Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s support for Palestine has been criticised by an Arab commentator, who describes it as an effort to justify Ottoman rule over the region and demands that Turkey apologise for its colonial past.
Farouk Youssef, an Iraqi writer, wrote in Al-Arab on Tuesday that “Erdoğan commented on the situation in Palestine by saying, ‘Turkey cannot remain silent about what is happening in a country it ruled for 400 years.’ Four hundred years indeed!”
Youssef’s criticism comes after Erdoğan, on Saturday, stated, “An inhumane genocide has been ongoing in Gaza for 11 years, and Palestinian lands have been occupied inch by inch by Zionists since the Ottoman Empire withdrew from there in 1918.”
In October, Erdoğan further claimed that the Palestinian issue began with the Ottoman Empire’s forced departure from Arab lands, saying, “Unfortunately, after we were compelled to leave the region following World War I, it turned into a place where blood, tears, tension, conflict and occupation have never been absent.”
In response, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), stated that Palestinians are seeking solidarity, not a return to Ottoman rule.
Youssef argued that Erdoğan’s comments reveal a desire to revive Ottoman-style leadership, stating that “Erdoğan still dreams of being a new Ottoman sultan.” He accused Erdoğan of manipulating historical narratives for political gain and describes the Ottoman era as “400 dark years” characterised by “oppression, impoverishment and the destruction of local identities.”
He further commented, “The Ottomans were harsher than the Mongols, who destroyed cities and then left. The Ottomans, however, established traditions of backwardness everywhere they dominated, turning cities into stagnant swamps due to a policy of Turkification that aimed to strip peoples of their identities while stifling intellectual growth. The Ottoman era was a dark period, a long night that fell on people who never lived their lives as befitting their humanity.”
Youssef accused the Arab states of complicity, suggesting they have neither the capacity nor the will to confront Erdoğan’s narratives. “Turkey is surrounded by failed Arab states that cannot silence him,” he remarked, arguing that this geopolitical reality has enabled Erdoğan’s unchecked rhetoric.
He further criticised Erdoğan’s conduct, saying, “Erdoğan has behaved like a mad clown. For example, Israel, which has been the primary target of most of these displays, has not taken him seriously. Erdoğan is detached from reality.”
He also criticised the Muslim Brotherhood’s support for Erdoğan, suggesting that both Erdoğan and the Brotherhood are “lying to promote their agendas of backwardness”. Youssef called on Turkey to apologise for the actions of the Ottoman Empire, labelling its rule over the Middle East as a “historical crime” marked by “brutality and cultural suppression”.
Concluding his remarks, Youssef questioned Erdoğan’s genuine commitment to the Palestinian cause, suggesting that his stance was driven more by political opportunism than any real solidarity with the Palestinians. “This is what Erdoğan takes pride in, and what he reminds the Palestinians of,” Youssef wrote. “The crucial question remains: ‘What has the un-crowned sultan promised the Palestinians to save them?’ Nothing tangible, except the reminder that they were once subjects of a defunct sultanate that deprived them of a homeland and conscripted their youth for its futile wars.”
