AKP Watch

The newly established Turkish police in the occupied city of #Afrin consists of former al-Qaeda jihadists and Salafists who shout "Allahu Akbar" and "Takbir" at the inauguration ceremony. Turkey is building a stronghold for Islamic extremism in northern Syria.

In a recent speech in Izmir, Erdogan claimed the province's borders stretch from Vienna to the shores of the Adriatic, Eastern Turkistan (China’s Uyghur region) and the north of the Black Sea. #OttomanEmpire

Several leading members of the global Muslim Brotherhood participated at a big Islam conference in Cologne organized by the Turkish government. @IslamismMap_de ksta.de/koeln/auch-rad…

A Turkish Diyanet official (islamism-map.com/#!/DIYANET) has threatened opposition news site @odatv, insinuating it will undergo the same fate as Charlie Hebdo for "insulting Mohammed". ahvalnews.com/turkey-democra…

PAPER: Erbakan, Kısakürek, and the Mainstreaming of Extremism in Turkey hudson.org/research/14375…

The Council of Europe will discuss activities of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (islamism-map.com/#/DIYANET) in Europe and foreign funding of Islam in order to prevent radicalization: ahvalnews.com/diyanet/europe…

On his state visit in Berlin yesterday, Erdogan showed the Rabia sign of the Muslim Brotherhood to his followers. Pure provocation.

A new study shows how Turkey uses its religious state authority Diyanet as foreign policy tool in countries with a Turkish-Muslim minority and destabilizes secularization projects both at home and abroad:

The German government has finally cut funding to the largest Islamic organization in the country, DITIB (islamism-map.com/#!/DITIB), which is accused of acting as the long arm of the Turkish state. dw.com/en/germany-cut…

A turkish prisoner goes to the prison library and asks for a book. The librarian has a look at the library and comes back: "I am sorry, we don't have the book, but we would have the author!"

Turkey's religious authority #Diyanet (islamism-map.com/#!/DIYANET) began promoting interfaith dialogue in mid-1990s. However, the adoption of a more authoritarian and anti-western tone by the Islamist AKP leadership has resulted in a reversal of this policy:

While Jihadi opinion is divided over #Erdogan, jihadi ideologues like Abu Qatada nonetheless take obvious pleasure in his election: “I love his victory over his enemies—leftists, secularists, and nationalists who hate the religion.” jihadica.com/how-turkey-and…

The political torque #Erdogan’s power grab generates could crack the #NATO alliance. hoover.org/research/erdog…

From now on every day is a state of emergency," reads Cumhuriyet newspaper headline as Turkey's parliament passes new law giving authorities powers to fire civil servants, extend police detention, restrict movement: twitter.com/cumhuriyetgzt/…

Turkey seen as reintroducing state of emergency through ‘back door’ | Thomas Seibert thearabweekly.com/node/40321

Turkey: Normalizing the State of Emergency hrw.org/news/2018/07/2…

A probe was launched against the CHP chair for insulting President Erdogan by sharing a cartoon which depicted him as various animals to show support for four university students. hurriyetdailynews.com/probe-launched…

Erdogan is redesigning Turkey's security infrastructure. He will be no longer required to follow traditions and will be able to work with any general he wants, for as long as he wants, and may even disregard retirement rules. al-monitor.com/pulse/original…

After 4 #Turkish students are arrested for insulting #Erdogan by showing cartoons of him as animals, opposition CHP leader is investigated for sharing the images. A reminder of some cartoons of Theresa #May in main UK newspapers, as caricature and satire are part of democracy

Is democracy a goal or just a tool? For Erdogan, "democracy will never be a goal" rather a tool to establish an Islamic state.

It is now illegal to advertise alcoholic beverages in Turkey. Broadcasters even need to blur out bottles and glasses of alcohol consumed by TV characters. #CreepingIslamization twitter.com/beforesharia/s…