Turkish PM saw Gaza raid as “grounds for war”
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan saw “grounds for war” with Israel last year after a deadly raid on a Turkish ship headed for Gaza, according to a transcript of a recent interview.
State news agency Anatolia released late on Sunday what it said was an original Turkish-language transcript of an interview Erdogan gave to Al Jazeera television last week. It included elements not broadcast as well as original wording for sensitive comments that had been transmitted only in Arabic translation.
Turk PM on “Arab Spring tour” amid Israel tension
ANKARA, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
will press Turkey’s ambitions to become a leading political
power in the Muslim world this week in trips to Egypt, Tunisia
and Libya, three arenas in a wave of popular revolts that have
reshaped the region.
Erdogan’s “Arab Spring tour” comes against a backdrop of
escalating tensions with former friend Israel over the killing
of nine Turkish activists last year — a standoff that has
strengthened support for Ankara in large parts of North Africa
and the Middle East.
Turkey’s sabre-rattling may alienate Arabs, West
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s plan to flex its naval muscles in the eastern Mediterranean risks being perceived as an over-reaction in Ankara’s dispute with former ally Israel and as an assertion of regional power that could alienate even its new Arab admirers.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s ploy may fuel Western unease about Turkey’s reliability as a NATO partner and its penchant for actions designed to court popularity in the Muslim world.
Analysis: Turkey’s gunboat diplomacy makes waves in region
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s plan to flex its naval muscles in the eastern Mediterranean risks being perceived as an over-reaction in Ankara’s dispute with former ally Israel and as an assertion of regional power that could alienate even its new Arab admirers.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s ploy may fuel Western unease over Turkey’s reliability as a NATO partner and its penchant for actions designed to court popularity in the Muslim world.
Turkish PM to set up Somali embassy
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, keen to strengthen Ankara’s ties with the African continent, said Friday he would set up an embassy in Somalia and promised major infrastructure projects in Mogadishu.
The visit by Erdogan, the first leader from outside Africa to visit for nearly two decades, was aimed at drawing attention to the famine sweeping across the Horn of Africa nation, which is leaving at least 3.7 million Somalis at risk of starvation.
Turkish PM to set up Somali embassy, pledges projects
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, keen to strengthen Ankara’s ties with the African continent, said on Friday he would set up an embassy in Somalia and promised major infrastructure projects in Mogadishu.
The visit by Erdogan, the first leader from outside Africa to visit for nearly two decades, was aimed at drawing attention to the famine sweeping across the Horn of Africa nation, which is leaving at least 3.7 million Somalis at risk of starvation.
OIC pledges $350 million to Somalia at Turkey summit
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – ISTANBUL, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries have pledged $350 million in aid to fight famine in Somalia at an emergency summit in Istanbul, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said Wednesday.
With some 3.7 million Somalis at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa country, Ihsanoglu said he hoped the aid would soon reach $500 million and urged donors to improve drought-stricken Somalia’s long-term food security by helping it rebuild infrastructure and agriculture.
Suleiman the Magnificent TV drama opens Turkish divide on religion
(Demonstrators attack billboards advertising the TV series "The Magnificent Century" in Istanbul January 9, 2011/Murad Sezer )
A steamy television period drama about a 16th century sultan has angered conservative Muslims in Turkey and sparked a debate over the portrayal of the past in a country rediscovering its Ottoman heritage.
Respected head of Tunisian Islamist group to step down
(Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi in Tunis February 4, 2011/Louafi Larbi )
The head of Tunisia’s Ennahda Islamist movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, will step down and be replaced this year, he told Turkey’s state-run news agency in an interview published on Friday. Ghannouchi, a respected Muslim scholar who has spoken in favour of women’s rights and democracy, returned to Tunisia from two decades in exile following last month’s overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
His planned departure calls into question the future leadership of Ennahda, which is expected to be a significant political force in forthcoming elections in the predominantly Muslim North African state. Analysts have said any moves to sideline Ennahda, which is likened to Turkey’s ruling AK Party, which emerged from a series of Islamist parties, could backfire by radicalising the group and encouraging militants seeking a foothold in the country.
Can Arabs learn from Turkish model of Islam and democracy?
(Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, December 2, 2008/Umit Bektas)
If President Hosni Mubarak bows to the clamor of the street and goes, Egyptians and other Arabs seeking to turn a page on autocratic government may look at Turkey for some clues on marrying Islam and democracy.
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