Turkey wakes up to Islamic State threat
An inflammatory sermon in Istanbul has made Turkey realize that the Islamic State has become a serious threat to its internal security and stability.
One of the first things the Islamic State (IS) did after capturing Mosul was to seize the Turkish consulate in the city and take 49 Turkish nationals, including the consul general, hostage.
As the government tends to do whenever faced with unpleasant issues, it arranged for a court to impose a gag order on all reporting about the hostage issue — hence the low-key coverage. The Turkish media in general prefers to remain silent, reporting only on government officials saying they expect them to be released soon.
But IS is now on Turkey’s radar not because of its massacres in Iraq or hostage Turks, but because of the activities of people affiliated with the group inside Turkey.
On Juy 29, the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the sight of mass outdoor prayers performed by a large crowd of long-bearded men in white robes and the sermon that followed ignited a serious debate in Turkey. The sermon included, among other things, “Those who believe, those who … participate in jihad on the path of Allah with their lives and all their beings will be rewarded generously. They are the ones who will survive. Our plea to Allah Almighty is to accept us jihadists. We beg him to compassionately help the mujahideen, those in jihad … to hit their targets accurately.”
