Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
The Turkish bar association has filed a criminal complaint against pro-Islam magazine Gercek Hayat for instigated hatred and called for an armed rebellion against the Turkish government, reported RT News.
Ankara Bar Association requested government prosecutors to investigate the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Kemal Ozer, and columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak, claiming their radical newspaper called for an Islamic caliphate.
Gerçek Hayat Dergisi'nin yetkilileri hakkında "Şimdi Değilse Ne Zaman, Sen Değilsen Kim? Hilafet İçin Toparlanın" başlıklı kapağı ile Anayasal düzene karşı yaptıkları saldırı nedeniyle suç duyurusunda bulunulmuştur. https://t.co/PTJU3CdqOb pic.twitter.com/g572Fcrcwt
— Ankara Barosu (@ankarabarosu) July 27, 2020
Gercek Hayat, owned and operated by the pro-government Yeni Safak media group, published a red caliphate flag from the Ottoman Empire on Monday that read: “Get together for caliphate. If not now, when? If not you, who?”
RT News notes a caliphate is a state “dedicated to the cause of Islam, seeking to be a unifying and defending force for all Muslims. The word had received plenty of negative attention in recent times since the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) claimed the title for itself.”
“Historically, four major caliphates existed, the latest being the Ottoman Empire. Modern Turkey was founded by Kemal Ataturk on the ruins of this fourth caliphate as a modern secular republic that had cast away the outdated institutions of its predecessor,” RT said.
Gercek Hayat has a little more than 10,000 readers. The red caliphate flag magazine cover was enough for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Omer Celik to tweet a response:
“The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law,” Celik tweeted, citing the first article of the Turkish constitution.
“It is wrong to create political polarisation regarding Turkey’s political regime. Our republic is the apple of our eyes with its all attributions. The unhealthy debate and polarization on social media since yesterday on our political regime isn’t on Turkey’s agenda.”
Ozer, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, said critics had misread his piece:
“Our journal demands that the countries of Islam come together, just as Europe has come together and established a union, just as others have made similar ones. Our call has nothing to do with any country,” he said.
A recent poll showed the majority of Turkish citizens weren’t excited about the possible return of the caliphate.
ISIS has been one of America’s major psychological war on the Muslim world. The seek to tarnish the image of Islam and make the mere mention of “Islamic Caliphate” something that provokes and impulsive rejection by non-Muslims even Muslims where possible. But that is just a daydream. The Khilafa will return even if the enemies create a hundred more savage groups like ISIS. It isn’t going to weaken our spirit to achieve a United Muslim world. This is not only happening in Turkey, but in every Muslim country. There are True Muslims working tirelessly towards that eventuality.
The Western Lawyers are afraid of Shariah replacing their corrupt system. The Western legal system is never just and doesn’t work everywhere. You need to pay to hire a good lawyer. Poor people in my country have no access to justice cos they don’t have the money to pay lawyers. Legal profession now is not meant for upholding justice and equality, but it is a money-making racket. So why won’t these lawyers react to this grave Shariah threat to their lucrative legal businesses.
Erdogan won’t even listen to them. I mean the lawyers. Under Shariah, there can be no legal firms for profit, nor will anyone pay the lawyers and judges. Plus, punishment for any kind of crime is clearly defined, and there is a set procedure for establishing guilt such that it’s near-impossible for the judge to twist any case. Even a local Muslim scholar can oppose any judgement, and if he can proof the judges wrong by Shariah, that judgement will be revised. So yes, a Caliphate is a most welcomed development at the moment.