JIH, Muslim Brotherhood Hail Turkish Defence of Democracy

The President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari on 16 July congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the people of Turkey for thwarting a coup attempt at the hands of a section of the military. Condemning the attempt to topple the democratically elected government in Turkey, Maulana Umari said: “Turkey is a very important regional power and has achieved great success in delivering economic prosperity to its people.
“The Turkish government has given the much needed stability to Turkey and is an indispensable partner to many countries for achieving peace and stability in the region. There are some powers that do not want to see a strong Turkey and are eager to create chaos and instability in the Middle East.
“These are the same powers who are the biggest suppliers of arms and ammunition and do not want to see peace in the region. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind strongly condemns the attempted coup by these forces and their henchmen and advises them to desist from trying to topple democratically elected government of Turkey through fascist means like coup and military takeover.
“Jamaat also applauds and salutes the brave people of Turkey who heeded the call of their President to save their country and braved the savagery of military tanks and helicopters.”
The JIH chief added: “We hope that normalcy is restored in Turkey as soon as possible and that the guilty are awarded exemplary punishment. We pray for the people who laid down their lives defending the freedom of their country and hope that Turkey continues to show the way for Muslim countries to become a shining example of peace and prosperity in the comity of nations.”
Meanwhile, Abdullah El Haddad, son of jailed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Haddad and brother of Gehad el-Haddad, jailed senior adviser and media spokesman for the group, hailed Turkey’s defence of democracy. He said: “They showed significant courage and steadfastness. People from all ethnicities, beliefs and political backgrounds were united against the attempted coup,” Abdullah El-Haddad said, adding: “They managed to resist the guns and tanks with bare chests. My heart goes with those who lost their loved ones. Turkish people shaped a new historic day in the country’s modern history.”
Haddad, who is former spokesperson for Muslim Brotherhood in the U.K., has said he was “shocked” when he heard about the coup attempt.
“First, I was shocked, then when I saw the tanks, I started to go through a deja vu and I was worried because in Egypt it ended with bloodshed,” he said. “When people started to go on the streets to celebrate and army tanks started to withdraw, I felt proud of my Turkish brothers and sisters who fought hard for their country.”
The government’s response to the attempt was very crucial that night, Haddad stressed. He also emphasised the importance of the opposition parties’ response to the attempted coup.
“The president, along with the elected government officials, managed to counter the attempted coup by conducting smart decisions and mobilising people on the streets. For us, as anti-coup activists, we learned much from their efforts,” he said.
“As an Egyptian whose father and brother are imprisoned by Sisi’s junta, I feel more hopeful that that the Egyptian coup will come to an end and I will be able to see them again,” he stated.
After the coup attempt in Turkey, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has offered its “deepest congratulations to Turkey – the people, the president and the government – on defeating the traitorous military coup attempt”.
In a statement published on its official website on July 17, the group said:
“The Muslim Brotherhood takes this opportunity to express its appreciation for Turkey’s honourable stances in all important issues around the world in support of truth and justice, rejecting military coups, especially the treacherous military coup in Egypt.”