Alwaght- Turkish president warned on Saturday that the Muslim world is facing plots that aim to bring it down from within.
“Like a century ago, the Islamic world is facing efforts to reshape it through blood, tears, and strife between brothers,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Istanbul, at the 7th Hadith and Sira Studies Awards Ceremony, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
He called on people “to be prepared for attacks which try to bring down Muslims from within”.
“As Muslims fight each other, the ones that benefit are terrorist groups, and terrorist states like Israel,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish leader went on to caution that Muslims may lose Mecca and other holy sites if the US decision to recognize occupied al-Quds as Israeli regime's capital isn’t reversed.
“If we lose al-Quds then we won’t be able to protect Medina. If we lose Medina – we will lose Mecca and Kaaba,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan has been one of the most vocal critics of President Trump’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Turkish president has slammed other nations for their “weak” response to the US move.
Erdogan also urged the UN Security Council to annul Trump’s decision. If the UNSC fails to act on the issue, Turkey will do everything necessary within legal frameworks to fight the US recognition, he promised.
"If the [UN Security Council] will not, we will approach relevant authorities within a legal framework," Erdogan said.
Turkey hosted Muslim leaders on Wednesday for an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jerusalem. Erdogan has praised the summit’s decision, in which the 57 countries who are members of the OIC recognized East al-Quds as the capital of the Palestinian state in response to the US move. The Turkish leader expressed confidence that the OIC’s initiative will create “a multiplier effect” and called upon other nations to follow suit.
Trump’s ruling last Wednesday led to days of violent clashes in al-Quds, the West Bank and Gaza, which resulted in several fatalities and over 1,000 injured among Palestinians. Hundreds of thousands also took to the streets to protest and burn US flags in Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and elsewhere across the Muslim world.
