Erdogan of Turkey wants to revive Islam in the “far reaches of the north” and is leading the Muslim world in shaping and spreading an objective: to speedily revive  Islam in the regions of the north, the Turkic republics in Central Asia and African nations. Believe it or not, the Turkish religious authority had had 200,267 meetings, conferences, panels and symposiums, all organized solely in the northern parts of the globe as an objective to influence non-Arab Muslim countries, especially in the Balkans. To Turkey Central Asia’s C.I.S nations (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)  is the goal of this anti-Christ agenda and Turkey today takes the lead in what the Bible prophecies Antichrist will do in  the region of Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Beth Togarmah.

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north (Isaiah 14:13)

A state-sponsored program to build mosques in countries from Kazakhstan to Cuba has emerged as a foreign policy instrument for Turkey, boosting the country’s claim to a place on the international stage as a leader of the Islamic world that looks after Muslims everywhere.

The Grand Mufti of Turkey, Mehmet Gormez, Turkey’s giant Directorate of Religious Affairs, which runs the country’s 85,000 mosques and employs 122,000 people, has assumed an increasingly active role in the government’s foreign policy.

Grand Mufti of Turkey Mehmet Gormez shakes hands with an onlooker after an inauguration ceremony in front of the Gazi Husrev Begova Mosque in Sarajevo, Nov. 15, 2012.  (photo by REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)

A glance at its website is enough to see how active the directorate has become internationally. The institution’s 2013 activity report, available on the website, describes a transboundary agenda of “shaping and spreading an objective perception of Islam around the world.” It says the directorate aims “to present an understanding of Islam, which is based on Islam’s scientific foundations, and lead the efforts to spread it.” It notes that 200,267 meetings, conferences, panels and symposiums were organized abroad as part of this objective.

The directorate’s wide range of overseas activities includes 80 visits paid by official delegations to Islamic countries or countries with Muslim communities, as well as joint initiatives in 79 countries, mostly Turkic republics in Central Asia and African nations, to provide mosques, schools and other educational services. A total of 3,791 students have been brought from the Balkans, the Turkic republics and Africa to study in Turkey’s imam-hatip religious high schools, Quranic courses, and post-graduate and doctoral programs.

“Hazrat Sultan” is the mosque in Astana, Kazakhstan, the biggest mosque in Central Asia.

Observers of the directorate’s activities say the institution has notably increased its influence over Islamic institutions in non-Arab Muslim countries, especially in the Balkans.

Erdogan added that the Directorate of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet (Religion) a Turkish state institution that administers Turkey’s 80,000 mosques and runs the international mosque-building program via a foundation, and Turkey’s development aid agency, TIKA, would keep track of the mosque project in Cuba. “There has been no negative approach” by the Cuban authorities regarding the Turkish proposal, Erdogan said.

According to the Diyanet, Turkey is currently involved in the construction of 18 big mosques in about a dozen countries, including the United States, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Palestine and Somalia. In total, the Diyanet foundation TDV has overseen the construction of around 50 mosques in 25 foreign countries since it was created in 1975.

The ongoing project in Tirana, the capital of Albania, will be the biggest mosque in the Balkans, providing praying space for 4,500 worshippers. The Diyanet says it’s also helping to repair mosques abroad that have been damaged by war.

Turkish Diyanet (Religious Affairs)

The purpose of the mosque-building project goes beyond the aim of providing Muslims in other countries with modern places of worship. Speaking about the mosques and Turkey’s humanitarian aid program, TDV official Mazhar Bilgin said recently that the country had “become the sole hope for Muslims in the world.”

The guise for Turkey in selling its idea is simple. The help offered by Turkey is claimed to prevent radical groups but truth is, it is an instrument of soft power to widen Turkey’s influence and to become the role model for all Muslim nations.

SOURCES

Al-Monitor