A month ago Erdogan played up the Ottoman victory against the Allied Powers in the battle of Gallipoli, all as a big distraction from the Armenian genocide. In doing so he created this three minute tribute to those who died at Gallipoli which has just now been translated by Memri.
I know it’s a few weeks old but I wanted to you to see it just to get a better sense of who Erdogan is and his aspirations. Normally I would say mute it and just read the english captions, but then you would miss out on the production themes and the music, which is important.
Watch:
There are a few things I want to highlight in this tribute. When Erdogan begins speaking, it’s obviously a prayer to Allah which begins with a big Allahu Akbar. A few things he said caught my attention.
First he prays to Allah and asks him “Do not leave these fields of Jihad without fighters,” which is an odd thing for such a peaceful president of a peaceful country to say, eh? Of course, we know they are jihadists and the fact that he would proclaim this is worth noting.
Secondly, again praying to Allah, he says “Do not leave the masses who yearn for a hero with no hero.” We know that he’s rebuilding the Ottoman Empire in his image as “New Turkey” and wants it done by 2023, the anniversary of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. He’s also been preaching daily about the need for this new presidential system, which his opponents in Turkey all know is just a means to make him a dictator….or Caliph. So it’s pretty clear that this hero the people are yearning for is him.
He also says in a similar way, “Do not leave us without a shepherd” which I think pretty much says the same thing.
Lastly you’ll notice Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the larger than life founder of Democratic Turkey in 1924, saying “at your service my commander” as the video ends, as if he is saying that directly to Erdogan. It’s like he’s saying to Erdogan ‘you are the one we’ve been waiting for.’
Erdogan clearly believes he is a larger than life figure.
The poem Erdogan reads during the tribute is transcribed below:
“We all have a hoarse voice… do not leave
our minarets with no calls to prayer, my Allah!Either bring us those who make honey
or do not just leave us with no hive, my Allah!Minarets have no mahya [a string of lights set up between two minarets to flash a short text, often featuring moral or religious themes]…
Do not take the Milky Way away from our skies, my Allah!
Do not leave this country, which was kneaded by Muslims,
with no Muslims, my Allah”Give us strength… Do not leave the field of jihad
with no fighters, My Allah!Do not leave these masses, who look for a hero,
with no hero, My Allah!Let us know how to resist the foe,
do not leave us lifeless, my Allah!On the path to tomorrows, do not leave
our years with no Ramadan [month], my Allah!Either disperse your herd, if left unattended,
or do not leave them with no shepherd, my Allah!Do not leave us, O, with no love, no water, no air
and with no country, my Allah!”