​​​​​​​Researchers: "Neo-Ottomanism" aims to occupy region, taking advantage of Qatar and political Islam

 Turkish moves continue in the Middle East in general, and Syria and Iraq in particular, with the aim of returning the region to the Ottoman role, which led to a resurgence of talk about the "neo-Ottoman" project and its goals.

 In Syria, the Turkish occupation state is working to Turkify the Syrian areas occupied by “Jarabulus, Al-Bab, Idlib, Afrin, Serêkaniyê, and Girê Spî.” It has also started, under the title “voluntary return of Syrian refugees,” by returning one million Syrian refugees to areas whose original people have been displaced what will dedicate change the demographics of these areas.

 In addition, the Turkish occupation state launches continuous attacks on Southern Kurdistan,  Şengal and Iraqi regions, and establishes dozens of military bases there, and all these moves are taking place on the line of the so-called Milli Charter.

 Purposeful policy to restore the glories of the Ottoman Empire

 The Director of the Arab Center for Research and Studies, Dr. Hani Suleiman, spoke about this, saying: "The neo-Ottomanism is an ideological idea that describes the new Turkish foreign policy aimed at restoring the glories of the Ottoman Empire, which was deep in the Balkans, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East."

 "Therefore, it aims to expand influence in those areas and recycle Turkish foreign policy in a way that achieves these interests," he explained.

 Suleiman added, during an exclusive interview with our agency, "Neo-Ottomanism was widely present in the governments that existed in the recent period. Talks about it emerged with the rise of the Justice and Development Party, and the focus has been on this term since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974."

 But some references indicate that neo-Ottomanism has been an idea since the beginning of the 19th century.

 Exploitation of regional issues

 Suleiman pointed out that "the first government that focused on this meaning was the Turkish government of Turgut Ozal, which was followed by the Justice and Development, and then talk about this ideology grew in the presence of Recep Tayyip Erdogan who tried to develop it significantly, but he suffered setbacks due to the reliance on some allies such as the Muslim Brotherhood  or some of the economic influence that has declined, or the Turkish exaggerated strategies such as sympathy with the Palestinian cause or Islam and anti-Israel, which proved to be just political marketing away from anti-Israel.”

 He continued in the same context, "Then this strategy declined significantly, in light of the rejection of some countries and peoples for such a presence, especially in Sudan, for example, some of the islands and areas that Turkey tried to control in the Horn of Africa, and therefore there has been a significant decline in this strategy." 

 With financial support from Qatar, political Islam is a tool of the neo-Ottomans

 In turn, the head of the "Kuwad" Center for Research and Studies in Yemen, Abdul Sattar Al-Shamiri, said: "The neo-Ottomanism is a vision, idea, ambition, or project initiated by the Justice and Development Party, which aims to make its strategic surroundings and geopolitical extension the Middle East, especially the world."  The Islamic State, especially the countries that were under the Ottoman occupation in the past, given that Turkey was rejected by Europe and tends to establish economic and political interests and perhaps control in one way or another.

 Those familiar with Turkey's history say that neo-Ottomanism existed long before the rise of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey in 2002, but it began to crystallize in its clearest features with the Justice and Development Party.

 He pointed out that "the idea began approximately 15 years ago and work began recently through the Turkish state when the Justice and Development Party took control of the reins of government and had aides, hands and financial arms from Qatar and popularity from the Muslim Brotherhood and some currents of the religious right in the region in general  ".

 Regarding the neo-Ottoman conceptions, Al-Shamiri said: "Its conception is derived from Islamic references and literature, such as the ideas of Abi Ali Al-Mawjidi, Jamal Al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Hassan Al-Banna, Rashid Rida, and some modern writers who see the necessity of an Islamic caliphate whose nucleus is what was known as the Caliphate."  The Ottoman Empire, which fell during World War II, and its land was shared by Europeans and others, in what was known at the time as the legacy of the sick man.

 control the wealth of the region

 On the goals of the neo-Ottomanism, Al-Shamiri said: “At the heart of its project and its essence is an economic control that aims to control the straits and wealth in the region and for Turkey to be the heart of the economy in this world, directing, managing and benefiting from it, and the economic perspective is the basis on which the theory is based in addition to the religious and political dimension  ".

 He added, "This (neo-Ottoman) theory is not old. It is in the process of being established and ambitious, and Arab countries have stood before it. It is also in the process of falling with the fall of the Brotherhood's state project, Erdogan's political and economic failures in the recent period, the fall of the lira and the growing Turkish opposition."

 He explained, "They seek to consolidate their rule in Turkey and then extend beyond it, and the goal of the theory is to control the shores of the fact that Turkey is deprived of water shores, especially in the Mediterranean, and it wants to be a partner and has an investment in gas. There are international agreements brought out by World War II that prevented Turkey from  This is why it is trying to break this barrier and enter into conflicts with neighboring countries and other countries in the region in order to have a share of the gas.”

 On the future of neo-Ottomanism, Abdul Sattar al-Shamiri said: "I do not think that this theory has a promising future or that it will be able to achieve its project or ambition, due to the lack of international or regional approval, and the futility of the theory that is at its heart a colonial theory in one way or another."

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 ANHA