamentaryelections, Erbakan advocatedwithdrawing from the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization,abrogating agreements with Israel,and developing closer ties withsuch Middle Eastern countries asSyria and Iran. His proposals wereparticularly unsettling to Westernleaders, who had long dependedon a friendly secular governmentin Turkey as a basis for their

policy in the Middle East. A largesegment of voters, however,

seemed to support his views, asthe Welfare Party won the largest

number of seats, capturing 158of the 550 seats in the legislatureand thereby becoming the rstIslamic party ever to win a generalelection in Turkey.

Early in 1996 Erbakan triedbut failed to form a coalitiongovernment. A centre-rightcoalition of the True Path (DoruYol) and Motherland (Anavatan)parties then held power untilinternal disagreements brought itdown in June. Erbakan was againasked to try to form a coalition,and this time, when Tansu iller,head of the True Path Party,agreed to join him, he succeeded.

On July 8, 1996, the nationallegislature of Turkey conrmeda coalition government headedby Erbakan. He and iller wouldalternate as prime minister,and the various other ministrieswere divided between theWelfare Party and the True

Path Party. Erbakans tenure asprime minister marked the rsttime an Islamist had held theposition, but it was short-lived.Fears that the Welfare Partywas attempting to Islamicizethe country led the military toforce Erbakan to resign. He leftofce on June 18, 1997, andearly in 1998 the Welfare Partywas banned entirely. Erbakanwas prohibited from political

action for ve years, and in 2000he was convicted of provokinghatred for a speech he madein 1994 that attacked Turkeyssecular government. Though heavoided prison time, Erbakanwas convicted in 2002 of havingembezzled Welfare Party fundsduring its dissolution, and hewas sentenced to more than twoyears of house arrest. He becamepolitically active once again in2003, after the end of his ve-

year ban, and worked with thepro-Islamic Felicity (Saadet) Party.

Erbakan was broughtup by Shaikh M. ZahidKotku Hz. who was theImam of IskenderpaaMosque and anaqshbandi shaikhand other enlightenedand Scholar Muslimleaders. Shaikh Kotkuhad a deep effect onErbakan in terms ofmoral maturation.After graduating fromthe primary school in1937, he continued hiseducation in Istanbul

High School. After that,he achieved a perfectscore and began tostudy in IstanbulTechnical University.One of his friendsin University wasSleyman Demirel whoalso very soon becamea politician.

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D

uring his turbulentyear as prime minister,Mr. Erbakan boldly

challenged Turkeys seculardogma, vowing to createa pan-Islamic currencyand rescue Turkey fromthe unbelievers of Europe.He embraced the religiousgovernment in Iran, allowedfemale civil servants to wearhead scarves to work, and heldIslamic feasts in the primeministers residence.

Erbakan was among thelast survivors of the politicalgeneration that ruled Turkey asit struggled toward democracyduring the second half ofthe 20th century, a periodpunctuated by three militarycoups. He was often calledHodja, a term of affectionaccorded to religiousteachers or wise men.

Like other political

patriarchs of his era, hewas a nationalist who bowedbefore the reality of militarypower. He repeatedly pushedfor a greater role for religionin public life. His party wasbanned multiple times. Aftereach shutdown, he reinventedand renamed it.

He introduced politicalIslam to Turkey, SedatBozkurt, a Turkish journalist,

said in an interview. However,the political Islam applied in

Turkey differed from theothers. One of its elementswas Turkish nationalism.

Among Erbakans mostsuccessful followers was

the Recep Tayyip

Erdogan, who under

his tutelage was electedmayor of Istanbul and is nowprime minister. The men splitpolitically, and Prime MinisterErdogan replaced Mr. Erbakanas the hero of Turkeysdevout.

We will always rememberhim with gratitude as a teacherand a leader, Mr. Erdogan saidof Mr. Erbakan, who is survivedby two daughters and a son.

In 1970, stung by the refusalof a center-right party to

In the 1995election, withthe politicalscene atomized,

Mr. Erbakansparty, then calledWelfare, nished

rst with 21percent of thevote. After strikinga coalition dealwith another

party leader whowas eager tocontrol corruptioninvestigations, Mr.

Erbakan becameprime minister.He immediatelybegan challengingthe secular,

pro-Westernfoundations ofmodern Turkey.

Necmettin ErbakansPolitical Career


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memorandalisting his sins.He resigned onFeb. 28, 1997, oustedby what is widely

described as Turkeys onlypostmodern coup.These events split the

religious political movementin Turkey. A group of insurgents,accusing Erbakan of losing touchwith a rapidly changing country,tried to wrest control of the partyfrom him. When they failed, theyquit the party; founded their own,calling it Justice and Development androcketed to national power.

Erbakan later became the targetof corruption charges. In 2002 hewas sentenced to two years and fourmonths in prison on charges of forgeryof personal documents. PresidentAbdullah Gul, who was his foreignpolicy adviser during his ill-fated yearin power, pardoned him.

Mr. Erbakans party withered intoinsignicance. His onetime follower,Prime Minister Erdogan, devised amore inclusive political formula a rened version of theone Mr. Erbakan developednearly half a century ago propelled Mr. Erdoganto power and haskept him therefor nearly adecade.

nominate him for a seatin Parliament, he formed hisown political party, whichadvocated a return to religiousvalues not an obvious choicefor the son of a civil servant.The party survived repeated

closings and Mr. Erbakansseveral years of exile inSwitzerland. Though the partynever won nearly enoughvotes to put him in power, heemerged as a kingmaker. Twicein the 1970s he became deputyprime minister.

In the 1995 election, with thepolitical scene atomized,

Mr. Erbakans

party, then calledWelfare, nished rst with

21 percent of the vote. Afterstriking a coalition deal withanother party leader who waseager to control corruptioninvestigations, Mr. Erbakanbecame prime minister. Heimmediately began challengingthe secular, pro-Westernfoundations of modern Turkey.

After Mr. Erbakan had beenin ofce for 12 months, militarycommanders, who consideredthemselves the ultimateguardians of Turkish secularism,decided to strike against him.They forced him out with

a series of threatening


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One of the main struggles of Erbakan was that againstZionism. There are many statements on this issue.Because of these thoughts, he is wrongly labeled

as an anti-Semitic, while he was anti-Zionism not anti-Judaism. He considered Judaism as a divine religion. Qudswas very important to him. If we want to understand thesethoughts, we should give an ear to his speeches in this

issue. Memri website which is close to Zionist identitycollected some sentences of Erbakans speechin Turkeys Flash TV in 2007. These sentencesexplain his anti-Zionist and pro-Islamistidentity:

When we look at the map of theworld, we see about 200 countriespainted in colors, and we think thatthere are many races, religions,

and nations. The factis that for 300 years,

all these [200 nations]have been controlledfrom one center only.This center is the racist,

imperialist Zionism. Unless youmake a correct diagnosis for theillness, you cannot nd the cure

Erbakans anti-Zionist Identity

ByS

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Lets say that you,as a Muslim, wantto send money toanother Muslimcountry. Say youwant to send

money to Pakistan.You cannot sendit, because youdont have theinfrastructure todo that. You areliving in their [i.e.the Zionists]world. To send the

money, you needto take it to aTurkish bank. Thenthe Turkish bankwill give it to the

American bank.The American bankwill give an orderto its branch [in

Pakistan], thatbranch will givethe money to thePakistani bank thatwill pay out themoney that yousent.


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to it.Do you know what the safety of

Israel means? It means that they willrule the 28 countries from Moroccoto Indonesia. Since all the Crusadeswere organized by the Zionists, andsince it was our forefathers theSeljuks who stopped them, accordingto the Kabbala there should be nosovereign state in Anatolia. This isthese peoples [i.e. the Zionists]religion, their faith. You cant argueor negotiate with them. This is their

religion, and it comes from theKabbala.Lets say that you, as a Muslim,

want to send money to anotherMuslim country. Say you want tosend money to Pakistan. You cannotsend it, because you dont have theinfrastructure to do that. You areliving in their [i.e. the Zionists]world. To send the money, you

need to take it to a Turkish bank. Thenthe Turkish bank will give it to the

American bank. The American bank willgive an order to its branch [in Pakistan],that branch will give the money to thePakistani bank that will pay out the moneythat you sent.

A little more patience. Look. TheseJews started 19 Crusades. The 19th wasWorld War 1. Why? Only to build Israel.They used the Christians to build Israel.The Canakkale [Gallipoli] victory was onlyone of our battles. We fought on 30 fronts

during the war. Then they had us sign theTreaty of Svres. They told us they wouldeliminate us and build Greater Israel andmake us their slaves. No other nationcould ght against them on 30 battlefrontslike our nation did.

If we do not see these realities, wecannot understand world affairs. Whatdoes Bush say? He says that Jesus orderedhim to invade Iraq. He says that the mostimportant factor in making his decision

on Iraq was his being Christian.[He thought,] I will take Iraq.I will build Greater Israel,so that Jesus can return.These people work with

that kind of belief. If youdont know about thesepeoples beliefs, you

cannot understand whythey do what they do.Our youth must learn

all this.


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ErbakansMost PopularSpeeches

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I

f we talk about Erbakan, weshould also refer to his famous

speeches.Here is a selection of HurriyetDaily News for Erbakans famousstatements:

We will wait for the bottomside of the kadayf [a Turkishdessert] to be baked [beforewe send this governmentaway.] (Speaking in March1980 on the Sleyman Demirel-led government that relied onErbakans support.)

Love, determination andthe National View these willgive us milk from even the malegoat.

We are not of a mushroommentality we are the planetree.

They are just glu-gludancing. (Speaking on massprotests against deep staterelations after the Susurlukincident on Nov. 3, 1996.)

Everybody is of the NationalView, they just dont realizeit.

The AKP [Justice andDevelopment Party] governmentis like a hormone-injectedtomato.

Mehmet II the Conquerorwas neither leftist nor rightist.He was of the National View.

The sun is here, what needis there for the bulb? (Speaking

on the AKPs logo)The brain of the

exploitation monster thatoppresses the world is Zionism.

Its heart is Crusader Europe, itsright arm is America and its leftarm is Russia.

National View MovementWhether you like it or not,

the National View, be it theoriginal version or the changedone, is one of the most effectivepolitical movements in Turkey.says Cneyt lsever for ErbakansNational View Movement.

The tutelary mentality,which we can be traced backto the Committee of Unionand Progress (CUP), neverunderstood or accepted ournations commitment to Islam.For a century, Turkey has beena target of a social engineeringproject that has been trying toisolate religion from daily lifeand conne Islam to peoplesconscience. Politics has beenheavily inuenced by thisproject. Thus, when the nationtried to embrace its religion andvalues, right-wing parties weredesigned to lure them. However,the people soon realized theparties insincerity and thegames they played. Thus theystarted to look for alternatives.says Hseyin Gulerce, fromTodays Zaman, and he adds:This is one of the main reasonswhy Erbakans Milli Gr was

very appealing to voters.Before looking at the main

principles of National ViewMovement, let us focus onAhmet T. Kurus sentences forsummarizing the history of thismovement:

The Milli Gorus movementwas initiated by Erbakan. In1970, Erbakan and his followersfounded the Milli Nizam (NationalOrder) Party (MNP). The party

was disbanded following themilitary coup de tat in 1971. In

1972, the former cadres of theMNP founded the Milli Selamet

(National Salvation) Party. Thatparty also was disbanded, bythe military coup de tat in1980. These parties were bothaccused of being anti-secular.When its party was disbanded,the movement founded a newone, rather than protestingradically against the state. Themovement has also had linkswith sociocultural institutions(for example, the National Youth

Foundation) and media outlets(for example, Milli Gazete).In 1983, the Milli Gorus

movement founded the Refah(Welfare) Party (RP). The RPgained inuence in the 1990sin Turkish politics and wassimultaneously strengthenedby the nationwide rise ofIslamic movements. It becameincreasingly successful innational elections with thesupport of the new Anatolianbourgeoisie and pro-Islamicmedia networks. It won themayors seats in Turkeys twolargest cities, Istanbul andAnkara, in 1994. In the nationalparliamentary elections, the RPincreased its share of the votesfrom 7.2 percent in 1987 to 21.4percent in 1995 and became theleading party. Erbakan becameprime minister in 1996 in the RP-True Path Party (DYP) coalition.

Until the end of the 1990s,the Milli Gorus movement didnot benet from internationalopportunities. It was a nationalmovement that sought a top-down transformation of societyvia politics, unlike the Gulenmovement, which focused ona bottom-up transformationvia education. The Milli Gorusmovement was restricted byTurkey and did not attempt to

spread out to other countriesby beneting from international


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In the 1970s, the movementsought to lead the countrysdevelopment of heavy

industry. That discoursewas consistent with thepersonality of Erbakan,who was a professor ofmechanical engineering andworked on the Leopard tankproject in Germany. In the1980s and early 1990s, themovement used a seconddiscourse based on welfarepolicies, as emphasized

in the title of its party(Welfare Party). Yet, duringboth of these periods, theMilli Gorus movementpreserved the core of itsideological frameworkpolitical Islamism. Moreover,anti-Westernism was a sinequa non for the movement.

opportunities, nor didit see the international

institutions and normsas an opportunity tobe saved from staterepression. Instead, it sawinternational institutionsand norms as extensionsof the Western hegemonythat collaborated with therepressive state.

In the 1970s, themovement sought to leadthe countrys development

of heavy industry. Thatdiscourse was consistentwith the personalityof Erbakan, who was aprofessor of mechanicalengineering and worked onthe Leopard tank project inGermany. In the 1980s andearly 1990s, the movementused a second discoursebased on welfare policies,as emphasized in the titleof its party (Welfare Party).Yet, during both of theseperiods, the Milli Gorusmovement preserved thecore of its ideologicalframeworkpoliticalIslamism. Moreover, anti-Westernism was a sine quanon for the movement.

The RP, therefore, hada political Islamist andanti-Western agenda.It opposed Turkeys

membership in the EU.The RP was planning tofound an Islamic Unionand to create an Islamiccurrency. In late 1996 andearly 1997, Erbakan visitedseveral Muslim countriesas the prime minister,and tried to organizean Islamic Union. Hesucceeded in creating aninternational cooperation

organization among eightMuslim countries, referred

to as the D-8 (DevelopingEight). This became a

topic of debate betweenthe Gulen and the MilliGorus movements.Gulen described D-8as a vain project and avery cheap message toErbakans constituency.Because of these types ofdisagreements, the Gulenmovement did not supportthe RP. It continued topursue the principle of

political neutrality and toestablish good relationswith all political parties,including the leftist ones.

The February 28 softcoup in 1997 ended theRP-DYP coalition andsubstantially impactedthe Milli Gorus movement.Erbakan was forced toresign in June 1997. The RPwas dissolved, and Erbakanwas banned from politicsin 1998 by the TurkishSupreme Court. Shortlyafter that, the RPs mayorof Istanbul, Tayyip Erdogan,was imprisoned for recitinga poem, and consequentlybanished from political life.

Following the February28 coup, the Milli Gorusgradually divided into twogroupsthe elders, led byErbakan, and the younger

generation, led by Erdogan.Because of state repression,both of these groupstended to see internationalinstitutions and norms asopportunities for protectionof their rights. Erbakan,for example, appealedto the European Court ofHuman Rights to overturnthe dissolution of the RPand his ban from politics by

the Turkish ConstitutionalCourt.


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As is known, today, many ofthe Islamic leaders comefrom this movement. So,

its function is very important forMuslims in Turkey. Although many

of its members have left MilliGorus Movement, they did notleave its main principles.

For example, in 1960-70sthere was a MTTB (National TurkStudents Association) and todaysMuslim leaders were very activein this association. MTTB was likeyoung organization of NationalView Movement.

After 1965, political picture foryoung Muslims in Turkey began

to change. Turkism thoughtsbegan to replace Ummah (The

Worldwide Muslim Community)thought. Well, what were thereasons for this change? When weobserve this process, we comeacross new books translated

mainly from Arabic to Turkish. Aswe know, Arabian peninsula hasexperienced Arab nationalismintensively. After they began toquestion nationalism in termsof Islam, they noticed thewrongfulness of this thought. Andthen, new revivalists emergedin the Arabian peninsula.Nationalism has been criticized.So, many scholars have begun totake Islam rather than national

values, as a point of reference.They tried to understand all the

events in the light of Quran.They have focused on allproblems of ummah rather thanjust national problems. Actually,they began to question the

concept of nation-state in termsof Islamic thought.

When the Muslim youth inTurkey began to read booksin which these issues weredescribed, the nationalist-conservative Muslim perspectivebegan to change. For the rsttime, the concept of Muslimyouth was used instead ofNationalist Turk Muslims.For the rst time, protests

were organized in support ofthe Muslims who were exposed


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to oppression indifferent parts of

world. The concept of Ummahacquired more signicance. The

emblem of MTTB was grey wolf, but after

Islamicization process, they changed theemblem and replaced it with the Quran.Actually, this change was very interesting.Firstly, members of MTTB were Ataturkists

and they were supporters of the regime; sothey distinguished themselves from regimes

national-conservative values. And then, they beganto use Islamic symbols to redene themselves;but this also had certain problems because thisprocess was derived from imported books. If wewant to understand this process of the change,

we should carefully listen to the people who were

active in this process.There is an interview with Kenan Yabanigl whowas the chairman of executive council of MTTB atthat time. In the interview with Haksz Magazine,he says: In my opinion, MTTB and similar circlesbegan to move towards Islam in early 1970s. Thisorientation shaped the intellectual mentality ofyoung people who moved away from Turk-Islamsynthesis and desired to learn Islam from its ownroots and live an Islamic lifestyle. There are manyreasons for the emergence of Islamic identity asmainstream issue.

During those days, the translation of a series of

new books appeared in Turkey. These books, whichintroduced Islam as a totality,

attracted the young

Muslims. The information provided by these bookswere fervently debated between MTTBs membersand consequently brought about serious intellectualchanges among the Muslim youth in Turkey.

Comments on National View MovementAccording to Ali Bulac, from Todays Zaman, the

ideals of this movement can be summarized in thefollowing paragraphs:

First: ensuring that the people who take theirreligion seriously become visible in the political,social and public spheres and that they are not

forced to conceal or suppress or deny their religion,principal and existential references as they engagelegitimately in politics and political competitionfor power, and that they can resist those who try toforce them to do so.

Second: defending the social center with allits heterogeneity and pluralism against a smalland privileged minority that unfairly controls thesocial, cultural, commercial, economic and politicalcenters as well as the bureaucracy and the publicbudget. In Turkey, it is Milli Gr and its partiesthat defend Anatolia, broad masses of poor peopleand stanbul and Thrace with their middle classes

against Ankaras bureaucratic center and thetraditional hard core of the system.

Third: ensuring a regional integration via Turkeysactive role and initiative. In Erbakans jargon,this is called the Islamic Union and the major steptoward it was to establish the D-8.

According to Levent Basturk, the most

important accomplishment of the movementwas its ability to become a mechanism thatcarried demands of religious segments into

the public realm in a country wherereligion and religious segments were

suppressed since 1920s.


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On the otherhand, according toLevent Basturk, the mostimportant accomplishmentof the movement was its ability tobecome a mechanism that carrieddemands of religious segments intothe public realm in a country where religion andreligious segments were suppressed since 1920s.

According to the National View, the MuslimWorld has experienced a moral and materialdecline for several centuries although it used to bemore advanced than the West in administrative,military, scientic, and technical elds. The basicsource of this greatness was the moral and spiritualstrength derived from the nations faith. Thepresent backwardness of Turkey in every realm wascaused by the blind imitation of Western values andinappropriate Western technology by the Westernoriented elite who made the country a satellite tothe West. Levent Basturk says.

In order to create a glorious future again,Turkey must realize the right and consistentblending and synthesis of moral-spiritual andmaterial development. In order to realize that, theTurks must embrace moral and spiritual (Islamic)consciousness with a distinguished historical missionin order to be a great power again like what theOttoman Empire used to be. In other words, theNational View, which represents truthfulness(haqq), provided an outline in order to return toorigins of the nation and to build a new civilizationas an alternative to materialistic Westernworldviews, which have always representedfalsehood (batil).

Then he arranges the principles of National VisionMovement in the following order:

- Brotherhood of all citizens of the country;- The fusion of the nation and the state;- Freedom of thought and belief to

provide supremacy of the morality andspirituality;

- Planned processof moral and material

progress;- Establishment of the Just Order (Adil

Duzen) as an economic and political model;- Fast and steady national development;- Prosperity for everyone and abolition of

usury;- Realization of heavy industrialization;- Development with internal sources rather

than with foreign borrowing;- National Defense Industry and foreign

policy with honor;

- Cooperation among Muslim nations;- Not a satellite Turkey, but a morally and

materially developed greater Turkey again.Relationship with Muslim nations occupies

an important part of the National View. Erbakanemphasized on ve great steps toward realizingcooperation between Muslim countries:

- Establishment of the Organizationof Muslim United Nations to end the Zionistconspiracy against the Muslims;

- Establishment of a Muslim DefenseOrganization;

- Formation of a Muslim CommonMarket;- Common currency among

Muslim nations;- Establishment of

Muslim countriesOrganizationof Cultural

Cooperation.


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A

s Seyfeddin Kara says,Recep Tayyip Erdogan and

Abdullah Gul were twoprominent disciples of Erbakanbut they departed from Erbakansparty in 1998. The reason for therift was difference of opinionbetween the progressivesrepresented by Erdogan andGul and the conservativesrepresented by Erbakan and hisclose followers.

Ozan rmeci has explainedthe main causes of separationbetween Erbakans group andErdogans group:

While comparing the twoimportant Islamic parties, it isimportant to take into accountsome concepts dened by DanielBrumberg. He classies thetypes of Islamism into threecategories; namely radicalor militant fundamentalism,reformist fundamentalism andstrategic modernism or IslamicLiberalism. Accordingly, parties

pursuing radical fundamentalismtry to change the system of thecountry through force and at theend establish a system basedon Islamic laws. In reformistfundamentalism, the partieshave a similar aim with that ofthe radical fundamentalists,that is, establishing a statebased on Islamic laws but theypursue moderate policies andcontinuously reject violence.

In other words, through winingmass electoral support theytry to win the elections andfollow up their agenda. Thisis also called dissimulation(takiyye). On the other hand,Islamic Liberals, which arein minority in the MiddleEast, seek to extend religiousfreedoms in a broadly democraticenvironment. Unlike the radicaland reformist fundamentals,Islamic Liberals do not aimat forming an Islamic state.Instead, they try to co-exist

Divisions inErbakans

Movement


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with the secular establishment of the state. In this sense, we cancall WP a reformist fundamentalist party having some elements ofmilitant fundamentalism and JDP an Islamic Liberal party carryingsome aspects of reformist fundamentalist party on the basis of theirpolicies and the deeds of their leaders.

When we look at differences between the preferences of the twoparties, we cannot only say that this is a simple separation.We should read this process in the light of changingprojects of the global system. In Turkey, wheneverpolitical Islam has gained power, some liberal-religious parties have emerged. The Democratic

Party, Motherland Party and lastly AKP are inthe same perspective. More recently, AKP hassuccessfully liberalized many radical groups.

Moreover, there has been a new division inthis movement in recent years: defection byNuman Kurtulmuss Voice of Public Party. LikeErdogan, Kurtulmus emerged from the MilliGorus Movement. He had led the Felicity Party(SP) until October 2010 and had been regardedas Erbakans successor. says Seyfeddin Kara.However, fate took a different turn andKurtulmus and Erbakan remained at odds afterthe partys general congress in July 2010,when Kurtulmus was reelected as chairmanand excluded Necmettin Erbakans son andson-in-law from the party administration.Erbakan was the SPs honorary leader at thetime. Facing strong reaction from Erbakanand his supporters, Kurtulmus resigned and afew months later established his own party.

Overall, with his right and wrongdecisions, Erbakan was one of the mostimportant gures in 20th century forTurkeys Islamists. He must be judged fairly,free from any prejudice.

This article is based on the writings ofsmail Duman of World Bulletin.


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By

Masou

dDarru

di

Erbakan was one of the most important gures in Turkishpolitics. He left his mark on Turkish society. While some peopleremember him through his speeches in the parliament, many of

the people make mention of Erbakan name with February 28, 1997post-modern coup in Turkey.

Necmettin Erbakan was the rst Islamist prime minister of Turkey

and tried to turn his country away from the West which led themilitary to depose him in 1997.When one speaks of Erbakan, the concept of Political Islam

in Turkey occurs to mind. Although there were Democrat Partyand Justice Party periods in 1950s-60s, for the rst time, Turkeysconservative-Islamist activists actively appeared in Turkish politicalscene after Erbakans National View (Milli Gr) Movement wasformed. It is also know as National Vision Movement.

On his death, hundreds of thousands of mourners attendedthe funeral of Necmettin Erbakan and this number explained hisimportance to the masses. Very interestingly, as Delphine Strauss,from the Financial Times, said, the military honored its oldadversary with a message of condolence, saying his great services toour country will be always remembered.

Who is Erbakan?Necmettin Erbakan, whose rst name literally means the Star of

Religion, was undoubtedly the star of Turkeys political Islam saysMustafa Akyol, of Hurriyet Daily News. According to Sedat Bozkurt:He introduced political Islam to Turkey... However, the politicalIslam applied in Turkey differed from other versions introduced inother places. One of its elements was Turkish nationalism.

Erbakans engagement in Turkeys public life started with hisappointment as the president of Industry Division in the Union ofChambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey. In 1968, he became

a member of Executive Board of the Union. In 1969, he was thepresident of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges

Erbakan inthe Courseof TurkishHistory


No 8, July 2013


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of Turkey. But Demirel was the head of the

government in those years. He removed Erbakanfrom his position in an illegal way.After consulting with some of his colleagues, he

decided to continue struggling in political arena.He applied to Adalet Party, but his membershipwas vetoed. He was elected from Konya as anindependent member of the Grand NationalAssembly of Turkey in 1969.

Erbakan founded the rst political party MilliNizam, which was a product of Milli GrMovement in 1970 January 24, but when the partywas closed in an antidemocratic way in 1971 aftera military coup, Erbakan went to Switzerland for a

short time.The second party he founded was Milli Selamet

Party. From 1974 to 1978 the party was in

different coalition governments and Erbakan wasthe assistant of prime minister and presidentof Economy council. During these four years hefocused on the material and moral developmentof Turkey, he played a crucial role in the Cyprussuccess, he pioneered the movement of heavyindustry, achieved complete membership ofORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE, heguaranteed equal rights to the graduates of Imam-Hatip High schools in University entrance exam.After the coup of 12 September, the party wasclosed and he was banned from politics.

In 1987, Erbakan came back to the active politics

with Welfare (Refah) Party. After becoming amember of the assembly, his party had a historical


No 8, July 2013


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success in municipality elections,which is soon named as

REVOLUTIONIn 1995, Refah Party came to

be the greatest party of Turkeyas a result of the election.And Erbakan formed the 54thgovernment of Turkey on 28thJune 1996, becoming the primeminister. The coalitiongovernment lastedonly 11 months.Some actions

attracted theattention of secretgovernors ofthe world. Soagain an anti-democratic processbegan and Erbakanwas forced to leavePrime Ministry by apost-modern coup andhe was banned frompolitics and his partywas closed.

The

movement of Milli Gr hascontinued with Fazilet (Virtue)

Party. This party was also closedafter an elected parliamentmember refused to undress herhead scarf. And lastly; Felicity(Saadet) Party...(gencsaadet.com)

Comments on ErbakanWhen we look at the comments

in the Western media, we comeacross emphasis not only

on his anti-Westernand anti-Zionist

identity, but alsoon moderating

function ofhis ideas forthe marginal

Islamicmovements throughhis struggle in the

legal limits.Cast by his secularenemies as a

dangerous

religious reactionary, Mr. Erbakanis now acknowledged as a

moderating force on TurkeysIslamists... He was ercely anti-Western, decrying the EuropeanUnion as a Zionist Christian cluband railing against usury and thefree market. Yet unlike someIslamists (but like Turkeys TarikatSu Islamic fraternities), hedisavowed all forms of violence.He sported a suit and tie (usuallyVersace). When the army pushedhim out in 1997, Mr. Erbakandid not call on his followers totake to the streets. says TheEconomist. On the other hand,according to Thomas Faulkner,from the Guardian, A shrewdpolitician, with a folksy turn ofphrase, Necmettin Erbakan ledTurkish Islamism for more thanfour decades during which themovement grew from a marginalgroup to become the mainstreamin Turkish politics, effectivelysupplanting the old centre-right

and the centre-left.Despite political bans and


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party closures, he always re-emerged and never wavered

from his belief in an IslamicTurkey. says Martin Childs, fromthe Independent; Denitely, hewas a mujahid. He would neverever accept defeat. He wouldnever ever accept to compromisehis national view politicaldoctrine. Even at the worsetimes when he was banished frompolitics, the parties he headedwere closed down by the courtor his students betrayed andparted ways with him, Erbakanmanaged to appear in front ofthe media with a smiling faceand determination not to giveup comments Yusuf Kanl, fromHurriyet Daily news.

As Fatma Dili Zbak writes,Yeni afaks Ali Bayramolu saysthe rst thing that can be saidabout Erbakan following his deathis that he was a charismaticleader and a great mobilizer whohad the ability to spur the masses

he addressed, and mobilize themto act. According to Bayramolu,Erbakan was also a Cold War

politician who preferred policiesof crisis and moves involving

tension in the hope of expandinghis inuence this way ratherthan engaging in an open ght ofprinciples.

In addition to this, althoughMustafa Akyol criticizessome ideas of Erbakan, healso acknowledges Erbakanscontributions: Unlike moreradical forms of Islamism thatemerged in the Middle East,Erbakan never renounceddemocracy. He rather becamea willing and active partner ofthe democratic system, givingthe latter a religious legitimacy.Besides, Erbakan never promotedor even tolerated politicalviolence. Hence, in the 1970s,when Turkeys youth was dividedbetween a violent Marxistleft and a militant nationalistright, Erbakans pious followersremained resolutely peaceful.Terrorism was a very secular

concept at the time, andIslamism looked all too docile.

Let us also quote the sentences

of Todays Zamans Emre Uslu onErbakan:

His main contribution toTurkish politics can be listedas follows: First, Erbakansuccessfully opened a newpolitical avenue that producedmany politicians who are nowleading the country and for thathe should receive credit. Moreimportantly, he created thispolitical avenue out of the blue.

Second, without his tirelessefforts it would be very difcultto bring the conservative ruralmasses into everyday politics...For those who supportedErbakan, they supported himevery day, not just from electionto election. His main contributionto politics was nding devotedsupporters. For his supporters,Erbakan was not just a leader,but a leader that was larger thanlife a latest savior of the Muslimworld.

Third, Erbakan was the only

political leader who normalizedIslamic activities in the publicdomain.


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The Muslim Brotherhoodis the best-organizedpolitical movement in the

most populous, most inuentialcountry in the Arab world.

What it does and what happensto it matters, both in Egyptand across the Middle East. TheBrotherhood tasted power forjust a year before its leader,

Mohammed Morsi, was toppled bythe countrys powerful military.Now, all the patience and

discipline it is known for is beingtested to the limit.

The decisions it makes in thecoming weeks could mold thefuture of Egypt and of the regionitself.

Which Path Will It Chose?On the surface, it appears the

Brotherhood has few choices.Individual members can choose tohide or speak out; to accept what

has happened or to challenge it.Warrants have been issued forthe arrest of many of its leaders.Morsi himself is in detention.The military calls for theorganizations leaders to be triedfor treason.

So, there is good reasonfor the Brothers to return tothe way life used to be under

Hosni Mubarak swallowingtheir pride, biding their time,organizing underground andwaiting for a chance to return topower.

Many will not want to takethis path. They believe theyhave been robbed of power; thattheir victory in a free and fairelection has been tossed asidewithout any proper cause. Theiranger is righteous, their sense ofvictimhood powerful.

There is evidence that manyleaders of the movement are

struggling to contain the angerof the rank-and-le Islamists whoplayed the game of democracyand won, only to have their prizesnatched from them.

The Muslim Brotherhoodlong ago renounced violence,but some of the leaders havecalled for an uprising to reversewhat they describe as a military

coup and restore Morsi to thepresidency.The prospect of a civil war

looms, with many pointing to theexample of Algeria in 1991, whenthe military cancelled the victoryof the Islamists in an electiononly to see the country plungedinto two decades of civil war thatled to the deaths of hundreds ofthousands.

One alternative for theBrotherhood is to do what

Islamists did in Turkey in 1997when the military intervened

Whats Next for Egypts

Muslim Brotherhood?

Comp

ile

dby

Ro

ba

be

hMoos

av

iJas

hn

i


No 8, July 2013


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and ousted their governmentfrom power: they regrouped andreturned stronger later.

The military and especiallywhats called the Deep State(the intelligence services, the

police, the bureaucracy andjudiciary), would like nothingmore than to see the Brotherhoodsplit and weakened.

In the shadows, groups linkedto al Qaeda (which is led by theEgyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri) arelikely telling the Brotherhoodthat their irtation withdemocracy got them nowhereand never will. They are likelysuggesting they should work to

challenge the army, bring downthe state and free their leader.Nothing would suit al Qaeda

better than to see the Brothersturn away from politics andconsume the Arab worlds mostpowerful country in violence.Few, though, believe theBrotherhood will take this path.

Lessons learnedBut if the Brotherhood keeps a

cool head in inammatory timesand analyzes what went wrongduring the last year, it might

learn a lot. Theres no questionit alienated large and importantsections of Egypts population.

Lacking the experience ofgoverning and directing a majoreconomy, it was accused of

incompetence. It promised togovern for all Egyptians anddid nothing of the sort. MuslimBrotherhood even alienatedsome section of the Islamistswho were demanding someproper policies towards theZionist regime.

Mohamed Abd El Ghany ofReuters argues that there arelessons for the Brotherhoodto learn if they choose to,

while there will likely beuncomfortable months ahead.

Short-term ChallengesThe Brothers may contest

new elections next year. Or theymay choose to boycott them.After all, once bitten, twice shy.Islamists all over the Arab worldwill be watching their decisionwith interest.

Egypts new, temporary rulershave choices ahead of them,too. Banning the Brotherhoodis one option. Almost certainly,

that move would not kill themovement, only deepen its senseof injustice and resentment andstoke its desire for revenge.

And the West has choices, too.So far, President Barack Obama

has resisted using the c word.As soon as the U.S. says theEgyptian government has beenoverthrown in a coup, it is legallybound to cut off aid to Egypt.

At more than $1 billion dollarsa year, no one in Cairo wants tolose such aid. A week after theoverthrow of the president, theU.S. announced it will deliver thepromised supply of F-16 ghterjets to Egypts military. But the

Pentagon also announced thatU.S. aid to Egypt was formallyput under review in the wake ofthe power shift.

In refusing to condemn theremoval of an elected president,the West has already madea choice. A complex, messymoral compromise that it wouldrather have a new leader in themost important country in theArab world than one seeminglydetermined to reshape hiscountry as an Islamist power in arapidly changing Middle East.


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Compi

ledby

Mo

hamma

dJava

dQor

bi Friends and Foes of SyriaT

he two-year rebellion unleashed by terrorists in Syria has claimed

more than 100,000 lives and sent at least 1.7 million refugees

spilling across its borders. It has already affected neighboring

countries, and now threatens to drag in the United States. The

involvement of big powers and the Zionist regime has turned domestic

protests into an increasingly proxy war.

The proxy war is important because it lies at the root of instability not

only within Syria but also in Iraq and other pockets of the Middle East.

SYRIAS FRIENDS

IranThe Islamic Republic of Iran - a regional power -

is a staunch ally of the Syrian.Defense think tank Royal United Services

Institute (RUSI) sees the Syria conict as part of aregional power struggle in which the Zionist regimeand the United States are trying to destabilize theindependent government of Bashar Assad.

It is increasingly clear that the world isconfronting a crisis that extends far beyond Syria,threatening to deteriorate into a regional conict,

a recent brieng paper outlined. Now part civil,part proxy, it has also become a great powerstruggle between

IraqAfter American troops toppled

Saddam Hussein in 2003, anindependent government cameto power in Iraq. With this shiftcame regional alliances withother independent countriesincluding Iran and Syria.

The interference of the Zionistregime and that of the UnitedStates has caused violenceto slip across the border intoIraq and inaming existingtensions. Deadly attacks aregrowing in Iraq, with the numberof deaths due to violence back upat 2008 levels.

If the Syria terrorist rebellioncontinues, the most importantcasualty of war is potentially

Iraq.


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Saudi ArabiaThe kingdom is the Syria oppositions main backer, along with

smaller Persian Gulf state of Qatar, and has been sending billions inhumanitarian aid and weapons to Syrian terrorists and rebels.

It is providing advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft andanti-tank missiles that it hopes will tip the balance for the rebels.

It is a follower of the strict Wahabi branch of Sunni Islam. Inbacking anti-Assad forces, Saudi Arabia is trying to establish anelbow-room in Syria. Some experts believe the Sunni-Shiite divisionsare being exaggerated for political reasons. Unfortunately most ofthe terrorist groups such as al Qaeda rely on Wahabism in justifyingtheir terrorist acts.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been willing to use sectarianlanguage to make the Syrian conict seem like a widespread attackon the Sunni population, according to Chris Phillips, a lecturer atQueen Mary, University of London. But political motives and Zionist-US interference lie at the heart of the problem.

TurkeyFormerly a close friend of Syria, Turkeys moderate Islamist

government has become a supporter of the rebels and supplyingthem with arms, security sources and diplomats say, according toReuters. Ofcials also look the other way as rebels use the long andporous border as a resupply route.

At Turkeys request, NATO has installed Patriot missile defenseson the border to protect it from spillover from the war in Syria. Themove was aimed at calming Turkeys fears that it could come underattack from Syria.

Turkey also houses 500,000 Syrians in towns and relatively well-equipped refugee camps on the long border with Syria. There isgrowing anger in Turkey against the newcomers, though, especiallyafter a bombing in the border town of Reyhanli killed more than 50

people.

FranceFrance, the former colonial

power in Syria, was the rstWestern power to join the

terrorist camp and has beenpushing for a more committedinternational effort to help theterrorists.

It is increasingly concernedthat Syrian terrorists are losingground and has suggested it willboost shipments of technical,medical and humanitarianaid to the rebels, but openlydeclined request for weaponsand ammunition though it some

of weapons used by the terroristsare made of France.


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QatarThe small kingdom may exist in the shadow of

neighbor Saudi Arabia, but it has big money andambitions. It has been backing the rebels withhumanitarian aid as well as arms, and is has beenseeking a more prominent role in the region,offering to host peace talks in its capital, Doha.

Like Saudi Arabia, it is a follower of the strictWahabi branch of Sunni Islam.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

LebanonSchisms in Syria are mirrored in its tiny neighbor Lebanon, which is a

mosaic of religious communities, each with their own allegiances.Of all the regional players, the powerful Shiite militia that controls

much of Lebanon - and forms part of the government - may have themost at stake in the civil war. Should Assad fall, the military wing ofHezbollah will nd it very hard to resupply arms.

It is for this reason that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah hasdecided to publicly throw his weight behind the Syrian people andgovernment against the rebels. Hezbollah ghters have great experience

in guerilla warfare thanks to more than 30 years of confrontation withIsrael.

JordanThe estimated 540,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan are a huge strain

on the ailing economy. Meanwhile, King Abdullahs government isstruggling not to get too embroiled in the Syrian civil war, and stressesthat it wants a political solution.

Nevertheless, Jordan allows American troops to train Syrian rebelson its territory and F-16 jets are positioned there.

Hamas: The PalestiniansHamas that governs Gaza used to have an important base in Syriascapital Damascus, where it was hosted by the government.

Hamas withdrew in 2011 after receiving support from Islamistmovements sparked by the Arab Spring, and is now supporting Syriasenemies. Palestinians in Syria have been driven out or targeted bybombings. Over 235,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria have been

displaced, and more than 80,000 are now refugees again in neighboringcountries, according to the U.N.

Although the civil war iscentered on Syria, it risk isinaming unrest across theMiddle East. The whole regioncould face a sustained period ofviolence, University of LondonsChris Phillips says.

Conclusion


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By

Flyn

tan

dHillary

Mann

Levere

tt Assessing Sanctions

against the Metropolis of

Islamic AwakeningWith a reasonable compromise within reach on Irans nuclear program, the Obama administration

pulled back, apparently fearing domestic political fallout. The result means a likely painful stalemate

for the foreseeable future. It seems that the sanctions aim to suffocate the metropolis of Islamic

Awakening because of its impact on the entire region. In the following article, Flynt and Hillary Mann

Leverett describe the US intentions behind the sanctions. (Editors note).

The Obama administrationand other sanctionsadvocates claim that US-

instigated sanctions against theIslamic Republic are meant toachieve a range of objectives

(changing Irans nuclearcalculus, getting Iran back

to the negotiating table andmaking it negotiate in goodfaith, strengthening thecredibility and leverage ofpro-engagement camps insideIran, preventing military action

by the United States and Israel,political signaling at home and

abroad, and maintaining unitywithin the P5+1).

Appearing on HuffPost Liveearlier this month, Flynt pointedout that, in fact, US-instigatedsanctions against Iran are

achieving virtually none of theobjectives sanctions proponents


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We have longcriticizedNIACs positionon sanctions favoringtargetedsanctionsagainstthe Iraniangovernmentwhile claiming

to opposebroad-basedsanctions thatimpact ordinaryIranians as anintellectuallyincoherentand politicallyhypocritical

posture that

enablesthe Obamaadministrationsillegal, morallyoffensive, andstrategicallycounter-

productivesanctions policy.

claim they are intended to achieve:Other than, possibly, sanctions as

a stand-in for military action bythe United States or Israel, otherthan that I dont think the sanctionsare working to achieve any of theobjectives.

More pointedly, Flynt tookon the analytic conclusions andpolicy recommendations regardingUS sanctions policy advanced byNational Iranian American Council(NIAC) president Trita Parsi whoalso appeared on the HuffPost Livesegment with Flynt and a recentNIACstudy on sanctions.

We have long criticized NIACsposition on sanctions favoringtargeted sanctions against theIranian government while claimingto oppose broad-based sanctionsthat impact ordinary Iranians asan intellectually incoherent andpolitically hypocritical posture thatenables the Obama administrationsillegal, morally offensive, andstrategically counter-productive

sanctions policy.Now Parsi and NIAC are trying to

help the administration gure outhow to make this illegal, morallyoffensive, and strategically counter-productive policy more effective.

More specically, Flynt pushedback against Parsis argumentthat, while sanctions have put atremendous amount of pressure on[the Iranian] economy, they havenot changed the calculus of the

Tehran regime on the nuclear issue,because Supreme Leader AyatollahSeyed Ali Khamenei has a strongand dominant narrative thatdepicts the West as being invariablyagainst Irans development, that thisis actually not about the nuclearprogram its about the Westtrying to subdue Iran, making itdependent.

For sanctions to alter Tehransnuclear calculus, Parsi holds, theObama administration needs toshape a countervailing narrative tothis.

Responding to this argument,Flynt notes, Trita has framed it in

terms of the Supreme Leader havinga narrative about what sanctionssay about US intentions toward Iranand that there needs to be some sortof countervailing narrative. In fact,theres not a countervailing narrativebecause, in many ways, the SupremeLeaders narrative about the nuclearissue and about Americas ultimateintentions toward the IslamicRepublic is not wrong.

The Supreme Leader has said,just within the last couple ofweeks, if the United States wants adiplomatic solution to the nuclearissue, its very easy: recognize Iransright to safeguarded enrichment,stop trying to get them to suspend,stop trying to get them to go tozero enrichment and we can have anuclear deal.

But the Obama administration,even though its had multipleopportunities to make clear thatthats where it wants to go, refuses

to do that. Its stated position is thatit still wants to get Iran to a fullsuspension stop enriching uranium.And as long as thats the case, thereis no countervailing narrative thatcan be had; the Supreme Leadersnarrative is actually validated.

Flynt goes on to underscore thatthe way the sanctions have beendrawn up, and the fact that whereaseven just a few years ago, most ofthem were imposed by executive

orders (which are more or less atthe discretion of the White House),but now most of the sanctionshave been written into law, beliesthe proposition that sanctions aresomehow intended to promote adiplomatic solution:

If you actually look at thelanguage in the bills that theseare the conditions Iran would haveto meet in order for the President tobe able to say weve satised theseconditions and Im therefore liftingsanctions the Islamic Republiccould allow the US government


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to come in, dismantle everycentrifuge in Iran, cart them

back to [the US nuclearlaboratory at] Oak Ridge (likeQadha in Libya did), and therewould still not be a legal basis forlifting the sanctions.

[The Iranians would also]have to stop talking to, dealingwith groups like Hizballahand HAMAS, that we want tocall terrorist groups, and theybasically have to turn themselvesinto a secular liberal democracyin order to meet our standardson human rights. The Presidentcant lift them, even if theIranians surrender to him onthe nuclear issue. So the ideathat this is somehow meant toencourage a diplomatic outcome thats just not real.

With regard to the impact ofsanctions, another HuffPost Livepanelist Sune Engel Rasmussen,a Danish journalist who hasreported from Tehran points

out that, in living standards,Iran is not a developingcountry, and its a lot moreafuent than many of theneighboring countries.

If you were in Tehranfor a week, for example,except when you

changed your money you mightnot get a sense of this insane

ination. Because you still havebig billboards advertising clothesstores, you still have a lot of carsin the streets, people are stillshopping, you still have peopledrinking three- or four-dollarcappuccinos in north Tehran.That doesnt mean the averageIranian is not suffering

But then when you talkabout whether that leads to civilunrest, for example, then wealso have to remember that manyIranians still remember an eight-year war with Iraq, when theywere living on food stamps. Sotheyve seen a lot more sufferingthan theyre seeing now.

Picking up on Sunesobservations, Flynt elaboratedon the impact of sanctions including their indirectcontribution to Iranian economicreform: Anyone who has beenin Tehran recently, you can

talk to people

and denitely get a sense ofhow sanctions are making daily

life harder for more and morepeople. But the idea that theeconomy is collapsing is justnot borne out by on-the-groundreality.

Its also worth pointing out and Ive had any number ofIranians, ofcial and otherwise,say this to me that sanctions,in some ways, actually help Iran,in that they give the governmenta kind of political cover to takesome steps toward what youmight call economic reform,that would be politically difcultotherwise.

Iran has done more to expandnon-oil exports, it isless dependent on oilrevenues for both itsgovernment budget andto cover its


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imports, than any other majoroil-exporting country in the

Middle East. It has done far morein that kind of diversicationthan Saudi Arabia or any of thestates on the other side of thePersian Gulf

[Take] the issue of thedevaluation of the currency: theIranian riyal has been overvaluedfor at least a decade, but noIranian government has been ableor willing actually to let the riyalcome back to something

like its naturalvalue. Now,because of

sanctions,

this has happened. And as aresult, Irans non-oil exports have

become much more competitive,and are growing. In percentageterms, they can now cover 50-60percent of their imports withnon-oil exports.

Finally, on the question ofwhether sanctions amount toeconomic war against Iran, Flyntsays, Were at war, and its notjust an economic war. Wereengaged in cyber-attacks againsthigh-value Iranian targets, weresponsoring covert operations bygroups inside Iran that, in anyother country in the world, we

would call terrorist operations.We are denitely waging war

against the Islamic Republic.Flynt Leverett served as aMiddle East expert on George W.Bushs National Security Councilstaff until the Iraq War andworked previously at the StateDepartment and at the CentralIntelligence Agency. Hillary MannLeverett was the NSC expert onIran and from 2001 to 2003 wasone of only a few US diplomatsauthorized to negotiate with theIranians over Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and Iraq. They are authorsof the new book, Going to Tehran.


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By

Mo

hamma

dReza

De

hs

hiri Bahrain andIrans Stance


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T

he present article is anattempt to shed light on

Irans stance on Bahrain,to suggest some peacefulsolutions to the problem and thecurrent situation in the island.Attempts have been made todeal with certain questions aboutthe reaction of regional andextra-regional countries to thedevelopments in Bahrain, thestance of the Islamic Republicof Iran and some suggestionsfor peaceful settlement of theproblem. Finally the currentsituation in Bahrain is explainedshorly.

Iran supports both Shias

and SunnisThe Islamic Republic of Iran

supports the Shias in Bahrain asmuch as it supports the Sunnis inPalestine, Gaza, Libya, Tunisia,Yemen and Egypt. Therefore,Irans support for the Bahrainipeople is not at all related

to their religious afliation.Oppression of any kind in anypart of the world is condemned.Iran supports any Islamicmovement whose objective isestablishment of democracyon the basis of the peoplesdetermination free from foreignintervention.

Serious Questions:Before discussing the pro-

democracy movement in Bahrain,I would like to ask some questionsregarding the reaction of regionalcountries and the stances of theUntied States, Europe, and otherbig powers. These questionsare such that they contain theanswers within them.

Is the opposition of religiousleaders to the oppression inBahrain an interference in itsinternal affairs? Is the dispatch of

foreign tanks to that country aninstance of foreign intervention?

Can those, who send militaryforces to Bahrain (from outside),

crush the peaceful pro-democracy movement of theBahraini people?

Will the suppression andoppression of the people,who peacefully demand theirnatural rights, by machine guns,poisonous teargas, helicoptersand cannons, have any outcomefor foreign forces and Bahrainigovernment?

Will not such measures causehatred of the men and womenof Bahrain of the culprits andperpetrators of such heinousacts?

Will the fate of those, whosend their expeditions to Bahrain,not be like Saddam Hussain whoattacked his neighbors in thepast?

Isnt the US support of thesuppression of Bahrain people,who peacefully demand theircitizenal and human rights, an

example of double-standard inthe eld of human rights?

Arent the Bahrainigovernment and its foreignsupporters responsible forattacking peaceful civiliansby military forces (isnt it aninstance of war crime)?

Can the rulers and theirforeign supporters continuesystematic violation of peoplesrights and suppress them with

military force with full impunityfor ever?Will not the continuation of

this trend and violation of humanrights and basic rights of theBahraini people threaten theregional peace and stability?

Irans StanceHaving raised the above

questions, which contain theanswers within them, I wouldlike to briey explain the stanceof the Islamic Republic of Irantowards the problem of Bahrain.

We believe that the bestsolution to the problem of

Bahrain is free democraticelections in which every Bahrainicitizen should have one equalvote.

The Bahraini people shouldbe allowed to enjoy the right toself-determination. They shoulddecide their fate free from anyforeign interference in theirinternal affairs.

The majority of Bahrainipeople have been deprived ofequal rights and opportunitieswith the minority since theestablishment of Bahrain state.This majority is entitled to andmust be granted equal rights withthe minority.

All Bahraini citizens are equalregardless of their religiousafliations.

Any sectarian approach to theproblem of Bahrain by any groupor country is condemned.

The Islamic Republic of Iran

cannot remain indifferenttowards oppression andsuppression of the people.Therefore, we openly announceour stance on condemnation ofsuppression and oppression. It isour religious obligation to do so.

Irans suggestionsThe Bahraini government

should hold free and fairelections and allow all citizens

to equally exercise their rightto elect and be elected. Freeelections and democracy are thebest solutions to the problem ofBahrain. These mechanisms alsoworked in Tunisia and Egypt.

The government of Bahrainis required to pay attention tothe legitimate demands of theBahrainis instead of violentsuppression of the peacefuldemonstrations and protestrallies. This approach will pavethe way for peaceful solution ofthe problem.


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Certain condence-building measures willprepare the grounds for peaceful solution of theproblem. These measures include: immediaterelease of the detained political leaders and

prisoners; nullication of harsh sentences givenby the martial courts to the detainees andpolitical activists as well as the physicians, nurses,academics, women and youth who legally andpeacefully demand their natural rights.

Release of detainees will prepare the groundsfor serious negotiations between the two sides,while violation of human rights by the governmentexacerbates the situation.

The West is required to stop its double-standardpolicies towards the issue of human rights,particularly in Bahrain. This will prepare the

grounds for fair treatment of the issue free fromany prejudice.

The West is also required to stop its mediacampaign against the Bahraini people, becausethe West has practically mobilized all political andmedia instruments to support the massacre of the

empty-handed Bahraini civilians who just ask fordemocratic elections in their country.

The current situation in BahrainI would like to draw your attention to the

situation in Bahrain where basic human rights areviolated with full impunity, peaceful people aremassacred in the daylight, and all internationalstandards are trampled upon by the security forcesand the ruling establishment.

Collective punishment of the nationThe Bahraini government has resorted to the

policy of collective punishment of the nationby regular crack downs on the people who


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peacefully protest against governmentsdiscriminatory policies. The human rightssituation in Bahrain is so grave thatnow even the United States Congress isinvestigating it.

A US-based human rights group has saidthe authorities in Bahrain indiscriminatelyuse tear gas as a weapon againstprotesters.

Physicians for Human Rights said it wasresulting in the maiming, blinding andeven killing of civilians.

According to a BBC report, at least 30people have died as a result of tear gasuse in Bahrain since protests began lastyear.

Tear gas is a generic term for a groupof at least 15 toxic chemical agents that

disable people by exposing their lungs,skin and eyes to irritants. CS gas is themost commonly used by forces for crowdcontrol.

Unprecedented in centuryThe report published by Physicians for

Human Rights (PHR), entitled WeaponisingTear Gas, was based on interviews withmore than 100 Bahrainis and evidencegathered by PHRs investigators in April.

Its authors said the extensive andpersistent use of tear gas against civilians

by Bahrains security forces during thepast 18 months was unprecedented in the

100-year history of its use throughout theworld.

Law enforcement ofcials havedeployed this toxic agent to punishprotesters, inict suffering, and suppressdissent. Usually perceived by the publicand security forces as a benign tool forcrowd control, tear gas, especially whenused in large quantities and in enclosedspaces, poses serious health risks and evencauses death, they wrote.

Since February 2011, the Bahrainigovernment has unleashed a torrentof these toxic chemical agents againstmen, women, and children, including theelderly and inrm.

The report said Bahrains majority Shiacommunity, which has led the popular

pro-democracy movement demandingreforms by the royal family, had sufferedabnormally prolonged exposure.

This had led to signicant increases inmiscarriages and respiratory problems inareas where tear gas was used frequently,it added.

The report described instances in whichnon-protesters had tear gas red intotheir cars or homes. In at least two cases,people died from complications related toexposure to tear gas because they were

trapped in enclosed spaces, it said.Civilians had also suffered serious


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wounds when their heads andlimbs were hit by metal canisters

red at close range, the authorsfound.

Routine violationsThe report concluded that

the authorities had routinelyviolated every UN principlegoverning police use of force. Italso said the methodical use oftear gas as a weapon to attackcivilians inside their homes andcars outed international human

rights law, and constitutedtorture, cruel and inhumantreatment.

Civilians suffered seriouswounds when their heads andbodies were hit by tear gascanisters, PHR said

Physicians for Human Rightscalled on Bahrains governmentto immediately end all attackson civilians and suspend its useof tear gas while it conductedan impartial investigation into

its misuse and held accountablethose who had used the gas inexcessive or improper ways.

The group also urgedthe government to discloseinformation about which toxicchemicals, its tear gas canisterscontained and permit scientistsand health professionals to studythe effects of prolonged tear gasexposure in the Gulf state.

The government promised

improvements after anindependent commission ofinquiry found that securityforces had used excessive force,torture and forced confessionswhen suppressing pro-democracyprotests in February andMarch 2011, but not only noimprovement is witnessed butthe government has intensieduse of chemical weapons.

US-based rights group: Bahrainauthorities weaponizing teargas

Meanwhile, a high level

hearing on the implementationof the Bahrain Independent

Commission of Inquiry (BICI)report was held in late July atthe US Congress, according tothe Tom Lantos Human RightsCommission (TLHRC).

According to a report,authorities in Bahrain weaponizetear gas in order to suppress thepro-democracy movement.

Even amid US Congresshearings on Bahrain, protestersface more violence as theypeacefully protest against socialdiscrimination.

The TLHRC is a committee inUS Congress that advocates forhuman rights and the BICI reportat the centre of hearing wasissued last November.

BICI was formerly chaired byMahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, anEgyptian international criminal,human rights and humanitarianlaw professor.

The report, almost 500

pages long, investigates eventsfrom the start of the Bahrainiuprising on 14 February 2011until November 2011 includingconditions of arrests and torture.

The hearing was held astensions in Bahrain mount overdemonstrations demandingreforms are violently dispersednearly daily.

Protesters clash almost ondaily basis with security forces in

Sitra, according to a local onlinemedia service called Sitra Media.There were reports of live

ammunition being red atpeople, who were not protestingat the time in Salmabad,according to Al-Wefaq NationalIslamic Society, the largestopposition group in Bahrain.

ANIS also said 14 areaswitnessed crackdowns on in whatit described as the policy ofcollective punishment.

According to PHR DeputyDirector Richard Sollom the use

Physicians forHuman Rightscalled on Bahrainsgovernment toimmediately end allattacks on civiliansand suspend itsuse of tear gaswhile it conductedan impartialinvestigation intoits misuse and held

accountable thosewho had used thegas in excessive orimproper ways.The groupalso urged thegovernment todisclose informationabout which toxicchemicals, itstear gas canisterscontained and

permit scientistsand health

professionals tostudy the effects of

prolonged tear gasexposure in the Gulfstate.


No 8, July 2013


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of tear gas can in some caseslead to miscarriages. Last month,a protest was held in Bahrain inobjection to the ring of teargas into homes and in solidaritywith the tens of foetuses whodied because of it, prominenthuman rights activist Said YousifAlmuhafda in Bahrain told theDaily News Egypt.

The Bahraini Centre for HumanRights (BCHR) has releasedtwo-post BICI reports, the latestreleased in June indicatingthat the human rights situation

has become more serious,with a 100 cases of arrests and

detentions last April alone, saidBCHRs report.

Bahrain Watch: UK

Company Helps Bahrain

Government Spy on

ActivistsBahrains government is

spying on Bahraini activists witha malicious computer programapparently supplied by a UK rm.

Bahrain Watch foundingmember Bill Marczak, andCitizen Lab security researcherMorgan Marquis-Boire analyzed astring of suspicious e-mails sentto activists over the past two

months.The e-mails promised

exclusive images or documentsabout the political situation inBahrain.

Upon closer examination, thee-mails were found to containattachments that installed amalicious program on a victimscomputer. Some of these e-mailsimpersonated Al Jazeera Englishreporter Melissa Chan.

The malicious program wasfound to record keystrokes, takescreenshots, record Skype calls,

and steal passwords saved in webbrowsers, e-mail programs, and


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instant messaging programs. Themalicious program sent this datato an internet address in Bahrain.

The analysis suggests that themalicious program is FinSpy,

a product of UK rm GammaInternational. FinSpy belongsto the FinFisher suite forGovernmental IT Intrusion andRemote Monitoring Solutions.Gamma International wascriticized for apparently sellingthe same product to Mubaraksregime in Egypt. Beforetechnology giant Apple closedthe security gap, FinSpy wouldinfect computers by trickingusers into thinking that it wasan iTunes update. London-basedNGO Privacy International hasthreatened to take the UKgovernment to court for failing tocontrol the export of surveillancetechnology to repressive foreignregimes.

During the analysis of FinSpy, astolen GMail password was laterused in an attempt to accessthe GMail account, suggestingthat the Bahraini government

captured by FinSpy.

Al-Wefaq: Bahraini regime

forces attack 311 housesBahrains main opposition al-

Wefaq party says Saudi-backedsecurity forces have attackedhundreds of civilian homes acrossthe country over the past twomonths.

Sayed Hadi al-Mousawi, thehead of al-Wefaqs Department ofHuman Rights and Civil Libertiessaid, adding, the recurrentassault on civilian houses is inclear contradiction of pledgesmade by the government to

investigate assaults by a numberof security forces againstpeoples houses.

Moussawi also said the regimeforces recently attacked two Shiaclerics in the towns of Sitra andDiraz and forced them to take offtheir turbans.

In 2011, King Hamad bin Isa AlKhalifa admitted to the use ofexcessive force by his regimeforces against the pro-democracyprotesters and promised to make

This came after a report issuedby the Bahrain IndependentCommission of Inquiry (BICI)conrmed regime forces had usedexcessive force, including the

extraction of forced confessionsfrom detainees.They resorted to the use of

unnecessary and excessive force,terror-inspiring behavior andunnecessary damage to property,according to the BICI report.

The committee also accusedthe interior ministry andsecurity services of following asystematic practice of physicaland psychological mistreatment,which amounted in many cases totorture, with respect to a largenumber of detainees.

Despite the BICI ndingsand international criticism ofthe humanitarian situation inBahrain, the ruling Al Khalifaregime continues the violentcrackdown of popular protestsdemanding the downfall of themonarchy. Unfortunately, theUnited States and its regionaland some Western allies support


No 8, July 2013

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