4

Erbakans Most Popular

Speeches

Whats Next for Egypts

Muslim Brotherhood?

20

Islamic
awakening

Necmettin
Erbakans Political
Career

Friends and Foes of

Syria

22

Assessing Sanctions
against the Metropolis of
Islamic Awakening

26

Bahrain and
Irans Stance

30

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Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Necmettin Erbakans

Biography
N

ecmettin Erbakan was

born on Oct. 29, 1926,
in the Black Sea town
of Sinop, home in antiquity to
Diogenes the Cynic. His father
was one of the last Islamic judges
of the Ottoman Empire, whose
system of religious courts was
replaced by a secular legal code
after the founding of todays
Turkey by Kemal Atatrk in
1923. Mr. Erbakans father sent
him to high school in Istanbul.
Necmettin Erbakan graduated
from Cumhuriyet Primary School
in Kayseri and then he had to go
to Trabzon because of his fathers
appointment and he finished his
primary education successfully.
Erbakan was brought up by
Shaikh M. Zahid Kotku Hz. who

was the Imam of Iskenderpaa

Mosque and a naqshbandi
shaikh and other enlightened
and Scholar Muslim leaders.
Shaikh Kotku had a deep effect
on Erbakan in terms of moral
maturation.
After graduating from the
primary school in 1937, he
continued his education in
Istanbul High School. After that,
he achieved a perfect score
and began to study in Istanbul
Technical University. One of
his friends in University was
Sleyman Demirel who also very
soon became a politician.
In 1948, during summer term,
Erbakan who graduated from
ITU, faculty of mechanical
engineering with a good degree,

got the chairmanship as an

assistant at Engine Department
of the Machine Faculty. During
the following years, he prepared
his doctorate thesis. Although
only doctors and professors were
able to teach in universities, he
was given a special permission
for teaching only when he was an
assistant.
In 1951, he was sent to Aachen
Technical University in Germany
by the fellowship of ITU for the
aim of improving his scientific
research with Professor Smith.
He prepared three theses in
two years. One of them was his
doctoral thesis, and then he got
the fame as a Doctor-Engineer.
Erbakan made successful
research about engines which

No 8, July 2013
use little fuel oil for Germany
Economy Minister. After his thesis
was published in some of the
important magazines, Prof. Dr.
Flats who was the director of the
greatest engine factory at that
time, DEUTZ, invited him to make
research about the Leopard Tanks.
He married with Nermin
Erbakan, a graduate of economics,
in 1967.
They have two daughters,
Zeynep born in 1968, Elif born in
1974 and a son Muhammed Fatih
born in 1979.
He lived and worked in West
Germany for several years,
specializing in diesel engine
design. His German remained
fluent and lyrical. He was
elected to the legislature as an
independent in 1969 and formed
an Islamic party the following
year, but it was banned by the
military government in 1971. He
re-formed the party in 1972 and
twice during the 1970s served as a
deputy prime minister. In 1980 the
military again banned the party
and briefly imprisoned Erbakan.
He was prohibited from engaging
in politics from 1980 to 1987.
When he returned to politics,
Erbakan became a leader of
the pro-Islamic Welfare (Refah)
Party, which was well organized
on the local level and opposed
what many saw as the arrogant
corruption of the leaders of the
established parties. In the runup to the 1995 parliamentary
elections, Erbakan advocated
withdrawing from the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization,
abrogating agreements with Israel,
and developing closer ties with
such Middle Eastern countries as
Syria and Iran. His proposals were
particularly unsettling to Western
leaders, who had long depended
on a friendly secular government
in Turkey as a basis for their
policy in the Middle East. A large
segment of voters, however,

Islamic
awakening
seemed to support his views, as
the Welfare Party won the largest
number of seats, capturing 158
of the 550 seats in the legislature
and thereby becoming the first
Islamic party ever to win a general
election in Turkey.
Early in 1996 Erbakan tried
but failed to form a coalition
government. A centre-right
coalition of the True Path (Doru
Yol) and Motherland (Anavatan)
parties then held power until
internal disagreements brought it
down in June. Erbakan was again
asked to try to form a coalition,
and this time, when Tansu iller,
head of the True Path Party,
agreed to join him, he succeeded.
On July 8, 1996, the national
legislature of Turkey confirmed
a coalition government headed
by Erbakan. He and iller would
alternate as prime minister,
and the various other ministries
were divided between the
Welfare Party and the True
Path Party. Erbakans tenure as
prime minister marked the first
time an Islamist had held the
position, but it was short-lived.
Fears that the Welfare Party
was attempting to Islamicize
the country led the military to
force Erbakan to resign. He left
office on June 18, 1997, and
early in 1998 the Welfare Party
was banned entirely. Erbakan
was prohibited from political
action for five years, and in 2000
he was convicted of provoking
hatred for a speech he made
in 1994 that attacked Turkeys
secular government. Though he
avoided prison time, Erbakan
was convicted in 2002 of having
embezzled Welfare Party funds
during its dissolution, and he
was sentenced to more than two
years of house arrest. He became
politically active once again in
2003, after the end of his fiveyear ban, and worked with the
pro-Islamic Felicity (Saadet) Party.

Erbakan was brought

up by Shaikh M. Zahid
Kotku Hz. who was the
Imam of Iskenderpaa
Mosque and a
naqshbandi shaikh
and other enlightened
and Scholar Muslim
leaders. Shaikh Kotku
had a deep effect on
Erbakan in terms of
moral maturation.
After graduating from
the primary school in
1937, he continued his
education in Istanbul
High School. After that,
he achieved a perfect
score and began to
study in Istanbul
Technical University.
One of his friends
in University was
Sleyman Demirel who
also very soon became
a politician.

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Necmettin Erbakans

Political Career
D

In the 1995
election, with
the political
scene atomized,
Mr. Erbakans
party, then called
Welfare, finished
first with 21
percent of the
vote. After striking
a coalition deal
with another
party leader who
was eager to
control corruption
investigations, Mr.
Erbakan became
prime minister.
He immediately
began challenging
the secular,
pro-Western
foundations of
modern Turkey.

uring his turbulent

year as prime minister,
Mr. Erbakan boldly
challenged Turkeys secular
dogma, vowing to create
a pan-Islamic currency
and rescue Turkey from
the unbelievers of Europe.
He embraced the religious
government in Iran, allowed
female civil servants to wear
head scarves to work, and held
Islamic feasts in the prime
ministers residence.
Erbakan was among the
last survivors of the political
generation that ruled Turkey as
it struggled toward democracy
during the second half of
the 20th century, a period
punctuated by three military
coups. He was often called
Hodja, a term of affection
accorded to religious
teachers or wise men.
Like other political
patriarchs of his era, he
was a nationalist who bowed
before the reality of military
power. He repeatedly pushed
for a greater role for religion
in public life. His party was
banned multiple times. After
each shutdown, he reinvented
and renamed it.
He introduced political
Islam to Turkey, Sedat
Bozkurt, a Turkish journalist,
said in an interview. However,
the political Islam applied in

Turkey differed from the

others. One of its elements
was Turkish nationalism.
Among Erbakans most
successful followers was
the Recep Tayyip

Erdogan, who under

his tutelage was elected
mayor of Istanbul and is now
prime minister. The men split
politically, and Prime Minister
Erdogan replaced Mr. Erbakan
as the hero of Turkeys
devout.
We will always remember
him with gratitude as a teacher
and a leader, Mr. Erdogan said
of Mr. Erbakan, who is survived
by two daughters and a son.
In 1970, stung by the refusal
of a center-right party to

No 8, July 2013

nominate him for a seat

in Parliament, he formed his
own political party, which
advocated a return to religious
values not an obvious choice
for the son of a civil servant.
The party survived repeated
closings and Mr. Erbakans
several years of exile in
Switzerland. Though the party
never won nearly enough
votes to put him in power, he
emerged as a kingmaker. Twice
in the 1970s he became deputy
prime minister.
In the 1995 election, with the
political scene atomized,
Mr. Erbakans

party, then called

Welfare, finished first with
21 percent of the vote. After
striking a coalition deal with
another party leader who was
eager to control corruption
investigations, Mr. Erbakan
became prime minister. He
immediately began challenging
the secular, pro-Western
foundations of modern Turkey.
After Mr. Erbakan had been
in office for 12 months, military
commanders, who considered
themselves the ultimate
guardians of Turkish secularism,
decided to strike against him.
They forced him out with
a series of threatening

Islamic
awakening

memoranda
listing his sins.
He resigned on
Feb. 28, 1997, ousted
by what is widely
described as Turkeys only
postmodern coup.
These events split the
religious political movement
in Turkey. A group of insurgents,
accusing Erbakan of losing touch
with a rapidly changing country,
tried to wrest control of the party
from him. When they failed, they
quit the party; founded their own,
calling it Justice and Development and
rocketed to national power.
Erbakan later became the target
of corruption charges. In 2002 he
was sentenced to two years and four
months in prison on charges of forgery
of personal documents. President
Abdullah Gul, who was his foreign
policy adviser during his ill-fated year
in power, pardoned him.
Mr. Erbakans party withered into
insignificance. His onetime follower,
Prime Minister Erdogan, devised a
more inclusive political formula
a refined version of the
one Mr. Erbakan developed
nearly half a century ago
propelled Mr. Erdogan
to power and has
kept him there
for nearly a
decade.

Lets say that you,

as a Muslim, want
to send money to
another Muslim
country. Say you
want to send
money to Pakistan.
You cannot send
it, because you
dont have the
infrastructure to
do that. You are
living in their [i.e.
the Zionists]
world. To send the
money, you need
to take it to a
Turkish bank. Then
the Turkish bank
will give it to the
American bank.
The American bank
will give an order
to its branch [in
Pakistan], that
branch will give
the money to the
Pakistani bank that
will pay out the
money that you
sent.

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Erbakans antiZionist Identity

By Sadrodin Musawi

ne of the main struggles of Erbakan was that against

Zionism. There are many statements on this issue.
Because of these thoughts, he is wrongly labeled
as an anti-Semitic, while he was anti-Zionism not antiJudaism. He considered Judaism as a divine religion. Quds
was very important to him. If we want to understand these
thoughts, we should give an ear to his speeches in this
issue. Memri website which is close to Zionist identity
collected some sentences of Erbakans speech
in Turkeys Flash TV in 2007. These sentences
explain his anti-Zionist and pro-Islamist
identity:
When we look at the map of the
world, we see about 200 countries
painted in colors, and we think that
there are many races, religions,
and nations. The fact
is that for 300 years,
all these [200 nations]
have been controlled
from one center only.
This center is the racist,
imperialist Zionism. Unless you
make a correct diagnosis for the
illness, you cannot find the cure

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

to it.
Do you know what the safety of
Israel means? It means that they will
rule the 28 countries from Morocco
to Indonesia. Since all the Crusades
were organized by the Zionists, and
since it was our forefathers the
Seljuks who stopped them, according
to the Kabbala there should be no
sovereign state in Anatolia. This is
these peoples [i.e. the Zionists]
religion, their faith. You cant argue
or negotiate with them. This is their
religion, and it comes from the
Kabbala.
Lets say that you, as a Muslim,
want to send money to another
Muslim country. Say you want to
send money to Pakistan. You cannot
send it, because you dont have the
infrastructure to do that. You are
living in their [i.e. the Zionists]
world. To send the money, you

need to take it to a Turkish bank. Then

the Turkish bank will give it to the
American bank. The American bank will
give an order to its branch [in Pakistan],
that branch will give the money to the
Pakistani bank that will pay out the money
that you sent.
A little more patience. Look. These
Jews started 19 Crusades. The 19th was
World War 1. Why? Only to build Israel.
They used the Christians to build Israel.
The Canakkale [Gallipoli] victory was only
one of our battles. We fought on 30 fronts
during the war. Then they had us sign the
Treaty of Svres. They told us they would
eliminate us and build Greater Israel and
make us their slaves. No other nation
could fight against them on 30 battlefronts
like our nation did.
If we do not see these realities, we
cannot understand world affairs. What
does Bush say? He says that Jesus ordered
him to invade Iraq. He says that the most
important factor in making his decision
on Iraq was his being Christian.
[He thought,] I will take Iraq.
I will build Greater Israel,
so that Jesus can return.
These people work with
that kind of belief. If you
dont know about these
peoples beliefs, you
cannot understand why
they do what they do.
Our youth must learn
all this.

Islamic
awakening
Compield by Mohammad Reza Mazlumi

No 8, July 2013

Erbakans
Most Popular

Speeches

No 8, July 2013

f we talk about Erbakan, we

should also refer to his famous
speeches.
Here is a selection of Hurriyet
Daily News for Erbakans famous
statements:
We will wait for the bottom
side of the kadayf [a Turkish
dessert] to be baked [before
we send this government
away.] (Speaking in March
1980 on the Sleyman Demirelled government that relied on
Erbakans support.)
Love, determination and
the National View these will
give us milk from even the male
goat.
We are not of a mushroom
mentality we are the plane
tree.
They are just glu-glu
dancing. (Speaking on mass
protests against deep state
relations after the Susurluk
incident on Nov. 3, 1996.)
Everybody is of the National
View, they just dont realize
it.
The AKP [Justice and
Development Party] government
is like a hormone-injected
tomato.
Mehmet II the Conqueror
was neither leftist nor rightist.
He was of the National View.
The sun is here, what need
is there for the bulb? (Speaking
on the AKPs logo)
The brain of the

Islamic
awakening
exploitation monster that
oppresses the world is Zionism.
Its heart is Crusader Europe, its
right arm is America and its left
arm is Russia.

National View Movement

Whether you like it or not,

the National View, be it the
original version or the changed
one, is one of the most effective
political movements in Turkey.
says Cneyt lsever for Erbakans
National View Movement.
The tutelary mentality,
which we can be traced back
to the Committee of Union
and Progress (CUP), never
understood or accepted our
nations commitment to Islam.
For a century, Turkey has been
a target of a social engineering
project that has been trying to
isolate religion from daily life
and confine Islam to peoples
conscience. Politics has been
heavily influenced by this
project. Thus, when the nation
tried to embrace its religion and
values, right-wing parties were
designed to lure them. However,
the people soon realized the
parties insincerity and the
games they played. Thus they
started to look for alternatives.
says Hseyin Gulerce, from
Todays Zaman, and he adds:
This is one of the main reasons
why Erbakans Milli Gr was
very appealing to voters.
Before looking at the main
principles of National View
Movement, let us focus on
Ahmet T. Kurus sentences for
summarizing the history of this
movement:
The Milli Gorus movement
was initiated by Erbakan. In
1970, Erbakan and his followers
founded the Milli Nizam (National
Order) Party (MNP). The party
was disbanded following the
military coup de tat in 1971. In

9
1972, the former cadres of the
MNP founded the Milli Selamet
(National Salvation) Party. That
party also was disbanded, by
the military coup de tat in
1980. These parties were both
accused of being anti-secular.
When its party was disbanded,
the movement founded a new
one, rather than protesting
radically against the state. The
movement has also had links
with sociocultural institutions
(for example, the National Youth
Foundation) and media outlets
(for example, Milli Gazete).
In 1983, the Milli Gorus
movement founded the Refah
(Welfare) Party (RP). The RP
gained influence in the 1990s
in Turkish politics and was
simultaneously strengthened
by the nationwide rise of
Islamic movements. It became
increasingly successful in
national elections with the
support of the new Anatolian
bourgeoisie and pro-Islamic
media networks. It won the
mayors seats in Turkeys two
largest cities, Istanbul and
Ankara, in 1994. In the national
parliamentary elections, the RP
increased its share of the votes
from 7.2 percent in 1987 to 21.4
percent in 1995 and became the
leading party. Erbakan became
prime minister in 1996 in the RPTrue Path Party (DYP) coalition.
Until the end of the 1990s,
the Milli Gorus movement did
not benefit from international
opportunities. It was a national
movement that sought a topdown transformation of society
via politics, unlike the Gulen
movement, which focused on
a bottom-up transformation
via education. The Milli Gorus
movement was restricted by
Turkey and did not attempt to
spread out to other countries
by benefiting from international

10

Islamic
awakening

In the 1970s, the movement

sought to lead the countrys
development of heavy
industry. That discourse
was consistent with the
personality of Erbakan,
who was a professor of
mechanical engineering and
worked on the Leopard tank
project in Germany. In the
1980s and early 1990s, the
movement used a second
discourse based on welfare
policies, as emphasized
in the title of its party
(Welfare Party). Yet, during
both of these periods, the
Milli Gorus movement
preserved the core of its
ideological framework
political Islamism. Moreover,
anti-Westernism was a sine
qua non for the movement.

opportunities, nor did

it see the international
institutions and norms
as an opportunity to
be saved from state
repression. Instead, it saw
international institutions
and norms as extensions
of the Western hegemony
that collaborated with the
repressive state.
In the 1970s, the
movement sought to lead
the countrys development
of heavy industry. That
discourse was consistent
with the personality
of Erbakan, who was a
professor of mechanical
engineering and worked on
the Leopard tank project in
Germany. In the 1980s and
early 1990s, the movement
used a second discourse
based on welfare policies,
as emphasized in the title
of its party (Welfare Party).
Yet, during both of these
periods, the Milli Gorus
movement preserved the
core of its ideological
frameworkpolitical
Islamism. Moreover, antiWesternism was a sine qua
non for the movement.
The RP, therefore, had
a political Islamist and
anti-Western agenda.
It opposed Turkeys
membership in the EU.
The RP was planning to
found an Islamic Union
and to create an Islamic
currency. In late 1996 and
early 1997, Erbakan visited
several Muslim countries
as the prime minister,
and tried to organize
an Islamic Union. He
succeeded in creating an
international cooperation
organization among eight
Muslim countries, referred

No 8, July 2013
to as the D-8 (Developing
Eight). This became a
topic of debate between
the Gulen and the Milli
Gorus movements.
Gulen described D-8
as a vain project and a
very cheap message to
Erbakans constituency.
Because of these types of
disagreements, the Gulen
movement did not support
the RP. It continued to
pursue the principle of
political neutrality and to
establish good relations
with all political parties,
including the leftist ones.
The February 28 soft
coup in 1997 ended the
RP-DYP coalition and
substantially impacted
the Milli Gorus movement.
Erbakan was forced to
resign in June 1997. The RP
was dissolved, and Erbakan
was banned from politics
in 1998 by the Turkish
Supreme Court. Shortly
after that, the RPs mayor
of Istanbul, Tayyip Erdogan,
was imprisoned for reciting
a poem, and consequently
banished from political life.
Following the February
28 coup, the Milli Gorus
gradually divided into two
groupsthe elders, led by
Erbakan, and the younger
generation, led by Erdogan.
Because of state repression,
both of these groups
tended to see international
institutions and norms as
opportunities for protection
of their rights. Erbakan,
for example, appealed
to the European Court of
Human Rights to overturn
the dissolution of the RP
and his ban from politics by
the Turkish Constitutional
Court.

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

11

The Function of National

View Movement
A
s is known, today, many of
the Islamic leaders come
from this movement. So,
its function is very important for
Muslims in Turkey. Although many
of its members have left Milli
Gorus Movement, they did not
leave its main principles.
For example, in 1960-70s
there was a MTTB (National Turk
Students Association) and todays
Muslim leaders were very active
in this association. MTTB was like
young organization of National
View Movement.
After 1965, political picture for
young Muslims in Turkey began
to change. Turkism thoughts
began to replace Ummah (The

Worldwide Muslim Community)

thought. Well, what were the
reasons for this change? When we
observe this process, we come
across new books translated
mainly from Arabic to Turkish. As
we know, Arabian peninsula has
experienced Arab nationalism
intensively. After they began to
question nationalism in terms
of Islam, they noticed the
wrongfulness of this thought. And
then, new revivalists emerged
in the Arabian peninsula.
Nationalism has been criticized.
So, many scholars have begun to
take Islam rather than national
values, as a point of reference.
They tried to understand all the

events in the light of Quran.

They have focused on all
problems of ummah rather than
just national problems. Actually,
they began to question the
concept of nation-state in terms
of Islamic thought.
When the Muslim youth in
Turkey began to read books
in which these issues were
described, the nationalistconservative Muslim perspective
began to change. For the first
time, the concept of Muslim
youth was used instead of
Nationalist Turk Muslims.
For the first time, protests
were organized in support of
the Muslims who were exposed

12

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

According to Levent Basturk, the most

important accomplishment of the movement
was its ability to become a mechanism that
carried demands of religious segments into
the public realm in a country where
religion and religious segments were
suppressed since 1920s.
to oppression in
different parts of
world. The concept of Ummah
acquired more significance. The
emblem of MTTB was grey wolf, but after
Islamicization process, they changed the
emblem and replaced it with the Quran.
Actually, this change was very interesting.
Firstly, members of MTTB were Ataturkists
and they were supporters of the regime; so
they distinguished themselves from regimes
national-conservative values. And then, they began
to use Islamic symbols to redefine themselves;
but this also had certain problems because this
process was derived from imported books. If we
want to understand this process of the change,
we should carefully listen to the people who were
active in this process.
There is an interview with Kenan Yabanigl who
was the chairman of executive council of MTTB at
that time. In the interview with Haksz Magazine,
he says: In my opinion, MTTB and similar circles
began to move towards Islam in early 1970s. This
orientation shaped the intellectual mentality of
young people who moved away from Turk-Islam
synthesis and desired to learn Islam from its own
roots and live an Islamic lifestyle. There are many
reasons for the emergence of Islamic identity as
mainstream issue.
During those days, the translation of a series of
new books appeared in Turkey. These books, which
introduced Islam as a totality,
attracted the young

Muslims. The information provided by these books

were fervently debated between MTTBs members
and consequently brought about serious intellectual
changes among the Muslim youth in Turkey.

Comments on National View Movement

According to Ali Bulac, from Todays Zaman, the

ideals of this movement can be summarized in the
following paragraphs:
First: ensuring that the people who take their
religion seriously become visible in the political,
social and public spheres and that they are not
forced to conceal or suppress or deny their religion,
principal and existential references as they engage
legitimately in politics and political competition
for power, and that they can resist those who try to
force them to do so.
Second: defending the social center with all
its heterogeneity and pluralism against a small
and privileged minority that unfairly controls the
social, cultural, commercial, economic and political
centers as well as the bureaucracy and the public
budget. In Turkey, it is Milli Gr and its parties
that defend Anatolia, broad masses of poor people
and stanbul and Thrace with their middle classes
against Ankaras bureaucratic center and the
traditional hard core of the system.
Third: ensuring a regional integration via Turkeys
active role and initiative. In Erbakans jargon,
this is called the Islamic Union and the major step
toward it was to establish the D-8.

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

On the other
hand, according to
Levent Basturk, the most
important accomplishment
of the movement was its ability to
become a mechanism that carried
demands of religious segments into
the public realm in a country where religion and
religious segments were suppressed since 1920s.
According to the National View, the Muslim
World has experienced a moral and material
decline for several centuries although it used to be
more advanced than the West in administrative,
military, scientific, and technical fields. The basic
source of this greatness was the moral and spiritual
strength derived from the nations faith. The
present backwardness of Turkey in every realm was
caused by the blind imitation of Western values and
inappropriate Western technology by the Western
oriented elite who made the country a satellite to
the West. Levent Basturk says.
In order to create a glorious future again,
Turkey must realize the right and consistent
blending and synthesis of moral-spiritual and
material development. In order to realize that, the
Turks must embrace moral and spiritual (Islamic)
consciousness with a distinguished historical mission
in order to be a great power again like what the
Ottoman Empire used to be. In other words, the
National View, which represents truthfulness
(haqq), provided an outline in order to return to
origins of the nation and to build a new civilization
as an alternative to materialistic Western
worldviews, which have always represented
falsehood (batil).
Then he arranges the principles of National Vision
Movement in the following order:
-
Brotherhood of all citizens of the country;
-
The fusion of the nation and the state;
-
Freedom of thought and belief to
provide supremacy of the morality and
spirituality;
- Planned process
of moral and material

13

progress;
-
Establishment of the Just Order (Adil
Duzen) as an economic and political model;
-
Fast and steady national development;
-
Prosperity for everyone and abolition of
usury;
-
Realization of heavy industrialization;
-
Development with internal sources rather
than with foreign borrowing;
-
National Defense Industry and foreign
policy with honor;
-
Cooperation among Muslim nations;
-
Not a satellite Turkey, but a morally and
materially developed greater Turkey again.
Relationship with Muslim nations occupies
an important part of the National View. Erbakan
emphasized on five great steps toward realizing
cooperation between Muslim countries:
-
Establishment of the Organization
of Muslim United Nations to end the Zionist
conspiracy against the Muslims;
-
Establishment of a Muslim Defense
Organization;
-
Formation of a Muslim Common
Market;
-
Common currency among
Muslim nations;
-
Establishment of
Muslim countries
Organization
of Cultural
Cooperation.

14

Islamic
awakening

Divisions in

Erbakans
Movement

No 8, July 2013

s Seyfeddin Kara says,

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
Abdullah Gul were two
prominent disciples of Erbakan
but they departed from Erbakans
party in 1998. The reason for the
rift was difference of opinion
between the progressives
represented by Erdogan and
Gul and the conservatives
represented by Erbakan and his
close followers.
Ozan rmeci has explained
the main causes of separation
between Erbakans group and
Erdogans group:
While comparing the two
important Islamic parties, it is
important to take into account
some concepts defined by Daniel
Brumberg. He classifies the
types of Islamism into three
categories; namely radical
or militant fundamentalism,
reformist fundamentalism and
strategic modernism or Islamic
Liberalism. Accordingly, parties
pursuing radical fundamentalism
try to change the system of the
country through force and at the
end establish a system based
on Islamic laws. In reformist
fundamentalism, the parties
have a similar aim with that of
the radical fundamentalists,
that is, establishing a state
based on Islamic laws but they
pursue moderate policies and
continuously reject violence.
In other words, through wining
mass electoral support they
try to win the elections and
follow up their agenda. This
is also called dissimulation
(takiyye). On the other hand,
Islamic Liberals, which are
in minority in the Middle
East, seek to extend religious
freedoms in a broadly democratic
environment. Unlike the radical
and reformist fundamentals,
Islamic Liberals do not aim
at forming an Islamic state.
Instead, they try to co-exist

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

with the secular establishment of the state. In this sense, we can

call WP a reformist fundamentalist party having some elements of
militant fundamentalism and JDP an Islamic Liberal party carrying
some aspects of reformist fundamentalist party on the basis of their
policies and the deeds of their leaders.
When we look at differences between the preferences of the two
parties, we cannot only say that this is a simple separation.
We should read this process in the light of changing
projects of the global system. In Turkey, whenever
political Islam has gained power, some liberalreligious parties have emerged. The Democratic
Party, Motherland Party and lastly AKP are in
the same perspective. More recently, AKP has
successfully liberalized many radical groups.
Moreover, there has been a new division in
this movement in recent years: defection by
Numan Kurtulmuss Voice of Public Party. Like
Erdogan, Kurtulmus emerged from the Milli
Gorus Movement. He had led the Felicity Party
(SP) until October 2010 and had been regarded
as Erbakans successor. says Seyfeddin Kara.
However, fate took a different turn and
Kurtulmus and Erbakan remained at odds after
the partys general congress in July 2010,
when Kurtulmus was reelected as chairman
and excluded Necmettin Erbakans son and
son-in-law from the party administration.
Erbakan was the SPs honorary leader at the
time. Facing strong reaction from Erbakan
and his supporters, Kurtulmus resigned and a
few months later established his own party.
Overall, with his right and wrong
decisions, Erbakan was one of the most
important figures in 20th century for
Turkeys Islamists. He must be judged fairly,
free from any prejudice.
This article is based on the writings of
smail Duman of World Bulletin.

15

Islamic
awakening

By Masoud Darrudi

16

No 8, July 2013

Erbakan in
the Course
of Turkish
History

rbakan was one of the most important figures in Turkish

politics. He left his mark on Turkish society. While some people
remember him through his speeches in the parliament, many of
the people make mention of Erbakan name with February 28, 1997
post-modern coup in Turkey.
Necmettin Erbakan was the first Islamist prime minister of Turkey
and tried to turn his country away from the West which led the
military to depose him in 1997.
When one speaks of Erbakan, the concept of Political Islam
in Turkey occurs to mind. Although there were Democrat Party
and Justice Party periods in 1950s-60s, for the first time, Turkeys
conservative-Islamist activists actively appeared in Turkish political
scene after Erbakans National View (Milli Gr) Movement was
formed. It is also know as National Vision Movement.
On his death, hundreds of thousands of mourners attended
the funeral of Necmettin Erbakan and this number explained his
importance to the masses. Very interestingly, as Delphine Strauss,
from the Financial Times, said, the military honored its old
adversary with a message of condolence, saying his great services to
our country will be always remembered.

Who is Erbakan?

Necmettin Erbakan, whose first name literally means the Star of

Religion, was undoubtedly the star of Turkeys political Islam says
Mustafa Akyol, of Hurriyet Daily News. According to Sedat Bozkurt:
He introduced political Islam to Turkey... However, the political
Islam applied in Turkey differed from other versions introduced in
other places. One of its elements was Turkish nationalism.
Erbakans engagement in Turkeys public life started with his
appointment as the president of Industry Division in the Union of
Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey. In 1968, he became
a member of Executive Board of the Union. In 1969, he was the
president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

of Turkey. But Demirel was the head of the

government in those years. He removed Erbakan
from his position in an illegal way.
After consulting with some of his colleagues, he
decided to continue struggling in political arena.
He applied to Adalet Party, but his membership
was vetoed. He was elected from Konya as an
independent member of the Grand National
Assembly of Turkey in 1969.
Erbakan founded the first political party Milli
Nizam, which was a product of Milli Gr
Movement in 1970 January 24, but when the party
was closed in an antidemocratic way in 1971 after
a military coup, Erbakan went to Switzerland for a
short time.
The second party he founded was Milli Selamet

17

Party. From 1974 to 1978 the party was in

different coalition governments and Erbakan was
the assistant of prime minister and president
of Economy council. During these four years he
focused on the material and moral development
of Turkey, he played a crucial role in the Cyprus
success, he pioneered the movement of heavy
industry, achieved complete membership of
ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE, he
guaranteed equal rights to the graduates of ImamHatip High schools in University entrance exam.
After the coup of 12 September, the party was
closed and he was banned from politics.
In 1987, Erbakan came back to the active politics
with Welfare (Refah) Party. After becoming a
member of the assembly, his party had a historical

18
success in municipality elections,
which is soon named as

REVOLUTION

In 1995, Refah Party came to

be the greatest party of Turkey
as a result of the election.
And Erbakan formed the 54th
government of Turkey on 28th
June 1996, becoming the prime
minister. The coalition
government lasted
only 11 months.
Some actions
attracted the
attention of secret
governors of
the world. So
again an antidemocratic process
began and Erbakan
was forced to leave
Prime Ministry by a
post-modern coup and
he was banned from
politics and his party
was closed.
The

Islamic
awakening
movement of Milli Gr has
continued with Fazilet (Virtue)
Party. This party was also closed
after an elected parliament
member refused to undress her
head scarf. And lastly; Felicity
(Saadet) Party...(gencsaadet.
com)
Comments on Erbakan
When we look at the comments
in the Western media, we come
across emphasis not only
on his anti-Western
and anti-Zionist
identity, but also
on moderating
function of
his ideas for
the marginal
Islamic
movements through
his struggle in the
legal limits.
Cast by his secular
enemies as a
dangerous

No 8, July 2013
religious reactionary, Mr. Erbakan
is now acknowledged as a
moderating force on Turkeys
Islamists... He was fiercely antiWestern, decrying the European
Union as a Zionist Christian club
and railing against usury and the
free market. Yet unlike some
Islamists (but like Turkeys Tarikat
Sufi Islamic fraternities), he
disavowed all forms of violence.
He sported a suit and tie (usually
Versace). When the army pushed
him out in 1997, Mr. Erbakan
did not call on his followers to
take to the streets. says The
Economist. On the other hand,
according to Thomas Faulkner,
from the Guardian, A shrewd
politician, with a folksy turn of
phrase, Necmettin Erbakan led
Turkish Islamism for more than
four decades during which the
movement grew from a marginal
group to become the mainstream
in Turkish politics, effectively
supplanting the old centre-right
and the centre-left.
Despite political bans and

No 8, July 2013
party closures, he always reemerged and never wavered
from his belief in an Islamic
Turkey. says Martin Childs, from
the Independent; Definitely, he
was a mujahid. He would never
ever accept defeat. He would
never ever accept to compromise
his national view political
doctrine. Even at the worse
times when he was banished from
politics, the parties he headed
were closed down by the court
or his students betrayed and
parted ways with him, Erbakan
managed to appear in front of
the media with a smiling face
and determination not to give
up comments Yusuf Kanl, from
Hurriyet Daily news.
As Fatma Dili Zbak writes,
Yeni afaks Ali Bayramolu says
the first thing that can be said
about Erbakan following his death
is that he was a charismatic
leader and a great mobilizer who
had the ability to spur the masses
he addressed, and mobilize them
to act. According to Bayramolu,
Erbakan was also a Cold War

Islamic
awakening
politician who preferred policies
of crisis and moves involving
tension in the hope of expanding
his influence this way rather
than engaging in an open fight of
principles.
In addition to this, although
Mustafa Akyol criticizes
some ideas of Erbakan, he
also acknowledges Erbakans
contributions: Unlike more
radical forms of Islamism that
emerged in the Middle East,
Erbakan never renounced
democracy. He rather became
a willing and active partner of
the democratic system, giving
the latter a religious legitimacy.
Besides, Erbakan never promoted
or even tolerated political
violence. Hence, in the 1970s,
when Turkeys youth was divided
between a violent Marxist
left and a militant nationalist
right, Erbakans pious followers
remained resolutely peaceful.
Terrorism was a very secular
concept at the time, and
Islamism looked all too docile.
Let us also quote the sentences

19
of Todays Zamans Emre Uslu on
Erbakan:
His main contribution to
Turkish politics can be listed
as follows: First, Erbakan
successfully opened a new
political avenue that produced
many politicians who are now
leading the country and for that
he should receive credit. More
importantly, he created this
political avenue out of the blue.
Second, without his tireless
efforts it would be very difficult
to bring the conservative rural
masses into everyday politics...
For those who supported
Erbakan, they supported him
every day, not just from election
to election. His main contribution
to politics was finding devoted
supporters. For his supporters,
Erbakan was not just a leader,
but a leader that was larger than
life a latest savior of the Muslim
world.
Third, Erbakan was the only
political leader who normalized
Islamic activities in the public
domain.

Compiled by Robabeh Moosavi Jashni

20

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Whats Next for Egypts

Muslim Brotherhood?
T
he Muslim Brotherhood
is the best-organized
political movement in the
most populous, most influential
country in the Arab world.
What it does and what happens
to it matters, both in Egypt
and across the Middle East. The
Brotherhood tasted power for
just a year before its leader,
Mohammed Morsi, was toppled by
the countrys powerful military.
Now, all the patience and
discipline it is known for is being
tested to the limit.
The decisions it makes in the
coming weeks could mold the
future of Egypt and of the region
itself.

Which Path Will It Chose?

On the surface, it appears the

Brotherhood has few choices.
Individual members can choose to
hide or speak out; to accept what

has happened or to challenge it.

Warrants have been issued for
the arrest of many of its leaders.
Morsi himself is in detention.
The military calls for the
organizations leaders to be tried
for treason.
So, there is good reason
for the Brothers to return to
the way life used to be under
Hosni Mubarak swallowing
their pride, biding their time,
organizing underground and
waiting for a chance to return to
power.
Many will not want to take
this path. They believe they
have been robbed of power; that
their victory in a free and fair
election has been tossed aside
without any proper cause. Their
anger is righteous, their sense of
victimhood powerful.
There is evidence that many
leaders of the movement are

struggling to contain the anger

of the rank-and-file Islamists who
played the game of democracy
and won, only to have their prize
snatched from them.
The Muslim Brotherhood
long ago renounced violence,
but some of the leaders have
called for an uprising to reverse
what they describe as a military
coup and restore Morsi to the
presidency.
The prospect of a civil war
looms, with many pointing to the
example of Algeria in 1991, when
the military cancelled the victory
of the Islamists in an election
only to see the country plunged
into two decades of civil war that
led to the deaths of hundreds of
thousands.
One alternative for the
Brotherhood is to do what
Islamists did in Turkey in 1997
when the military intervened

No 8, July 2013

and ousted their government

from power: they regrouped and
returned stronger later.
The military and especially
whats called the Deep State
(the intelligence services, the
police, the bureaucracy and
judiciary), would like nothing
more than to see the Brotherhood
split and weakened.
In the shadows, groups linked
to al Qaeda (which is led by the
Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri) are
likely telling the Brotherhood
that their flirtation with
democracy got them nowhere
and never will. They are likely
suggesting they should work to
challenge the army, bring down
the state and free their leader.
Nothing would suit al Qaeda
better than to see the Brothers
turn away from politics and
consume the Arab worlds most
powerful country in violence.
Few, though, believe the
Brotherhood will take this path.

Lessons learned

But if the Brotherhood keeps a

cool head in inflammatory times
and analyzes what went wrong
during the last year, it might

Islamic
awakening

learn a lot. Theres no question

it alienated large and important
sections of Egypts population.
Lacking the experience of
governing and directing a major
economy, it was accused of
incompetence. It promised to
govern for all Egyptians and
did nothing of the sort. Muslim
Brotherhood even alienated
some section of the Islamists
who were demanding some
proper policies towards the
Zionist regime.
Mohamed Abd El Ghany of
Reuters argues that there are
lessons for the Brotherhood
to learn if they choose to,
while there will likely be
uncomfortable months ahead.

Short-term Challenges

The Brothers may contest

new elections next year. Or they
may choose to boycott them.
After all, once bitten, twice shy.
Islamists all over the Arab world
will be watching their decision
with interest.
Egypts new, temporary rulers
have choices ahead of them,
too. Banning the Brotherhood
is one option. Almost certainly,

21

that move would not kill the

movement, only deepen its sense
of injustice and resentment and
stoke its desire for revenge.
And the West has choices, too.
So far, President Barack Obama
has resisted using the c word.
As soon as the U.S. says the
Egyptian government has been
overthrown in a coup, it is legally
bound to cut off aid to Egypt.
At more than $1 billion dollars
a year, no one in Cairo wants to
lose such aid. A week after the
overthrow of the president, the
U.S. announced it will deliver the
promised supply of F-16 fighter
jets to Egypts military. But the
Pentagon also announced that
U.S. aid to Egypt was formally
put under review in the wake of
the power shift.
In refusing to condemn the
removal of an elected president,
the West has already made
a choice. A complex, messy
moral compromise that it would
rather have a new leader in the
most important country in the
Arab world than one seemingly
determined to reshape his
country as an Islamist power in a
rapidly changing Middle East.

Compiled by Mohammad Javad Qorbi

22

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Friends and Foes of Syria

he two-year rebellion unleashed by terrorists in Syria has claimed

more than100,000 lives and sent at least 1.7 million refugees
spilling across its borders. It has already affected neighboring
countries, and now threatens to drag in the United States. The
involvement of big powers and the Zionist regime has turned domestic
protests into an increasingly proxy war.
The proxy war is important because it lies at the root of instability not
only within Syria but also in Iraq and other pockets of the Middle East.

Syrias Friends
Iraq

After American troops toppled

Saddam Hussein in 2003, an
independent government came
to power in Iraq. With this shift
came regional alliances with
other independent countries
including Iran and Syria.
The interference of the Zionist
regime and that of the United
States has caused violence
to slip across the border into
Iraq and inflaming existing
tensions.Deadly attacks are
growing in Iraq, with the number
of deaths due to violence back up
at 2008 levels.
If the Syria terrorist rebellion
continues, the most important
casualty of war is potentially
Iraq.

Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran - a regional power is a staunch ally of the Syrian.
Defense think tank Royal United Services
Institute (RUSI) sees the Syria conflict as part of a
regional power struggle in which the Zionist regime
and the United States are trying to destabilize the
independent government of Bashar Assad.
It is increasingly clear that the world is
confronting a crisis that extends far beyond Syria,
threatening to deteriorate into a regional conflict,
a recent briefing paper outlined. Now part civil,
part proxy, it has also become a great power
struggle between

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

23

Russia

Russia is the Syrian governments most powerful foreign backer and

has stuck its neck out to support government fight against terrorism
in that country.
It is helping the Syrian government and people with weapons
and even supports the growing involvement of Lebanese militia,
Hezbollah.It is also reportedly helping Syrias elite get around
international financial sanctions, and has been protecting the Syrian
government from UN sanctions by using its veto powerin the Security
Council.
One theory for why Russia has been so resolute in its backing of
Damascus is to ensure continued control of its only Mediterranean
naval base, which is in the Syrian port of Tartus, but its support can
be analyzed within the framework of superpower rivalry as well.
Russia has also invoked the specter of terrorism in Syria, saying
that Assad is fighting terrorism and extremist fundamentalism.

SyriaS foes
United States

Israel

Although Syria and Israel

are officially still at war, the
relationship between the two has
been relatively stable.
The Zionist regime has been
one of the main backers of the
rebels. Israel is funning the
flames of attacks against the
government in order to engage
Syria in a war of attrition in
which Muslims are pitted against
each other to weaken the
stamina of Muslim countries.
Israel has gone as far as
bombing Syrian positions to
support the terrorists. It has
carried out three bomb strikes
this year in Syria targeting
government positions.

While the American government has supported the terrorists with

non-lethal assistance such as training, body armor, communications
equipment and food aid as well as lethal weapons, it has deep
misgivings over whether to become more involved in the conflict.
Still smarting from unpopular interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq,
the U.S. faces fears that deeper engagement in Syria will embroil it in
yet another hard-to-exit regional conflict. There are also widespread
concerns that American weapons will fall into the hands of radical al
Qaeda-linked groups fighting with the rebels.
Once we take action, we should be prepared for what comes
next, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin
Dempsey said in a letter to Congress. Deeper involvement is hard to
avoid.
Until June, the administration was opposed to providing any lethal
assistance to Syrias rebels, but in June it said it was moving ahead
with sending weapons to vetted members of the opposition.

24

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Turkey

Formerly a close friend of Syria, Turkeys moderate Islamist

government has become a supporter of the rebels and supplying
them with arms, security sources and diplomats say, according to
Reuters.Officials also look the other way as rebels use the long and
porous border as a resupply route.
At Turkeys request, NATO has installed Patriot missile defenses
on the border to protect it from spillover from the war in Syria. The
move was aimed at calming Turkeys fears that it could come under
attack from Syria.
Turkey also houses 500,000 Syrians in towns and relatively wellequipped refugee camps on the long border with Syria. There is
growing anger in Turkey against the newcomers, though, especially
after a bombing in the border town of Reyhanli killed more than 50
people.

Saudi Arabia

The kingdom is the Syria oppositions main backer, along with

smaller Persian Gulf state of Qatar, and has been sending billions in
humanitarian aid and weapons to Syrian terrorists and rebels.
It is providing advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft and
anti-tank missiles that it hopes will tip the balance for the rebels.
It is a follower of the strict Wahabi branch of Sunni Islam. In
backing anti-Assad forces, Saudi Arabia is trying to establish an
elbow-room in Syria. Some experts believe the Sunni-Shiite divisions
are being exaggerated for political reasons. Unfortunately most of
the terrorist groups such as al Qaeda rely on Wahabism in justifying
their terrorist acts.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been willing to use sectarian
language to make the Syrian conflict seem like a widespread attack
on the Sunni population, according to Chris Phillips, a lecturer at
Queen Mary, University of London. But political motives and ZionistUS interference lie at the heart of the problem.

France

France, the former colonial

power in Syria, was the first
Western power to join the
terrorist camp and has been
pushing for a more committed
international effort to help the
terrorists.
It is increasingly concerned
that Syrian terrorists are losing
ground and has suggested it will
boost shipments of technical,
medical and humanitarian
aid to the rebels, but openly
declined request for weapons
and ammunition though it some
of weapons used by the terrorists
are made of France.

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

25

Qatar

The small kingdom may exist in the shadow of

neighbor Saudi Arabia, but it has big money and
ambitions. It has been backing the rebels with
humanitarian aid as well as arms, and is has been
seeking a more prominent role in the region,
offering to host peace talks in its capital, Doha.
Like Saudi Arabia, it is a follower of the strict
Wahabi branch of Sunni Islam.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

Jordan

The estimated 540,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan are a huge strain

on the ailing economy. Meanwhile, King Abdullahs government is
struggling not to get too embroiled in the Syrian civil war, and stresses
that it wants a political solution.
Nevertheless, Jordan allows American troops to train Syrian rebels
on its territory and F-16 jets are positioned there.
Hamas: The Palestinians
Hamas that governs Gaza used to have an important base in Syrias
capital Damascus, where it was hosted by the government.
Hamas withdrew in 2011 after receiving support from Islamist
movements sparked by the Arab Spring, and is now supporting Syrias
enemies. Palestinians in Syria have been driven out or targeted by
bombings. Over 235,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria have been
displaced, and more than 80,000 are now refugees again in neighboring
countries, according to the U.N.

Lebanon

Schisms in Syria are mirrored in its tiny neighbor Lebanon, which is a

mosaic of religious communities, each with their own allegiances.
Of all the regional players, the powerful Shiite militia that controls
much of Lebanon - and forms part of the government - may have the
most at stake in the civil war.Should Assad fall, the military wing of
Hezbollah will find it very hard to resupply arms.
It is for this reason that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has
decided to publicly throw his weight behind the Syrian people and
government against the rebels. Hezbollah fighters have great experience
in guerilla warfare thanks to more than 30 years of confrontation with
Israel.

Conclusion

Although the civil war is

centered on Syria, it risk is
inflaming unrest across the
Middle East.The whole region
could face a sustained period of
violence, University of Londons
Chris Phillips says.

By Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett

26

Islamic
awakening

No 8, July 2013

Assessing Sanctions

against the Metropolis of

Islamic Awakening
With a reasonable compromise within reach on Irans nuclear program, the Obama administration
pulled back, apparently fearing domestic political fallout. The result means a likely painful stalemate
for the foreseeable future. It seems that the sanctions aim to suffocate the metropolis of Islamic
Awakening because of its impact on the entire region. In the following article, Flynt and Hillary Mann
Leverett describe the US intentions behind the sanctions. (Editors note).

he Obama administration
and other sanctions
advocates claim that USinstigated sanctions against the
Islamic Republic are meant to
achieve a range of objectives
(changing Irans nuclear
calculus, getting Iran back

to the negotiating table and

making it negotiate in good
faith, strengthening the
credibility and leverage of
pro-engagement camps inside
Iran, preventing military action
by the United States and Israel,
political signaling at home and

abroad, and maintaining unity

within the P5+1).
Appearing on HuffPost Live
earlier this month, Flynt pointed
out that, in fact, US-instigated
sanctions against Iran are
achieving virtually none of the
objectives sanctions proponents

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

claim they are intended to achieve:

Other than, possibly, sanctions as
a stand-in for military action by
the United States or Israel, other
than that I dont think the sanctions
are working to achieve any of the
objectives.
More pointedly, Flynt took
on the analytic conclusions and
policy recommendations regarding
US sanctions policy advanced by
National Iranian American Council
(NIAC) president Trita Parsi who
also appeared on the HuffPost Live
segment with Flynt and a recent
NIACstudy on sanctions.
We have long criticized NIACs
position on sanctions favoring
targeted sanctions against the
Iranian government while claiming
to oppose broad-based sanctions
that impact ordinary Iranians as
an intellectually incoherent and
politically hypocritical posture that
enables the Obama administrations
illegal, morally offensive, and
strategically counter-productive
sanctions policy.
Now Parsi and NIAC are trying to
help the administration figure out
how to make this illegal, morally
offensive, and strategically counterproductive policy more effective.
More specifically, Flynt pushed
back against Parsis argument
that, while sanctions have put a
tremendous amount of pressure on
[the Iranian] economy, they have
not changed the calculus of the
Tehran regime on the nuclear issue,
because Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei has a strong
and dominant narrative that
depicts the West as being invariably
against Irans development, that this
is actually not about the nuclear
program its about the West
trying to subdue Iran, making it
dependent.
For sanctions to alter Tehrans
nuclear calculus, Parsi holds, the
Obama administration needs to
shape a countervailing narrative to
this.

Responding to this argument,

Flynt notes, Trita has framed it in
terms of the Supreme Leader having
a narrative about what sanctions
say about US intentions toward Iran
and that there needs to be some sort
of countervailing narrative. In fact,
theres not a countervailing narrative
because, in many ways, the Supreme
Leaders narrative about the nuclear
issue and about Americas ultimate
intentions toward the Islamic
Republic is not wrong.
The Supreme Leader has said,
just within the last couple of
weeks, if the United States wants a
diplomatic solution to the nuclear
issue, its very easy: recognize Irans
right to safeguarded enrichment,
stop trying to get them to suspend,
stop trying to get them to go to
zero enrichment and we can have a
nuclear deal.
But the Obama administration,
even though its had multiple
opportunities to make clear that
thats where it wants to go, refuses
to do that. Its stated position is that
it still wants to get Iran to a full
suspension stop enriching uranium.
And as long as thats the case, there
is no countervailing narrative that
can be had; the Supreme Leaders
narrative is actually validated.
Flynt goes on to underscore that
the way the sanctions have been
drawn up, and the fact that whereas
even just a few years ago, most of
them were imposed by executive
orders (which are more or less at
the discretion of the White House),
but now most of the sanctions
have been written into law, belies
the proposition that sanctions are
somehow intended to promote a
diplomatic solution:
If you actually look at the
language in the bills that these
are the conditions Iran would have
to meet in order for the President to
be able to say weve satisfied these
conditions and Im therefore lifting
sanctions the Islamic Republic
could allow the US government

27

We have long
criticized
NIACs position
on sanctions
favoring
targeted
sanctions
against
the Iranian
government
while claiming
to oppose
broad-based
sanctions that
impact ordinary
Iranians as an
intellectually
incoherent
and politically
hypocritical
posture that
enables
the Obama
administrations
illegal, morally
offensive, and
strategically
counterproductive
sanctions policy.

28
to come in, dismantle every
centrifuge in Iran, cart them
back to [the US nuclear
laboratory at] Oak Ridge (like
Qadhafi in Libya did), and there
would still not be a legal basis for
lifting the sanctions.
[The Iranians would also]
have to stop talking to, dealing
with groups like Hizballah
and HAMAS, that we want to
call terrorist groups, and they
basically have to turn themselves
into a secular liberal democracy
in order to meet our standards
on human rights. The President
cant lift them, even if the
Iranians surrender to him on
the nuclear issue. So the idea
that this is somehow meant to
encourage a diplomatic outcome
thats just not real.
With regard to the impact of
sanctions, another HuffPost Live
panelist Sune Engel Rasmussen,
a Danish journalist who has
reported from Tehran points
out that, in living standards,
Iran is not a developing
country, and its a lot more
affluent than many of the
neighboring countries.
If you were in Tehran
for a week, for example,
except when you

Islamic
awakening
changed your money you might
not get a sense of this insane
inflation. Because you still have
big billboards advertising clothes
stores, you still have a lot of cars
in the streets, people are still
shopping, you still have people
drinking three- or four-dollar
cappuccinos in north Tehran.
That doesnt mean the average
Iranian is not suffering
But then when you talk
about whether that leads to civil
unrest, for example, then we
also have to remember that many
Iranians still remember an eightyear war with Iraq, when they
were living on food stamps. So
theyve seen a lot more suffering
than theyre seeing now.
Picking up on Sunes
observations, Flynt elaborated
on the impact of sanctions
including their indirect
contribution to Iranian economic
reform: Anyone who has been
in Tehran recently, you can
talk to people

No 8, July 2013
and definitely get a sense of
how sanctions are making daily
life harder for more and more
people. But the idea that the
economy is collapsing is just
not borne out by on-the-ground
reality.
Its also worth pointing out
and Ive had any number of
Iranians, official and otherwise,
say this to me that sanctions,
in some ways, actually help Iran,
in that they give the government
a kind of political cover to take
some steps toward what you
might call economic reform,
that would be politically difficult
otherwise.
Iran has done more to expand
non-oil exports, it is
less dependent on oil
revenues for both its
government budget and
to cover its

No 8, July 2013
imports, than any other major
oil-exporting country in the
Middle East. It has done far more
in that kind of diversification
than Saudi Arabia or any of the
states on the other side of the
Persian Gulf
[Take] the issue of the
devaluation of the currency: the
Iranian riyal has been overvalued
for at least a decade, but no
Iranian government has been able
or willing actually to let the riyal
come
back to something
like its natural
value. Now,
because of
sanctions,

Islamic
awakening
this has happened. And as a
result, Irans non-oil exports have
become much more competitive,
and are growing. In percentage
terms, they can now cover 50-60
percent of their imports with
non-oil exports.
Finally, on the question of
whether sanctions amount to
economic war against Iran, Flynt
says, Were at war, and its not
just an economic war. Were
engaged in cyber-attacks against
high-value Iranian targets, were
sponsoring covert operations by
groups inside Iran that, in any
other country in the world, we

29
would call terrorist operations.
We are definitely waging war
against the Islamic Republic.
Flynt Leverett served as a
Middle East expert on George W.
Bushs National Security Council
staff until the Iraq War and
worked previously at the State
Department and at the Central
Intelligence Agency. Hillary Mann
Leverett was the NSC expert on
Iran and from 2001 to 2003 was
one of only a few US diplomats
authorized to negotiate with the
Iranians over Afghanistan, alQaeda and Iraq. They are authors
of the new book, Going to Tehran.

By Mohammad Reza Dehshiri

30

Islamic
awakening

Bahrain and
No 8, July 2013

Irans Stance

No 8, July 2013

he present article is an
attempt to shed light on
Irans stance on Bahrain,
to suggest some peaceful
solutions to the problem and the
current situation in the island.
Attempts have been made to
deal with certain questions about
the reaction of regional and
extra-regional countries to the
developments in Bahrain, the
stance of the Islamic Republic
of Iran and some suggestions
for peaceful settlement of the
problem. Finally the current
situation in Bahrain is explained
shorly.

Iran supports both Shias

and Sunnis

The Islamic Republic of Iran

supports the Shias in Bahrain as
much as it supports the Sunnis in
Palestine, Gaza, Libya, Tunisia,
Yemen and Egypt. Therefore,
Irans support for the Bahraini
people is not at all related
to their religious affiliation.
Oppression of any kind in any
part of the world is condemned.
Iran supports any Islamic
movement whose objective is
establishment of democracy
on the basis of the peoples
determination free from foreign
intervention.

Serious Questions:

Before discussing the prodemocracy movement in Bahrain,

I would like to ask some questions
regarding the reaction of regional
countries and the stances of the
Untied States, Europe, and other
big powers. These questions
are such that they contain the
answers within them.
Is the opposition of religious
leaders to the oppression in
Bahrain an interference in its
internal affairs? Is the dispatch of
foreign tanks to that country an
instance of foreign intervention?

Islamic
awakening
Can those, who send military
forces to Bahrain (from outside),
crush the peaceful prodemocracy movement of the
Bahraini people?
Will the suppression and
oppression of the people,
who peacefully demand their
natural rights, by machine guns,
poisonous teargas, helicopters
and cannons, have any outcome
for foreign forces and Bahraini
government?
Will not such measures cause
hatred of the men and women
of Bahrain of the culprits and
perpetrators of such heinous
acts?
Will the fate of those, who
send their expeditions to Bahrain,
not be like Saddam Hussain who
attacked his neighbors in the
past?
Isnt the US support of the
suppression of Bahrain people,
who peacefully demand their
citizenal and human rights, an
example of double-standard in
the field of human rights?
Arent the Bahraini
government and its foreign
supporters responsible for
attacking peaceful civilians
by military forces (isnt it an
instance of war crime)?
Can the rulers and their
foreign supporters continue
systematic violation of peoples
rights and suppress them with
military force with full impunity
for ever?
Will not the continuation of
this trend and violation of human
rights and basic rights of the
Bahraini people threaten the
regional peace and stability?

Irans Stance

Having raised the above

questions, which contain the
answers within them, I would
like to briefly explain the stance
of the Islamic Republic of Iran
towards the problem of Bahrain.

31
We believe that the best
solution to the problem of
Bahrain is free democratic
elections in which every Bahraini
citizen should have one equal
vote.
The Bahraini people should
be allowed to enjoy the right to
self-determination. They should
decide their fate free from any
foreign interference in their
internal affairs.
The majority of Bahraini
people have been deprived of
equal rights and opportunities
with the minority since the
establishment of Bahrain state.
This majority is entitled to and
must be granted equal rights with
the minority.
All Bahraini citizens are equal
regardless of their religious
affiliations.
Any sectarian approach to the
problem of Bahrain by any group
or country is condemned.
The Islamic Republic of Iran
cannot remain indifferent
towards oppression and
suppression of the people.
Therefore, we openly announce
our stance on condemnation of
suppression and oppression. It is
our religious obligation to do so.

Irans suggestions

The Bahraini government

should hold free and fair
elections and allow all citizens
to equally exercise their right
to elect and be elected. Free
elections and democracy are the
best solutions to the problem of
Bahrain. These mechanisms also
worked in Tunisia and Egypt.
The government of Bahrain
is required to pay attention to
the legitimate demands of the
Bahrainis instead of violent
suppression of the peaceful
demonstrations and protest
rallies. This approach will pave
the way for peaceful solution of
the problem.

32

Islamic
awakening

Certain confidence-building measures will

prepare the grounds for peaceful solution of the
problem. These measures include: immediate
release of the detained political leaders and
prisoners; nullification of harsh sentences given
by the martial courts to the detainees and
political activists as well as the physicians, nurses,
academics, women and youth who legally and
peacefully demand their natural rights.
Release of detainees will prepare the grounds
for serious negotiations between the two sides,
while violation of human rights by the government
exacerbates the situation.
The West is required to stop its double-standard
policies towards the issue of human rights,
particularly in Bahrain. This will prepare the
grounds for fair treatment of the issue free from
any prejudice.

No 8, July 2013

The West is also required to stop its media

campaign against the Bahraini people, because
the West has practically mobilized all political and
media instruments to support the massacre of the
empty-handed Bahraini civilians who just ask for
democratic elections in their country.

The current situation in Bahrain

I would like to draw your attention to the

situation in Bahrain where basic human rights are
violated with full impunity, peaceful people are
massacred in the daylight, and all international
standards are trampled upon by the security forces
and the ruling establishment.

Collective punishment of the nation

The Bahraini government has resorted to the

policy of collective punishment of the nation
by regular crack downs on the people who

No 8, July 2013

Islamic
awakening

peacefully protest against governments

discriminatory policies. The human rights
situation in Bahrain is so grave that
now even the United States Congress is
investigating it.
A US-based human rights group has said
the authorities in Bahrain indiscriminately
use tear gas as a weapon against
protesters.
Physicians for Human Rights said it was
resulting in the maiming, blinding and
even killing of civilians.
According to a BBC report, at least 30
people have died as a result of tear gas
use in Bahrain since protests began last
year.
Tear gas is a generic term for a group
of at least 15 toxic chemical agents that
disable people by exposing their lungs,
skin and eyes to irritants. CS gas is the
most commonly used by forces for crowd
control.
Unprecedented in century
The report published by Physicians for
Human Rights (PHR), entitled Weaponising
Tear Gas, was based on interviews with
more than 100 Bahrainis and evidence
gathered by PHRs investigators in April.
Its authors said the extensive and
persistent use of tear gas against civilians
by Bahrains security forces during the
past 18 months was unprecedented in the

33

100-year history of its use throughout the

world.
Law enforcement officials have
deployed this toxic agent to punish
protesters, inflict suffering, and suppress
dissent. Usually perceived by the public
and security forces as a benign tool for
crowd control, tear gas, especially when
used in large quantities and in enclosed
spaces, poses serious health risks and even
causes death, they wrote.
Since February 2011, the Bahraini
government has unleashed a torrent
of these toxic chemical agents against
men, women, and children, including the
elderly and infirm.
The report said Bahrains majority Shia
community, which has led the popular
pro-democracy movement demanding
reforms by the royal family, had suffered
abnormally prolonged exposure.
This had led to significant increases in
miscarriages and respiratory problems in
areas where tear gas was used frequently,
it added.
The report described instances in which
non-protesters had tear gas fired into
their cars or homes. In at least two cases,
people died from complications related to
exposure to tear gas because they were
trapped in enclosed spaces, it said.
Civilians had also suffered serious

34

Islamic
awakening
wounds when their heads and
limbs were hit by metal canisters
fired at close range, the authors
found.

Routine violations

Physicians for
Human Rights
called on Bahrains
government to
immediately end all
attacks on civilians
and suspend its
use of tear gas
while it conducted
an impartial
investigation into
its misuse and held
accountable those
who had used the
gas in excessive or
improper ways.
The group
also urged the
government to
disclose information
about which toxic
chemicals, its
tear gas canisters
contained and
permit scientists
and health
professionals to
study the effects of
prolonged tear gas
exposure in the Gulf
state.

The report concluded that

the authorities had routinely
violated every UN principle
governing police use of force. It
also said the methodical use of
tear gas as a weapon to attack
civilians inside their homes and
cars flouted international human
rights law, and constituted
torture, cruel and inhuman
treatment.
Civilians suffered serious
wounds when their heads and
bodies were hit by tear gas
canisters, PHR said
Physicians for Human Rights
called on Bahrains government
to immediately end all attacks
on civilians and suspend its use
of tear gas while it conducted
an impartial investigation into
its misuse and held accountable
those who had used the gas in
excessive or improper ways.
The group also urged
the government to disclose
information about which toxic
chemicals, its tear gas canisters
contained and permit scientists
and health professionals to study
the effects of prolonged tear gas
exposure in the Gulf state.
The government promised
improvements after an
independent commission of
inquiry found that security
forces had used excessive force,
torture and forced confessions
when suppressing pro-democracy
protests in February and
March 2011, but not only no
improvement is witnessed but
the government has intensified
use of chemical weapons.
US-based rights group: Bahrain
authorities weaponizing tear
gas
Meanwhile, a high level

No 8, July 2013
hearing on the implementation
of the Bahrain Independent
Commission of Inquiry (BICI)
report was held in late July at
the US Congress, according to
the Tom Lantos Human Rights
Commission (TLHRC).
According to a report,
authorities in Bahrain weaponize
tear gas in order to suppress the
pro-democracy movement.
Even amid US Congress
hearings on Bahrain, protesters
face more violence as they
peacefully protest against social
discrimination.
The TLHRC is a committee in
US Congress that advocates for
human rights and the BICI report
at the centre of hearing was
issued last November.
BICI was formerly chaired by
Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, an
Egyptian international criminal,
human rights and humanitarian
law professor.
The report, almost 500
pages long, investigates events
from the start of the Bahraini
uprising on 14 February 2011
until November 2011 including
conditions of arrests and torture.
The hearing was held as
tensions in Bahrain mount over
demonstrations demanding
reforms are violently dispersed
nearly daily.
Protesters clash almost on
daily basis with security forces in
Sitra, according to a local online
media service called Sitra Media.
There were reports of live
ammunition being fired at
people, who were not protesting
at the time in Salmabad,
according to Al-Wefaq National
Islamic Society, the largest
opposition group in Bahrain.
ANIS also said 14 areas
witnessed crackdowns on in what
it described as the policy of
collective punishment.
According to PHR Deputy
Director Richard Sollom the use

No 8, July 2013

of tear gas can in some cases

lead to miscarriages. Last month,
a protest was held in Bahrain in
objection to the firing of tear
gas into homes and in solidarity
with the tens of foetuses who
died because of it, prominent
human rights activist Said Yousif
Almuhafda in Bahrain told the
Daily News Egypt.
The Bahraini Centre for Human
Rights (BCHR) has released
two-post BICI reports, the latest
released in June indicating
that the human rights situation
has become more serious,
with a 100 cases of arrests and

Islamic
awakening

detentions last April alone, said

BCHRs report.

Bahrain Watch: UK
Company Helps Bahrain
Government Spy on
Activists

Bahrains government is
spying on Bahraini activists with
a malicious computer program
apparently supplied by a UK firm.
Bahrain Watch founding
member Bill Marczak, and
Citizen Lab security researcher
Morgan Marquis-Boire analyzed a
string of suspicious e-mails sent
to activists over the past two

35

months.
The e-mails promised
exclusive images or documents
about the political situation in
Bahrain.
Upon closer examination, the
e-mails were found to contain
attachments that installed a
malicious program on a victims
computer. Some of these e-mails
impersonated Al Jazeera English
reporter Melissa Chan.
The malicious program was
found to record keystrokes, take
screenshots, record Skype calls,
and steal passwords saved in web
browsers, e-mail programs, and

36

instant messaging programs. The

malicious program sent this data
to an internet address in Bahrain.
The analysis suggests that the
malicious program is FinSpy,
a product of UK firm Gamma
International. FinSpy belongs
to the FinFisher suite for
Governmental IT Intrusion and
Remote Monitoring Solutions.
Gamma International was
criticized for apparently selling
the same product to Mubaraks
regime in Egypt. Before
technology giant Apple closed
the security gap, FinSpy would
infect computers by tricking
users into thinking that it was
an iTunes update. London-based
NGO Privacy International has
threatened to take the UK
government to court for failing to
control the export of surveillance
technology to repressive foreign
regimes.
During the analysis of FinSpy, a
stolen GMail password was later
used in an attempt to access
the GMail account, suggesting
that the Bahraini government
is actively monitoring and
exploiting the information

Islamic
awakening

captured by FinSpy.

Al-Wefaq: Bahraini regime

forces attack 311 houses

Bahrains main opposition alWefaq party says Saudi-backed

security forces have attacked
hundreds of civilian homes across
the country over the past two
months.
Sayed Hadi al-Mousawi, the
head of al-Wefaqs Department of
Human Rights and Civil Liberties
said, adding, the recurrent
assault on civilian houses is in
clear contradiction of pledges
made by the government to
investigate assaults by a number
of security forces against
peoples houses.
Moussawi also said the regime
forces recently attacked two Shia
clerics in the towns of Sitra and
Diraz and forced them to take off
their turbans.
In 2011, King Hamad bin Isa Al
Khalifa admitted to the use of
excessive force by his regime
forces against the pro-democracy
protesters, and promised to make
reforms that would satisfy all
parties in the country.

No 8, July 2013

This came after a report issued

by the Bahrain Independent
Commission of Inquiry (BICI)
confirmed regime forces had used
excessive force, including the
extraction of forced confessions
from detainees.
They resorted to the use of
unnecessary and excessive force,
terror-inspiring behavior and
unnecessary damage to property,
according to the BICI report.
The committee also accused
the interior ministry and
security services of following a
systematic practice of physical
and psychological mistreatment,
which amounted in many cases to
torture, with respect to a large
number of detainees.
Despite the BICI findings
and international criticism of
the humanitarian situation in
Bahrain, the ruling Al Khalifa
regime continues the violent
crackdown of popular protests
demanding the downfall of the
monarchy. Unfortunately, the
United States and its regional
and some Western allies support
the ruling familys indiscriminate
attacks.