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Erdogan’s spies: New TV show about MIT becomes hit

Alevis and Islamists react to the first TV series based on the MIT (Turkish National Intelligence Organizations).
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It was only a few years ago that serious Middle East experts were debating the ever-growing Turkish “soft power” in the region, measuring it with the increasing popularity of Turkish soap operas mostly in Muslim countries. Times have changed, but the TV series industry in Turkey remains lively. Turkish politicians are not shy to comment about the TV shows. “Magnificent Century,” a TV series inspired by the Ottoman Sultan “Suleiman the Magnificent” and his omnipotent wife Hurrem, was the latest show that glued millions of Turks to their sets. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the show for disrespecting “our ancestors.” Did the sultan spend so much time with his harem or was he on horseback conquering infidel lands? was the intriguing question the public debated.

Turkish state TV, TRT, aired the first episode of a controversial show, dubbed “Kizil Elma” (Red Apple), on Jan. 15. The first scene was quite telling. Two Turkish conscripts on the Syria-Turkey border courageously attacked 200 armed men. These two soldiers do not inform their brigade or seek permission before engaging the well-armed, civilian-clothed “enemy.” They become instant heroes, making it onto the news. As the producer of the show, Osman Sinav informs us, the two soldiers are indeed one and a half men, for Murad Altay, or the Turkish James Bond, is the real man behind the action. His companion is a naive, uneducated, satirical character, who resembles Sancho Panza in Don Quixote. The Turkish James Bond (Murad) appears on the news, screaming the motto of the show: “Live for your country, die for your love!” 

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