Erdogan lauds Brotherhood ally as Turkey mourns Morsi
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly questioned the circumstances of the former Egyptian president's death as Turkey observed nationwide funeral prayers today.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part in funeral prayers in Istanbul’s ancient Fatih mosque today in honor of Egypt’s former President Mohammed Morsi, who collapsed and died in a Cairo court on Monday.
Crowds gathered for the ritual chanted “God is Great” as Erdogan capped the prayers with an impassioned speech lionizing his onetime Muslim Brotherhood ally.
Erdogan openly questioned the circumstances of Morsi’s death. “I don’t believe it was normal,” he said, adding, "Morsi had wanted to be buried in his native village upon his death but had been denied this last wish.” Erdogan labeled Egypt’s current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a “murderer” who had overseen the executions of many people, prompting a fresh volley of Islamist slogans.
The scenes were repeated at mosques in all 81 of Turkey’s provinces, where funerals “in absentia” were held on orders from the government, an extraordinary gesture signaling the importance bestowed on Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.
