Tomorrow

I have been witnessing the march and rise of Mr. Erdogan since 1987. He spent twenty years with his correct and wrong sides. In this period, we made many objections, wrote against him. Anyhow, we ended up with these current days.

We are in a neighborhood. We belong to this environment. Call it whatever you like: the Islamic community, the conservative community. If there are 50 people here, the political choice of the 40 is clear. On the other hand, we are also seeing the side effects of the political authority and living them through. Whether one accepts it or not, being tested with the political authority is not going well. We feel so much ashamed. Our mistakes are many and our burden is big. This is an adventure in which material benefits turned into a spiritual loss. This is a long and sad story.

There is a new election ahead of us. For the first time, people are going to elect their own president. As I understand, this election will be wrapped up in the first lap because Erdogan"s rival is a candidate who has the confusion "why did you nominate me". This is not the people"s candidate but the opposition party"s candidate.

Those who accuse Erdogan of not embracing the whole society, Have they done anything better than he has until today? Well, can they do better in the future? No way.

We know this language, style and mentality well. We know what they did with the "essence of the nation". We have not forgotten the February 28, the conviction tables, the anti-human bans, insults, unfairness which exceeded the limits. We don"t hold any grudge, but we don"t forget them either.

We also have to say and admit this: For the years whoever stands against us, stands against Erdogan too. This tells us something and gives us an idea whether we like it or not. Those who don"t come together for the goodness and benefit of the fatherland are setting allegiances in order to defeat their rivals. We believe that the end of jealousy and malicious intent is always disappointment. I used the word jealousy purposefully. They did not find it convenient for the son of a latheman to be in the president''s seat. They could not admit his background and his status. They appealed to every kind of mean to prevent him, we remember. We have not forgotten the front-door pictures of the former Central Bank chair Durmus Yilmaz.

The same state of mind is coming out once again. At this point, I would like to share Dücane Cündioglu"s word: "The destruction of jealousy means the destruction of the jealous, not the one who is being envied."

Mr. Erdogan runs for the presidency with a highly responsible and burdensome one or has been nominated for it in a very difficult time. This is a kind of responsibility that stems from our faith because we see the nation and ummah as one.

The situation of the Islamic world is obvious. Our cities are under destruction and people are being slaughtered. The road signs are being destroyed one by one.

From Afghanistan to Gaza, Libya, a whole geography has been turned into a shooting range of the west or the available powers to be used. Every kind of shooting is free here. No one is raising a voice against it or calling it to account, unless paying a price in this world. When I am writing this article, perhaps many Muslims are being slaughtered and in what conditions, who knows. We cannot even keep pace with it; we cannot count the numbers anymore as we cannot reach its speed.

The dispersed image of the Islamic world or its interconflicting picture, its defenseless situation is encouraging the malicious, while it deepens our pain and increases our responsibility. If we are going to say it with the words of Ibrahim Karagül, "The confrontation on the basis of ethnic diversification and sectarian identities has reached to such a threatening level that has been unprecedented." (Yeni Safak, August 7). The need for a stronger Turkey and a Turkey, which is peacefully settled with its own values, is increasing more and more every passing day.

Let us keep moving along with certain mistakes that we consider being made in the past: Mr. Erdogan saw certain world realities in the last few years. It"s the true face, the shameless face of the West. The West responded to those who want the Islamic Unity with the words "Do you have any idea what age are we living in?" Today it is talking about crusaders and even in a loud voice.

Let us summarize. Nureddin Cogan on Wednesday made an announcement that he would support Mr. Erdogan.

He said, "For the sake of the likelihood of his world view that is closer to our esteemed and exceptional world view and his efficient activities." We are also carrying the same sensitivities and expectations.