Maghrebians Defend Erdogan Against Western Media Campaign — What Are the Messages and Implications?
The Maghreb Street’s response to the Western media campaign against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been notable. Various media figures, politicians, and intellectuals have expressed their support for Turkiye, its democratic trajectory, and its “healthy political life,” despite any observed criticisms.
They contrast Turkiye’s situation with the current state of affairs in the Maghreb and Arab countries in general, where such warmth is absent in elections.
Erdogan, the leader of the Justice and Development Party, faces six opposition parties that have joined forces to participate in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14, 2023.
The opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has been chosen as their candidate to challenge the incumbent president.
Facing the West
Prominent figures in the Maghreb countries have been sharing supportive posts in solidarity with Erdogan, countering the widespread media campaign led by Western platforms against him.
In this regard, Halima Chouika, a leader in the labor union in Morocco, shared news of 1.7 million people attending President Erdogan’s campaign rally in Istanbul on May 7, 2023, stating that “the achievement speaks for itself.”
Chouika further expressed in a Facebook post: “When America and its allies become an electoral opponent, inciting the people against a certain candidate, voting for that candidate becomes inevitable, only when forgery is absent.” She added: “Of course, criticism and mistakes are an integral part of political practice.”
Meanwhile, Ali Fadli, an academic and researcher in political science and international relations, stated in a Facebook post on May 8 that The Economist boldly declared that Erdogan should step down.
Fadli quoted the newspaper’s words, saying that if Kemal Kilicdaroglu wins the presidency, it will be a great moment for Turkiye, Europe, and the global struggle for true democracy. We wholeheartedly support the opposition candidate, as described by the newspaper.
He further noted that there is a “fierce Western media campaign” against Erdogan, accusing him of being a dictator, despite his democratic electoral victory and his party’s losses in major municipal elections, as well as being targeted and attacked by the opposition.
Fadli added: “The West prohibits interference in its elections and punishes those who do so, while intervening with hands and feet in the democracies of other nations.”
As for Tunisian journalist and political activist Naserddine Souilmi, he stated that there is a “terrifying media campaign” against Erdogan, questioning the reason why Europe and the West hate him to such an extent.
Souilmi continued in a Facebook post on May 9, 2023, saying: “They say it’s because he’s a dictator! How is that possible when he came to power through elections and Turkiye is experiencing one of the most important and heated elections in the world under his rule?”
He further elaborated: “Why don’t they criticize Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his coup? Why don’t they criticize the dictatorship and crimes of the Israeli Occupation? Why don’t they criticize the Arab, African, Asian, and Latin American totalitarian regimes, but they criticize Erdogan?”
Souilmi added: “How do they assist military regimes in staying in power and conspire to overthrow and defeat the elected civilian president who removed the military from power?”
The answer, according to the Tunisian journalist, is that “they are not engaging in an electoral confrontation with Erdogan, but rather engaging in a civilizational battle where they want Turkiye to be a Christian satellite while he wants it to be the Islamic vanguard.”
Common Concerns
To comment on the support of the Maghreb street for Erdogan in the face of Western media, Amhammad Hilali, the president of the Moroccan Center for Contemporary Studies and Research, stated to Al-Estiklal that it is related to the common concern that transcends borders between Turkiye and Arab countries.
Hilali explained that when political practice in any country rises above conflicts over the interests of competing parties to the level of conflicts over shared values between peoples and nations, taking sides with or against such conflicts is not limited to those directly involved nor confined within the borders of that country. Instead, it becomes a common concern that transcends borders.
Therefore, it is “natural” for the West, including its media, elites, politicians, and officials, to align against Erdogan due to what he represents as a model of liberation, independence, and sovereignty, and as a model for expressing the public will, not only for his own people but for any nation aspiring to such ideals, according to Hilali.
He continued, “If taking sides in favor of or against Erdogan could be considered interference in the affairs of another country, it becomes a duty in a situation where there is a concerted effort to undermine a rising and efficient democratic model that has achieved significant progress and prosperity for its people, and stands at the forefront in supporting just causes of the nation.
“This model significantly contributes to fighting poverty and inequality worldwide, and to supporting freedom and democracy for the benefit of all peoples without discrimination.”
He stated that in this case, it becomes the duty of all free and democratic individuals, as well as defenders of the universal values shared among nations, to align themselves in support of democracy and to oppose any attempt to overthrow it, especially through nonviolent means.
He further argued that those who support Erdogan today are actually supporting a free, powerful, and active Turkiye in achieving peace and justice in the world.
Hilali addressed those who criticize the nation, its scholars, its youth, and its freedom fighters for supporting Erdogan, asking: “Why do they remain silent about the support of Western politicians and media for the Turkish opposition, which everyone knows is biased against the nation’s constants and has a dark history against its sanctities, especially in Palestine?
“Why do they overlook the attacks launched by editorial boards of major magazines and television stations worldwide? Is this not interference in internal affairs, or is it permissible for the West and forbidden for the nation?”
He continued: “Why do they veto the elections of certain orientations by nations and spend enormous amounts of money to produce specific elite classes through election boxes?”
Based on the principles of siding with democracy against despotism, freedom against slavery, liberation against subordination, and sovereignty and independence against new colonization, “supporting or opposing Erdogan is no longer a purely local or Turkish matter.”
He added: “It has become a matter of human liberation and an initial choice based on principles and values, where neutrality becomes a sign of weakness and political naivety that does not befit people of principles or those carrying the burden of change and the aspirations of the nation’s progress and revival.”
Wide Arabic Support
The writer and political analyst, Sherif Ayman, believes that this media attack is one of the reasons for supporting Erdogan in the region.
Ayman further stated in an opinion article published on Arabi21, on May 10, 2023, that “our people have a stance against Western regimes that harbor our oppressors, and we also have a history of colonial legacy with most of the major Western powers.”
He continued: “In addition to the recent history of American occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and above all, their support for the Israeli Occupation, if this is the legacy these countries have with us, how can the Arab observer fully trust the orientation of this media?”
As for the second reason for Arab support of Erdogan, according to Ayman, it lies in the fact that “we suffer from a lack of democracy in our homelands, and the presence of a democratic nation in our cultural and geographic environment and our historical extension.”
“This makes us rejoice at the existence of this model and aspire to reach this state, knowing for certain that democracy is the gateway to solving our chronic and highly complex problems,” he stated.
“Then there is the religious dimension that Arabs and Muslims are imbued with,” as well as moral considerations, not to mention “another sympathy related to the plight of the oppressed Arabs in general, and the Syrians in particular.”
Egyptian journalist Ali Abu Hamila stated that the Turkish elections, along with “the new atmosphere they bring to the Arab geographic space, make us compare these situations with the state of our Arab nation.”
Abu Hamila added in an opinion article published on Al Jazeera Mubasher on May 8, 2023: “Especially with what is happening in Sudan, which had come close to the idea of democratic transition, but now the situation has turned toward the specter of civil war, as the powerful turned against each other, following in the footsteps of other Arab countries that failed their nascent democratic experiments.”
He emphasized that “due to geographical proximity, cultural and social convergence, the Arab citizens and Arab regimes closely monitor the Turkish elections and hope to witness such elections in their own countries.”
Another reason for this interest, according to Abu Hamila, is that “Turkiye is within the Arab field of vision,” and that it is “present in the Arab mind and consciousness, whether with love, which is predominant, or with envy of its economic and political successes.”
He concluded by saying that “the Turkish experience will always remain part of our dream to see it across all Arab nations.”
Erdogan’s support is not only from political, media, and cultural elites but also from scholars of the nation, including many Mauritanian scholars.
In this regard, Mohammad Elhamy, a researcher in history and Islamic civilization, described the statement issued by scholars of the nation regarding the Turkish elections as “admirable.”
This was stated in a post by Elhamy on his Facebook account on May 9, 2023: “The issue of the Turkish elections is one of the general Islamic issues that Muslims are affected by, both inside and outside Turkiye,” and therefore, “the people cannot remain silent about clarifying the matter and offering advice.”
Western Fear
The same source stated that “it is well known to every observer that Turkiye’s policy during the era of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has benefitted Muslims greatly, and the first beneficiaries are the people of the country themselves.”
This policy has provided freedom and security for everyone, and it has lifted the burdens that were imposed on wearing the hijab and other aspects of life. As a result, mosques multiplied, and Quran memorizers increased.
“In addition to what Turkiye has achieved in terms of a strong political ascent, becoming a powerful actor in regional and international issues, it has also witnessed a significant economic resurgence, entering the top 20 strongest economies in the world after being a struggling state.”
After highlighting the president’s most important accomplishments, the source said: “Muslims who have the right to vote in these elections should go to the polling stations and cast their votes in favor of President Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party, supporting their outstanding reformist project.”
“Muslims who do not possess this right should support their brothers and sisters in Turkiye to the best of their abilities, through financial, media, political, and other forms of support.”
The statement was signed by numerous scholars from the countries of the Arab Maghreb, including Sheikh Mohammad al-Hasan al-Dido, the head of the Scholars Training Center in Mauritania, the head of the Arab Maghreb Scholars Association, and several other prominent sheikhs.
In response to the statement by the scholars, the President of the Moroccan Center for Contemporary Studies and Research Amhammad Hilali stated that they “rejected the monopoly of Western media and their fearful elites, who intervene in the internal affairs of other peoples and nations.”
He further explained to Al-Estiklal: “Therefore, when the struggle for the rights of the nation in democracy, freedom, and independence becomes a matter that transcends borders, neutrality becomes nothing more than bias against the opponents of these values and principles.”
Regarding the question about the Western campaign against Erdogan in the presence of Arab authoritarian regimes that do not face the same level of criticism, Hilali said that “the West is the West in its dealings with the nation. It is against any model that can contribute to development and liberation outside the framework it has established.”
The Moroccan academic continued: “It is not in the interest of the West to see an efficient democratic model that can achieve growth rates, manufacturing levels, and patents without relying on the loan policies it imposes through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, along with their associated conditions.”
He continued: “The West always needs obedient politicians who serve its interests and are enslaved to its dictates.”
He believed that the weary West, with its achievements and positions, wants to carry out a soft coup through media infiltration and brainwashing.
Therefore, he said: “They are fearful of any emerging democratic model in our Arab and Islamic world, and they aspire to end the democratic spring in Turkiye, just as they did in Libya, Syria, and Yemen. Today, attempts are underway to eliminate what remains of it in Tunisia and even in Sudan."
