ERDOGAN THREATENING U.S. AS TURKEY INVADES SYRIA~THOUSANDS OF MOSQUES & ISLAMIC SCHOOLS BEING BUILT TO INDOCTRINATE INTO HIS JIHADIST CALIPHATE

The steady Islamization of Turkey is not new. Since 2002, the government has built 17,000
new mosques, and its goals stretch beyond Turkish borders. Robert
Spencer speculated on January 16 that the “reason why Erdogan has been
so notably dilatory in fighting against the Islamic State may be that he
wants to co-opt its caliphate and incorporate it in a neo-Ottoman
caliphate centered in Istanbul.” Although the Islamic State lost most of
its territory in the intervening year, that was no thanks to Erdogan.
And now the Turkish leader has stated that one of his goals is to “forge
a ‘pious generation’ in predominantly Muslim Turkey ‘that will work for
the construction of a new civilization.’” Reuters has observed that
Erdogan’s speeches have increasingly “emphasized Turkey’s Ottoman
history and domestic achievements over Western ideas and influence.”
Erdogan’s ambitions are true to his orthodox beliefs in Islamic
expansionism. He has boldly extended his reach of influence beyond the
borders of Turkey. He got into a row with Europe over Germany and the
Netherlands blocking his proxies from holding open campaign rallies
among the millions of Turks living in those countries, as Erdogan pushed
for a referendum victory for constitutional changes that would give him
virtually unlimited power.
He continued on his rampage against Europe when the European Court of
Justice (ECJ) allowed employers to ban the headscarf, accusing Europe
of starting a battle between Christianity and Islam
and a clash between the cross and the crescent. This was despite the
ECJ making it clear that banning “any political, philosophical or
religious sign” was not deemed to be discriminatory.
Also, due to Turkey’s firing and “jailing of tens of thousands of soldiers, police, teachers and civil servants following a failed military coup in July 2016,” he accused European critics of “Islamophobia” for merely questioning his human rights record.
Erdogan is now preparing the younger generation for his vision of
Islamic expansion as he pours “billions of dollars into religious
education, including a 100 percent increase in funding for ‘Imam and
Preacher’ religious academies.” 90,000 mosques across Turkey are also
now praying “Qur’anic ‘conquest’ prayers” calling on Muslims to be “ruthless against unbelievers.”
Less than two weeks ago, a primary school in Istanbul
that erected a memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives in
the failed July coup attempt displayed a caption which read:

Whatever you do, you will not stop the rise of the Turkish nation. Whatever you do, the victory will be of Islam.

Turkey’s recent attacks on Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria have
been causing increasing tensions with America, as Erdogan takes up the
historic Turkish mission to crush Kurdish nationalism,  mission the
Turks have been pursuing since the fall of the Ottoman empire.
Fortunately, the Turkish public is not united in its support for
Erdogan’s despotic ambitions, even as he cracks down on any dissent.

“Erdogan: Islamic Education Will Forge ‘Pious Generation’ to Build ‘New Civilization’ for Turkey” , by John Hayward, Breitbart, January 25, 2018:

Turkey was long renowned for its secular government, a
modern state guided by the vision of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk when he built
the Republic of Turkey from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in the
early years of the last century. The current president, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, has the opposite vision of Turkey as a Muslim state at the
heart of a new Ottoman Empire. A report from Reuters examines one of the
means Erdogan is using to achieve this goal: Islamic education in
Turkish schools.
The current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has the opposite vision
of Turkey as a Muslim state at the heart of a new Ottoman Empire. A new
report from Reuters examines one of the means Erdogan is using to
achieve this goal: Islamic education in Turkish schools.
“Erdogan has said one of his goals is to forge a ‘pious generation’
in predominantly Muslim Turkey ‘that will work for the construction of a
new civilization.’ His recent speeches have emphasized Turkey’s Ottoman
history and domestic achievements over Western ideas and influences,”
Reuters observes.
Erdogan’s “drive to put religion at the heart of national life after
decades of secular dominance” includes pouring “billions of dollars into
religious education,” including a 100 percent increase in funding for
“Imam and Preacher” religious academies. Those schools already get
double the per-pupil funding of regular Turkish schools but dramatically
underperform on standard tests.
In fact, the academic performance of the religious schools was so
poor that total enrollment actually slipped last year, even though
funding is surging and hundreds more of them are under construction,
along with secular schools receiving more religious education or being
outright converted into Imam and Preacher academies. One mother
interviewed for the article complained that the Islamic wing of her
son’s school is visibly nicer and less overcrowded than the secular
wing. Other parents said their children were simply kicked out of a
middle school that converted into an imam and preacher academy, cutting
its total enrollment in half.
“Islam is not being forced on people. It is not a matter of saying
everyone should go to Imam Hatips. We are just providing an opportunity
to those families who want to send their children to Imam Hatips,” a
government adviser told Reuters, using the Turkish name for the
religious schools.
On the other hand, the article goes on to quote secular parents
worried about the astounding surge of Turkish religious education during
the past five years. Turks from faiths other than Sunni Islam were
nervous as well, expressing fears that Imam Hatip credentials will
either quietly or overtly become a requirement for landing good jobs in
Turkey, effectively pressuring parents to convert their children to
Islam. Religious education is compulsory in Turkey, although some
parents fight in court for the right to exempt their children.
Defenders of the religious schools claim they are surging back after
previous governments suppressed them, in response to growing Turkish
suspicion of Western ideals and a desire for more moral instruction for
children.
Al-Monitor speculated on Tuesday that Erdogan’s drive to Islamicize
Turkey is faltering, in part because the public is growing fatigued with
the fiery leader and his endless crackdowns on dissent and because his
presidency has been so divisive among ethnic and religious groups. The
article cited the poor academic performance of Imam Hatip schools as one
sign that Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood are losing their grip on
the country.
Some of the other indicators described by Al-Monitor have a
sad-trombone comedic quality to them, like Erdogan asking a rally, “Who
does the Islamic world look up to?” and losing his composure when they
did not reply or growing even angrier when he castigated a Kurdish town
for voting against his assumption of dictatorial powers last year, and
the crowd broke into thunderous applause instead of booing as he
expected…..

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