Coup in Egypt Strategic Loss For Erdogan
The Egyptian military coup that overthrew Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is a blow to Turkey’s regional strategy under the AKP government.
Either the Islamists ruling Turkey believe that the military coup that toppled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was also against them, or they are trying hard to give that impression to outside observers. It really doesn’t make a difference which scenario is correct since it is all about a perception of feelings. Both produce the same results.
There's no doubt that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rulers, followed by the Islamists of the Gulen Movement, wanted to share the victimhood of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Victimization is something that Turkish Islamists badly need to exploit nowadays.
Their first reaction to the societal explosion of Gezi Park in Istanbul, which the government provoked with police violence, was to craft the perception that this was an international plot against the AKP government. They painted themselves as the victims in an attempt to delegitimize the protests. No doubt victimhood was a deterrent against those who wanted to debate the deeds and mistakes of those presumed to be have been victimized.
Following the July 3 coup, Turkish Islamists tried to create the same effect for the Muslim Brotherhood by using social media. To debate Morsi's mistakes, they strangely reasoned, was to legitimize the coup.
