by Nils A. Haug
Now, just as Israel is overcoming its primary enemy, the Iranian regime, which seeks to wipe Israel off the map and then establish a Caliphate under Sharia law in the region -- along comes yet another Muslim extremist of a similar kind, Turkey's Erdogan.
Erdogan, from his comments, seems to consider himself the rightful leader of the entire Muslim world. In the interim, he evidently sees himself as "the Middle East's next great power broker, claiming leadership while chaos reigns."
Now, just as Israel is overcoming its primary enemy, the Iranian regime, which seeks to wipe Israel off the map and then establish a Caliphate under Sharia law in the region -- along comes yet another Muslim extremist of a similar kind, Turkey's Erdogan.
In March 2025, Erdogan doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric: "[I]n Turkey's largest mosque, he reportedly told a crowd of worshippers: 'May Allah, for the sake of his name, Al-Qahhar'—the Vanquisher—'destroy and devastate Israel.'"
Turkey, it seems, will become Iran's successor in continuing venomous anti-Israel threats in the Muslim sphere, with "Death to Israel" voiced even in the Turkish parliament.
Perhaps only when Turkey's leader openly declares, "Death to America" will the US realize that the Islamist monster it has naively supported has simply been stringing the West along.
Tehran's infamous "doomsday clock" was designed to count down to the annihilation of Israel in the year 2040. Instead, it appears finally to have ceased operating at the 2026 mark, along with many leaders of Iran's extremist Islamic regime.
The irony of Iran's rout by its two most-hated enemies -- the "Great Satan" United States and the "Little Satan" Israel -- must be seismic in Iran's major centers, where much of the civilian population openly celebrates, not the end of Israel as intended by Shia clerics, but, instead, the hoped-for final days of an apparently much-hated regime.
Israel long sought to destroy the clock's prominence in Tehran's Palestine Square, and has now succeeded in eliminating most of Iran's military and propaganda infrastructure.
Israel and the US have thwarted Iran's plans to liquidate Israel and the US from the Earth and have stopped the late despotic "Supreme Leader" Ali Khamenei's dream of a Shia Islamic Caliphate dominating the Middle East and beyond.
While it is safe to say Iran's intended Caliphate is now a passing dream, the ideological void will doubtless be filled by Turkey, which seems to hanker for either a resurrected Ottoman Empire or a neo-Ottoman form of national Islamist dominance. The former version -- in essence a Turkish Empire -- endured for 400 years before being finally vanquished in the early 20th century as a result of efforts by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey's War of Independence, ending in 1924.
In 1924, the Ottoman Caliphate was officially abolished and, under Atatürk leadership, the secular Republic of Turkey was founded. Islam was removed as the official state religion.
Today, however, a strict form of Sunni Islamism has taken hold in Turkey, inevitably giving vent to escalating anti-Israel sentiments. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supports Israel's enemies and utters threatening sentiments against Israel itself.
During his lengthy term of office, Erdogan has endeavored to reframe Turkey as the rightful heir to "a grand imperial civilization whose cultural, religious, and strategic influence stretched from the Balkans to the Arabian Peninsula." In short, he appears to champion the reemergence of a dominant Islamic civilization with himself as its destined leader. Antonio Bhardwaj of the Foreign Affairs Forum explains that "it is unequivocal that Erdogan aims to position himself as a modern-day Caliph or to resurrect a neo-Ottoman caliphate."
As if that were not a lofty enough objective, Erdogan, from his comments, seems to consider himself the rightful leader of the entire Muslim world. In the interim, he evidently sees himself as "the Middle East's next great power broker, claiming leadership while chaos reigns."
Bhardwaj adds:
"Erdoğan's tenure has seen a systematic shift toward Islamization within Turkey. His government has expanded religious education, restricted alcohol sales, and promoted conservative social policies.
"These measures, coupled with the suppression of secular institutions, align with his stated goal of raising a 'pious generation.'"
Clearly, Erdogan seems to consider Turkey as the true home of a "renewed Muslim civilizational core, a hub of political Islam, and a cultural beacon rooted in centuries of imperial history."
This is nothing new or covert. In the media outlets controlled by Erdogan's AKP party, public calls have been made for the establishment of a Caliphate. During 2020, for instance, "the government-linked magazine Gercek Hayat urged Turks to 'get ready for the caliphate,' with its cover implicitly addressing Erdogan."
When Erdogan criticizes the Israeli and US attacks on Iran, he reveals what appears to be a duplicity. First, Turkey is an important member of the Western NATO alliance, yet Erdogan has aligned himself with enemies of the West, specifically Iran's repressive regime and jihadist proxies such as Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen – both of which have sworn to destroy Israel and America. It is no secret that members of Hamas's leadership have long been ensconced in Turkey.
Second, Erdogan seemingly intends to create a future Sunni-dominated Caliphate headquartered in Istanbul – where the historic Ottoman Caliphate was based.
According to political analyst Sinan Ciddi:
"While Washington searches for ways to weaken Iran's murderous rulers, our supposed NATO ally Turkey is working overtime to keep the mullahs alive — and in power....
"For Erdogan, a crippled Islamist regime in Tehran is far more useful than a democratic one that might align with the West....
"For Erdogan, preserving a weakened Islamic Republic serves one overriding purpose: blocking the emergence of a US–Israeli security order that would sideline Turkey's ambitions."
Once it is understood Erdogan and his political party, the AKP, have their ideological roots in Muslim Brotherhood dogma, which "advocates for a global caliphate governed by Sharia law."
The founding Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, adopted militant doctrines that were hitherto neglected by established Shiite precepts -- which he absorbed from the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood movement. Primarily, these doctrines focused on a "revival of the pan-Islamic Caliphate with the mission of spreading Islam, by any means necessary, including violence." In this context, there is little difference between Erdogan's Islamist stance and that of earlier leaders of Shia Iran and Sunni Turkey: Both came to embrace the same Muslim Brotherhood worldview.
Erdogan's close relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood extends over a 50-year period, and it is known that Muslim Brotherhood members have been granted refuge in Turkey. According to a report from the Counter Extremism Project, "[a]nalysts have also suggested that Turkey has supplied weapons and activists to the Muslim Brotherhood for its activities in Egypt."
Erdogan aims not only for political relevance in the Muslim sphere; he openly desires a leadership role. As the European Times reports:
"Its neo-Ottoman posture aims to revive Turkey's role as a civilizational core, a hub of political Islam, and a cultural beacon rooted in centuries of imperial history."
Erdogan's various interventions in Syria, Libya, and the South Caucasus, while cooperating with autocratic Qatar -- the primary supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood -- reflect his reach into former Ottoman lands. It is ironic that "Iran's state-affiliated Kayhan newspaper accused Erdogan in 2024 of seeking to 'revive the Ottoman caliphate,' citing his support for Syrian rebels and territorial ambitions."
Now, just as Israel is overcoming its primary enemy, the Iranian regime, which seeks to wipe Israel off the map and then establish a Caliphate under Sharia law in the region -- along comes yet another Muslim extremist of a similar kind, Turkey's Erdogan.
To highlight his claim to prominence in the Islamic world, in March 2025, Erdogan doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric:
"[I]n Turkey's largest mosque, he reportedly told a crowd of worshippers: 'May Allah, for the sake of his name, Al-Qahhar'—the Vanquisher—'destroy and devastate Israel.'"
There is little difference in rhetoric between Iran's verbal hostility and that emanating from Turkey towards Israel. Turkey, it seems, will become Iran's successor in continuing venomous anti-Israel threats in the Muslim sphere, with "Death to Israel" voiced even in the Turkish parliament.
Ex-CIA analyst Reuel Marc Gerecht, in an article presciently titled "Erdoğan Sets His Sights on Israel," wrote last year:
"While Erdoğan consolidates power at home and prepares to project it abroad, he has set the stage for a clash with Israel. Indeed, Turkey has quickly emerged as perhaps the greatest danger to the Jewish state in the Middle East, escalating the threat of a conflict he won't be able to avoid."
Perhaps only when Turkey's leader openly declares, "Death to America" will the US realize that the Islamist monster it has naively supported has simply been stringing the West along. Then, and only then, might the US, in conjunction with Israel, consider reining Turkey in to ensure that no future "doomsday clock" ever counts down against Israel again.
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr. Haug holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology and is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths), Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, Zwiedzaj Polske, Schlaglicht Israel, and many others.
Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22325/iran-turkey-waiting
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