Arab circles: Erdogan's party seeks soft control through the media, TV series

NEWS DESK

On Saturday, Al-Arab newspaper published that AKP seeks to control the region and in this context, it wrote "Turkey dose not hide its plans to control Arab public opinion, and it is employing in its export project all available means, especially the mass media and TV series, in a reverse line to export the Iranian-style revolution, based on sectarian religious discourse.

And added "While governments controlled by AKP in recent years are trying to hide Qatari influence in the region under aid and support to some Arab countries, the informal circles of writers, intellectuals and artists do not hide that what they are doing is in the context of" Soft Control" on the region and the pursuit of Ottoman glories.

The vice-president of the international Turkish-Kazakh University of Khoja Ahmed Yasui, Professor Cengiz Tomar, The Turkish influence in the Arab world, began through humanitarian aid, Turkish educational institutions abroad, universities, movies, TV series, media and tourism.

According to the newspaper, "Turkey wants to dominate the Arab street from a gate other than the direct sectarian discourse, as happened with the Khomeini revolution in 1979, which is a barrier between it and the Arab public, which he referred to when he said that Turkey's influence in the Arab world is different from the influence Iranian conflict."

Turkey invests heavily in the soft influence of Arab countries, such as media and historical series, which boosts of the glories of the past, while focusing on reviving Turkish historical monuments in regions of Central Asia and the Balkans, and injecting a lot of money to build mosques and schools in Africa.

The Turkish historical series have re-emerged in the history of the Ottoman Empire and show the advantages of the rule of the sultans in a move that critics believe is aimed at political and decorating the dream of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in restoring the image of the Sultan who governs vast areas such as those under the influence of the Caliphate of Bani Osman.

Ahmed Yissawi acknowledges that Turkey's obvious influence on the Arab street has left a counterweight to Arab leaders and elites, leading them to view Turkey as a threat to their existence. This explains the focus on the media and series directed at the public, while elites know Ottoman history and its tragedies in the region.

Turkish state television has devoted an Arabic channel to improving the image of Turkey, which has declined dramatically in the minds of the Arab public because of Erdogan's positions, especially on the support of political Islamist groups and the Turkish president's untrue statements towards Arab leaders, to expand the Turkish military presence there."

(T/S)

ANHA