Islamophobes view Erdogan as the enemy

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) – Islamophobia – the dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims – is a disease that runs deep in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East.

Islam has always had its fair share of foes, including German Protestant reformer Martin Luther, French writer Voltaire, English writer G.K. Chesterton and U.S. President John Quincy Adams.

Although Islamophobia has existed since the birth of Islam 1,400 years ago in the Arabian Peninsula, the lack of mass media for over 1,300 years restricted the impact of Islamophobes to their close circles.

- Modern-Day Islamophobes

Today's Islamophobes, however, are active users of the internet, which makes it easier to disseminate hate, racism and dangerous political agendas.

Nowadays, they share one trait in common: their hatred of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They hate Erdogan's strong criticism of Israel in particular and go to all lengths to tarnish his reputation.

Pamela Geller, a U.S.-based Islamophobe who calls herself a ''fierce Zionist'', attacks Turkey and Erdogan on Twitter and the website she manages.

"Turkey’s Erdogan threatens to murder Australian visitors to Turkey if they have anti-Muslim views,” said Geller, twisting Erdogan's words in a bid to manipulate public opinion.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in early March on two New Zealand mosques, Erdogan referred to a visit by the Australian-born perpetrator to Turkey.

He asked anyone who has similar intentions like the terrorist to not visit the country.

Geller did not hesitate to take his words out of context to serve her purpose.

"And Turkey is still in NATO. And former President Obama said Erdogan was his favorite, ‘most trusted’ foreign leader," she added, mocking former U.S. President Barack Obama's respect for Erdogan.

Another Islamopobe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- whose government has been building illegal settlements in the West Bank in violation of UN resolutions and murdering countless numbers of Palestinian civilians, including women and children -- calls the Turkish president a "dictator".

- More Islamophobes

Geert Wilders, the notoriously Islamophobic Dutch politician who defends anti-immigrant far-right policies, also detests Erdogan.

In his speeches, he asks Dutch citizens and immigrants who love Erdogan "to get the hell out” of the Netherlands.

Canadian Islamophobe writer Tarek Fatah, whose specialty is attacking Islam and Muslim countries, calls Erdogan an "idiot" and his supporters "fascists".

Zionist Islamophobe Ben Shapiro uses his platforms to attack Islam and Erdogan on a regular basis.

"Erdogan was a terror-supporting Islamist thug. His exit would be a good start. Let's see what replaces him," Shapiro wrote on Twitter on the night of the defeated military coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).