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Egypt’s elites praise the Netherlands

March 20, 2017 at 6:35 pm

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and his delegation meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi [not seen] at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on September 2, 2016

How can all the Arab and Muslim countries remain silent in the face of the Netherlands’ hostile position towards Turkey and the statements made by the extremist right-wing party leader against Islam? They did not even issue a statement, even a hesitant or timid one, to condemn the incident.

Does Turkey need the support of these countries in the war waged against it by the West? No, Turkey does not need the help of the colluding clowns leading the Arab countries; rather they are the ones who need Turkey. They could have taken advantage of the situation to save face and beautify their image in the eyes of their people who sympathise with Turkey and support its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They see him as an example of a strong Muslim leader and he gives them hope for the rise of the Muslim nation and its emergence from the rubble which has accumulated over the years, restoring its glory lost by their treacherous rulers.

This is why the Arab leaders harbour hatred towards Erdogan and towards his remarkable successes and achievements in all fields, as well as the prosperity of the Turkish people. Meanwhile, they take their countries backwards in everything and their countries are delayed in everything. Their people are poor and they are completely dependent and subordinate to the West. The West fears such progress and it fears the success of a Muslim model in governance, such as that achieved by the Justice and Development Party in Turkey. This is where the Western decision to stop such progress stems from. It is behind the failed coup attempt last summer and it supported it. Now, it wants to hinder Turkey’s new constitution, a referendum which is scheduled next month. This new constitution will grant Turkey more stability, development and prosperity.

The question that is posed here is what does the West have to do with a purely internal Turkish affair that will be determined by the Turkish people? It does not want Turkey to emerge from under Ataturk’s subordination to the West, but Erdogan has come to liberate the country from such subordination. The West is mistaken if it thinks the Turkish people will allow it to determine their constitution, as it did in Afghanistan and Iraq, and what is happening now in Syria during the Astana meetings.

The Netherlands actually achieved the opposite result. What it did was actually publicise and promote the constitution and Erdogan. It is a well-known fact that the Turkish people are proud of their country and they have pride, dignity and glory in it. Therefore, they rallied behind their president and since a state of populism occurred in Turkey, Erdogan’s popularity increased, especially after his direct response to the Netherlands, which included shutting down its embassy, dismissing its diplomatic staff and making his historical speech that tickled the hearts of the Turkish people.

Although this cowardly and disappointing position is expected of the Arab leaders, the position of the media seems very odd. One cannot read any Arab or foreign newspaper without finding an unprecedented attack on the constitution and Erdogan personally. The Egyptian television stations have praised the Netherlands’ position and called on the Turks to vote! Can you imagine this? This constitution does not concern them; they haven’t even read it. However, we still find the so-called elites cursing and insulting Erdogan and calling him a dictator, but they wouldn’t dare criticise Al-Sisi in the slightest. This is Egypt in the coup era; Egypt, the laughing stock of the world.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.