Mustafa Akyol
Mustafa Akyol

@AkyolinEnglish

4 Tweets 1 reads May 13, 2023
Fifty prominent Islamic scholars call for supporting Erdogan.
They seem to see the elections as "Islam vs. its enemies," as Erdogan himself depicts.
But it is not true:
1) The opposition bloc includes Turkey's most overtly Islamic party, @SaadetEnglish.
islam21c.com
2) The opposition bloc also include @GelecekPartiTR & @devapartisi, both founded by pious Muslims who were in Erdogan's AKP โ€” until the latter proved all too corrupt.
3) Main opposition @herkesicinCHP has a history of oppressive secularism that I myself criticized a lot. But...
The CHP has gone a long way under @kilicdarogluk, admitting its past mistakes (such as hijab bans), embracing pious conservatives. Hence came this opposition bloc.
Sure, AKP does champion Islam โ€” but perhaps as a fig leaf for its undeniably corrupt & authoritarian rule.
For pious Muslims in Turkey, and elsewhere, the latter-day Erdogan era presents a big question:
How much unethical behavior can you stomach, just to keep "our guy" in power?
I am among those who believe that principles should come before power and partisanship.

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