Överrabbin varnar väljarna för antisemitiska Labour

Labourpartiets domedag tycks närma sig med stormsteg.
Nu har Storbritanniens överrabbin gått ut offentligt och
varnat väljarna mot att rösta på det antisemitiska Labour.
Ännu en helt unik händelse i brittisk politisk historia.

BBC:

The chief rabbi has strongly criticised Labour, claiming the party is not doing enough to root out anti-Jewish racism - and asked people to "vote with their conscience" in the general election.

In the Times, Ephraim Mirvis said "a new poison - sanctioned from the very top - has taken root" in the party.
Labour's claim it had investigated all cases of anti-Semitism in its ranks was a "mendacious fiction", he added.

A number of prominent Jewish Labour politicians, including Luciana Berger and Louise Ellman, have quit the party after being the subject of anti-Semitic abuse on social media while others have accused Mr Corbyn of personally endorsing anti-Semitic tropes and imagery.

'Gripped by anxiety'

In his article, the Orthodox chief rabbi of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - who is the spiritual leader of the United Synagogue, the largest umbrella group of Jewish communities in the country - says raising his concerns "ranks among the most painful moments I have experienced since taking office".

But he claims "the overwhelming majority of British Jews are gripped by anxiety" at the prospect of a Labour victory in 12 December's general election.

He writes: "The way in which the leadership of the Labour Party has dealt with anti-Jewish racism is incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud - of dignity and respect for all people.

"It has left many decent Labour members and parliamentarians, both Jewish and non-Jewish, ashamed of what has transpired."

He adds that it was "not my place to tell any person how they should vote" but he urged the public to "vote with their conscience".

The chief rabbi claimed the response of Labour's leadership to threats against parliamentarians, members and staff has been "utterly inadequate" and said it "can no longer claim to be the party of equality and anti-racism".

'Horrified'

Mike Katz, the chair of the Jewish Labour Movement group which is officially affiliated to the party, said the chief rabbi was "absolutely right" and there had been a failure of leadership over anti-Semitism in Labour.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the chief rabbi's "unprecedented" intervention "ought to alert us to the deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews".

In a statement, he said everyone should be able to "live in accordance with their beliefs and freely express their culture and faith".


BBC:s ledarkommentar:

This is a sweeping and unequivocal condemnation of Labour's leadership, its treatment of Jewish parliamentarians and its handling of allegations of anti-Semitism.

It's also highly unusual for such an intervention by the leader of a religious denomination during a general election campaign. The chief rabbi has pastoral oversight for a large proportion of people who identify as Jewish in the United Kingdom.

Last week, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York appealed to voters and politicians to "honour the truth" and "challenge falsehoods" but there was no specific criticism of individual candidates nor their party leaders.

But the chief rabbi's article asks if Jeremy Corbyn is fit for high office and calls on voters to consider what the result of this election "will say about the moral compass of this country?"

Last year, three Jewish newspapers, - The Jewish Chronicle, The Jewish News and The Jewish Telegraph - published exactly the same front cover on 25 July - arguing that a Labour government under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn would prove "an existential threat" to British Jewry.

The chief rabbi, in this highly critical column, is saying much the same.

********
Norska MIFF:s kommentar

Jewish Telegraphic Agency
 
 ****


Tio Labourkandidater granskas ordentligt
(ladda ned och läs)

 

Islamistskola i dagens Sverige: Judehat, censur och bönetvång

Antalet islamistiska friskolor i Sverige ökar hela tiden.
Myndigheterna beviljar glatt tillstånd till skolor som bedriver
verksamhet i strid med både svensk lag och svenska folkets
"värdegrund". Nu senast har Safirskolan (f d Vetenskapsskolan)
i Göteborg uppmärksammats eftersom den drivs av en av de
"utvisade" salafistimamerna

GP har belyst vad som sker i salafismens mörka skrymslen i
skolvärlden (klippt från Pettersons blogg):

ISLAM & SKOLAN. Censurerade läroböcker, judehat och en nuvarande rektor som pressat barn att be med orden ”Allah ser dig”. Göteborgs-Posten har talat med ett stort antal tidigare anställda på den hårt kritiserade Vetenskapsskolan. – Det största problemet med skolan är att den fortfarande står kvar, säger en av dem.



Den islamska Vetenskapsskolan som nu har ändrat namn till Safirskolan är oförenlig med  svensk skollag. Det handlar exempelvis om könssegregering, censur av läroböcker och bönetvång.

– Skolan är destruktiv för barnen. Eleverna, framför allt pojkar, riskerar att hamna i helt fel miljöer, säger en person.

– De utnyttjar systemet och skattepengar men kämpar absolut inte för att de här barnen ska komma in i samhället, säger en annan.

Skolans tidigare huvudman Abdel Nasser El Nadi, som fortfarande får 250.000 kronor per månad av skolan, ses av svenska myndigheter bedöms utgöra ett hot mot rikets säkerhet

TIDIGARE 2019-11-20. Varför stänger syltryggarna inte den muslimska Safirskolan?

ISLAM & SKOLAN. Resultaten bland eleverna på Safirskolan i Göteborg, som tidigare hette Vetenskapsskolan, ifrågasätts av andra skolledare, skriver GP. Enligt skolans egna uppgifter går 91,7 procent av eleverna ut med fullständiga betyg. På andra skolor i liknande områden är siffran mellan 20 och 30 procent.

Bild från Safirskolans hemsida.

– Man behöver inte jobba i förorten eller vara någon Einstein för att förstå att det här är orimligt, det är ganska uppenbart, säger Linnea Lindquist, rektor för Hammarkulleskolan, som anmält Safirskolan till Skolinspektionen.

Safirskolans chef och rektor Sven-Erik Berg säger sig emellertid vara säker på att betygen motsvarar deras kunskapsnivå. Skolan har även i fler andra sammanhang fått återkommande kritik.

Safirskolan, som tidigare hette Vetenskapsskolan har i åratal fått kritik för bristande undervisning, otillåtna religiösa inslag och kopplingar till extremistisk islamism. Ledaren var tidigare islamist-rektorn, Abdel Nasser El Nadi, som anklagas av Säpo för att vara ett hot mot rikets säkerhet och som fört ut många miljoner i skattepengar till utlandet. Skolan använder även återvändande IS-terrorister i undervisningen.

-Pettersson säger att det verkar som islamisterna går före barnen i syltryggarnas land.

Om eländet den muslimska Vetenskapsskolan på bloggen...

***

USA slår fast: Judeen och Samarien inte "ockuperade"

Idag kom ett efterlängtat och viktigt
budskap från USA:
Jerusalem, Judeen och Samarien är
enligt USA:s uppfattning inte "ockuperade".
Det som folkrätten hela tiden hävdat gäller
och inte de antisemitiska lögner som bl a
EU-byråkratin och svenska UD sprider..

Se utrikesministerns presskonferens:

SVT :
USA ställer sig nu bakom Israels bosättningar på ockuperade Västbanken. Det efter att i fyra decennier sett dem som brott mot internationell lag. Det slog utrikesminister Mike Pompeo fast när han talade med pressen på måndagskvällen svensk tid.

Ända sedan 1978 har USA officiellt sett de israeliska bosättningarna på Västbanken som brott mot internationell lag. Men inte längre.

USA:s utrikesminister Mike Pompeo kom med beskedet på en presskonferens under måndagskvällen, svensk tid.
– Efter att noggrant ha studerat alla aspekter av den juridiska debatten, har vår regering enats om att etablering av israeliska, civila bosättningar på Västbanken inte är oförenlig med internationell lag, sade Pompeo.

Det är tredje gången som Trump-administrationen nu ställer sig på Israels sida i för regionen känsliga frågor.
Under 2017 erkände de Jerusalem som Israels huvudstad. 2018 flyttades USA:s ambassad till staden. och nu kommer beslutet om bosättningarna.
***

Se en utförligare kommentar på
Petterssons Blogg

Erdogan: Icke-muslimer ska bekämpas med våld

Turkiets president Erdogan behandlas oftast i europeiska medier, som om han vore en "normal" västerländsk statschef. Arutz Sheva visar i en artikel hur fel det är.
Han är en sann islamist som tar den onde öken-profetens religion på största allvar och uppmuntrar till hat och våld mot alla icke-muslimer (kuffar = otroende).

Ett par predikningar han nyligen höll i en moské i Istanbul visar hans sanna ansikte.

Det faktum att den turkiska journalist, som skrev artikeln, nu lever i landsflykt i USA är talande...

On October 25, a leader of a NATO member nation openly incited violence against non-Muslims. 
On that day, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the Friday prayers at the Great Çamlıca Mosque in Istanbul. He was accompanied by Istanbul’s governor Ali Yerlikaya, mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s chief of police Mustafa Çalışkan and the head of the Istanbul branch of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Bayram Şenocak.
  
After the prayers, the hafiz of the mosque recited the Koranic Verse Al-Fath, which means “victory, triumph, conquest” in English. Then Erdogan took the microphone, reciting a part of the verse in Arabic and then in Turkish. He told the congregants:
“Our God commands us to be violent towards the kuffar (infidels). Who are we? The ummah [nation] of Mohammed. So [God] also commands us to be merciful to each other. So we will be merciful to each other. And we will be violent to the kuffar. Like in Syria.”

Erdogan then referred to another Koranic verse, As-Saff-13, in Arabic:
“Inshallah, God has promised us in Syria: 'Nasrun minallahi ve fethun karib ve beşşiril mu'minin.' [‘Victory from Allah and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers’]. We see it is happening right now. With the permission of Allah, we will see it even more... I will meet some presidents of foreign countries at the Dolmabahce Palace today. I ask for your permission now to go there.”

The congregants then cheered Erdogan on, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the greatest).

                                                  Erdogan vid Atatürks byst.
                                                  A. var det sekulära Turkiets grundare

That the country’s political opposition has raised no serious objection to these statements is alarming for several reasons. 
Dr. Bill Warner, the president of the Center for the Study of Political Islam (CSPI), explains the concept of “kafir” in Islam:
“Islam divides the world into Muslims and unbelievers, kafirs. Political Islam always has two different ways to treat kafirs—dualistic ethics. Kafirs can be abused in the worst ways or they can be treated like a good neighbor. Kafirs must submit to Islam in all politics and public life. Every aspect of kafir civilization must submit to political Islam.

“Political Islam is the doctrine that relates to the unbeliever, the kafir….The Trilogy [The Koran, Sira (Mohammed’s biography) and Hadith (the traditions of Mohammed)] not only advocates a religious superiority over the kafir—the kafirs go to Hell whereas Muslims go to Paradise—but also its doctrine demands that Muslims dominate the kafir in all politics and culture. This domination is political, not religious.”

Dr. Warner goes on to give examples of how Islamic scriptures refer to the “kafir”:
“The language of Islam is dualistic. As an example, there is never any reference to humanity as a unified whole. Instead there is a division into believer and kafir (unbeliever). Humanity is not seen as one body, but is divided into whether the person believes Mohammed is the prophet of Allah or not.
“The Koran defines the kafir and says that the kafir is hated (40:35), mocked (83:34), punished (25:77), beheaded (47:4), confused (6:25), plotted against (86:15), terrorized (8:12), annihilated (6:45), killed (4:91), crucified (5:33), made war on (9:29), ignorant (6:111), evil (23:97), disgraced (37:18), cursed (33:60), stolen from (Bukhari 5,59,537), raped (Ishaq 759) and a Muslim is not the friend of a kafir (3:28). 

“Christians and Jews are infidels, but infidels are kafirs, too. Polytheists are Hindus, but they are also kafirs. The terms infidel and polytheist are religious words. Only the word “kafir” shows the common political treatment of Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, animist, atheist and humanist.

“The word kafir should be used instead of ‘unbeliever’, the standard word. Unbeliever is a neutral term. The Koran defines the kafir and kafir is not a neutral word. A kafir is not merely someone who does not agree with Islam, but a kafir is evil, disgusting, the lowest form of life. Kafirs can be tortured, killed, lied to and cheated. So the usual word ‘unbeliever’ does not reflect the political reality of Islam.”

It appears that one major reason behind the continued, severe persecution against and – in many cases – the complete destruction of non-Muslim lives and civilizations in what is today called “the Muslim world” is this intense hatred for and dehumanization of the kafir.

Dr. Andrew Bostom, the author of “The Legacy Of Jihad: Islamic Holy War And The Fate Of Non-Muslims”, has analyzed Erdogan’s words in detail according to Islamic sources, and noted:
“Authoritative Koranic commentaries—classical and modern—as well as canonical hadith, traditions of Islam’s prophet Muhammad, support Erdogan’s hateful and predatory views toward non-Muslims.
“Thus, not only do Erdogan’s Koranic invocations sanctioning harshness towards non-Muslims and their jihad conquest, comport with their authoritative glosses, the Turkish President himself is revered by the mainstream. Global Muslim Umma.”

The fact that these words were uttered by the president of a nation that is an ostensible NATO ally and a candidate for the European Union membership is a major warning to all non-Muslim nations as well as to Muslims who disagree with Erdogan’s worldview. 

Uzay Bulut

 The writer is a Turkish journalist and political analyst formerly
based in Ankara. She now lives in the United States.

Labours undergång p g a sin antisemitism - fortsättning

Labours kaotiska undergång förvärras för 
varje dag.
Först hoppade de judiska parlaments-
ledamöterna av från partiet; sedan de mest
prominenta "gråsossarna" och nu följer ett 
antal av landets mest kända författare 
efter...

Tjugofyra kända författare uppmanar i ett 
öppet brev väljarna att INTE rösta Labour 
p g a partiets antisemitism.
Brevet publiceras i The Guardian, kultur-
radikalernas favorittidning.

(Jerusalem Post) A number of prominent British figures have declared that they will not vote for Labour in the upcoming general election due to the party's links with antisemitism. 

John Le Carré and Joanna Lumley were among those who, in an open letter to The Guardian, pledged to put Jewish concerns above wider issues such as Brexit.

"We listen to our Jewish friends and see how their pain has been relegated as an issue, pushed aside by arguments about Britain’s European future. For those who insist that Labour is the only alternative to Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit, now, it seems, is not the time for Jewish anxiety," the signatories wrote.

Highlighting the formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into institutional antisemitism within the Labour Party, and the departure of two Jewish MPs from the party, the signatories said that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn "has a long record of embracing antisemites as comrades." 

The upcoming general election is widely viewed in Britain as a further referendum on Brexit, with all parties making their particular stance on Britain's exit from the European Union central to their message to voters. 

But the signatories argued that concerns over antisemitism go deeper, right to the heart of the British character, turning this election into a pivotal point in British history as the nation decides what sort of country Britain is to be in the post-Brexit era. 

"Antisemitism is central to a wider debate about the kind of country we want to be," they wrote. "To ignore it because Brexit looms larger is to declare that anti-Jewish prejudice is a price worth paying for a Labour government. Which other community’s concerns are disposable in this way? Who would be next? 

"Opposition to racism cannot include surrender in the fight against antisemitism. Yet that is what it would mean to back Labour and endorse Mr. Corbyn for Downing Street. The path to a more tolerant society must encompass Britain’s Jews with unwavering solidarity."

The 24 signatories include authors John Le Carré, whose real name is David Cornwell, and William Boyd, both of whom have previously expressed anti-Brexit opinions. Labour is pledging a second referendum on Brexit as opinion on the matter continues to be split within the country. 

Former Labour politician and ex-chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Trevor Phillips was also among the group, who said they would not vote for Labour, as were historians Antony Beevor, Tom Holland and Dan Snow, and respected actor Simon Callow. 

"We endorse no party. However, we cannot in all conscience urge others to support a political party we ourselves will not. We refuse to vote Labour on 12 December," they wrote. 

Seven Labour MPs quit the party earlier this year in protest at the ongoing allegations of antisemitism. Among them was Jewish MP Luciana Berger, who has called for the results on the investigation into institutional antisemitism in Labour to be released before the election. 

Färöarna trotsar EU-byråkratin: Vill öppna ambassad i Jerusalem !

Färöarna fick i all tysthet.en ny regering den 31 augusti.

En impopulär socialistisk-radikal regering ersattes med

en treparti-koalition med två konservativa och ett krist-

demokratiskt parti.

Inte ens kolonialherren Danmark tycktes bry sig.

Förrän den nya regeringen meddelade sin första åtgärd:

Att öppna ett representationskontor i Jerusalem

och erkänna Jerusalem som Israels huvudstad...

Danska regeringen fick hicka och de antisemitiska 

EU-byråkraterna i Bryssel gick helt i spinn...

Danska regeringen har länge lovat att besittningarna 

Färöarna och Grönland ska få ökad självständighet på

nya områden, bl a i utrikespolitiken. När Färöarna nu tar 

ett radikalt och självständigt initiativ, som inte passar

makthavarna i Köpenhamn och Bryssel, kommer de att 

minnas det löftet ?

Det är framförallt den kristdemokratiske utrikesministern 

Jenis av Rana på Färöarna som driver frågan, men han 

har ett brett folkligt stöd från befolkningen på de 

starkt kristna öarna.

– Vi har representasjoner over hele verden, hvorfor kan 

vi ikke ha en i Israel. Israel er et av de mest utviklede 

land i verden, særlig innenfor teknologi, sier Jenis av

Rana, Færøyenes utenriksminister, til Sermitsiaq.ag.

Ikke desto mindre bekræfter den færøske udenrigsminister, 

Jenis av Rana, over for Politiken, at han fortsat arbejder på 

fuld tryk for at udføre Jerusalem-planen. I første omgang 

skal den kommende finanslov bevilge penge til planerne.

»Vi har anmodet om penge til, at vi kan åbne i september 

eller oktober 2020«, forklarer Jenis av Rana og tilføjer:

"Det är de facto ett erkännande 
av Jerusalem som Israels huvudstad !"

Jenis av Rana begrunder det færøske ønske med, at 

kristendommen står meget stærkt på Færøerne, og at 

»Færøerne elsker Israel«.

»Det er nok 90 procent af dem, jeg møder, der siger 

til mig, at det med ambassaden må du holde fast i«,

siger Rana og mener, at sagen kan teste Frederiksens ønsker 

om større udenrigspolitisk albuerum.

»Det er en mulighed, hun har for at vise, hvad hun mener

 med regeringens nye politik. Det er vi meget spændt på«.

Det blir ett spännande kraftprov mellan färingarna,

de gamla partierna i Danmark och den antisemitiska 

sumpen i Bryssel. 

En ledande dansk statsvetare kommenterar frågan med 

att det blir en lackmustest på om danska regeringen 

menat allvar med sina löften till Färöarna och Grönland.

i24 News i Israel rapporterade:

The Faroe Islands is set to form an official diplomatic 

mission in Jerusalem and recognize it as Israel’s capital,

Danish daily newspaper Politiken reported.

The foreign minister of the self-governing archipelago, 

belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, said that the 

Islands’ goal is to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem

in September or October 2020, as cited by an Israel 

National News (INN) report on Friday morning.

After the United States unilaterally broke international 

consensus and moved their embassy to Jerusalem in 

May 2018, only Guatemala and Honduras followed suit.

Själv säger jag: Lycka till, Färöarna !!

Krigsnytt 2 - onsdag

Uppdaterade nyheter:

Times of Israel

Arutz Sheva 


Jerusalem Post

#JiHadEnough

Krigsnytt från Israel

Så är en ny stor islamistisk attack mot Israel på gång.

Hamas och Islamiska Jihad har rustats upp ordentligt  av Iran och öser nu missiler över
Israel. Hittills idag över 190 st. De flesta har 
skjutits ned av luftvärnet Iron Dome. 

Självklart slår Israel tillbaka och har redan plockat bort flera terroristledare.
IDF förväntar sig en attack som varar några dagar.

Se minutaktuella nyheter på

Times of Israel

Jerusalem Post

Arutz Sheva 

YNET News

Twitter hashtagg #jiHadEnough


Fakta om Islamiska Jihad

SÄPO varnar för statsfinansierad islamism i Sverige

SVERIGE I ett pressmeddelande uppger Säkerhetspolisen, Säpo, att ”ett relativt stort antal” organisationer kopplade till våldsbejakande extremistmiljöer finansieras med statliga och kommunala bidrag. Enligt Säpo är problemet störst inom den islamistiska miljön.

– Vi ser i vårt operativa arbete att det finns individer med koppling till våldsbejakande extremism som är aktiva i organisationer som mottar offentliga medel. Det handlar om individer som använder organisationerna som plattform för att sprida och förankra sina budskap, säger Johan Olsson, operativ chef vid Säpo, i pressmeddelandet.

Det handlar om högerextremister, vänsterextremister och islamister som får bidrag genom organisationer som skolor, stiftelser och kulturföreningar. Utan att ha kunnat ta fram någon exakt summa uppskattar Säpo att det handlar om miljontals kronor.

– Tillgången till offentliga medel ökar legitimiteten och ger ekonomiska förutsättningar för plattformar där radikalisering kan ske, och det bidrar till tillväxten i extremistmiljöerna. Historiskt sett är det här ett problem i samtliga tre extremistmiljöer som Säkerhetspolisen följer, men vi ser just nu att problemet är störst i den våldsbejakande islamistiska miljön, säger Johan Olsson.

Säpo vill nu att det inrättas ett kunskapscentrum som kan ge stöd och kunskap till bidragsgivande myndigheter.

– För att minska tillväxten i extremistmiljöerna behöver samhället förhindra att organisationer som bidrar till radikalisering mottar offentliga medel. Staten ska inte finansiera verksamheter som undergräver vår demokrati genom att stödja våldsbejakande extremism, säger Johan Olsson.




 

Erdogans offensiv mot Västerlandet

Gatestone om Erdogans offensiv mot Västerlandet på många fronter:

Turkey: Erdogan's Campaign against the West by Giulio Meotti November 9, 2019 at 5:00 am "Europe is a cultural continent, not a geographical one... It is its culture that gives it a common identity. The roots that have formed it, that have permitted the formation of this continent, are those of Christianity. [...] In this sense, throughout history Turkey has always represented another continent, in permanent contrast with Europe. There were the wars against the Byzantine empire, the fall of Constantinople, the Balkan wars, and the threat against Vienna and Austria. That is why I think it would be an error to equate the two continents." — Pope Benedict XVI, Le Figaro Magazine, 2007. In Germany, Turkey controls 900 mosques out of a total of 2,400. These Islamic centers not only serve members of the Turkish diaspora, but also stop them from assimilating into German society. Speaking with Turks in Germany, Erdogan urged them not to assimilate, and called the assimilation of migrants in Europe "a crime against humanity." Erdogan has also been expanding Turkey beyond its borders – starting with Cyprus, the Greek Islands, Suakin Island (Sudan) and Syria. Mosques, migrants and the military are now Erdogan's new weapons in his threats against the West. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "has earned the title of Caliph" according to Turkish journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak. Erdogan is the head of NATO's second-largest army; he has spies throughout Europe through a network of mosques, associations and cultural centers; he has brought his country to the top of the world rankings for the number of imprisoned journalists and has shut the mouth of German comedians with the threat of legal action. By keeping migrants in Turkish refugee camps, he controls immigration to Europe. The worse Erdogan behaves, the greater his weight in Europe. In a 2015 meeting, Erdogan reportedly was "openly mocking" European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other "senior European leaders", as Juncker asked Erdogan to consider how he was treated "like a prince" at a Brussels summit. According to Stratfor's George Friedman: "Turkey now is the 17th largest economy in the world, it is larger than Saudi Arabia, it has an army and military capability that is probably the best in Europe, besides the UK and they could beat the Germans in an afternoon and the French in an hour if they showed up." Turkey's 2018 military budget increased to $19 billion, 24% higher than 2017, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Erdogan has placed Turkey's military -- once a bastion of Turkish nationalism and secularism -- under his political authority. While Europe is pacifist and refuses to invest in its own security or, like Germany, support NATO's budget, Turkey is belligerent. Ever since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) became Turkey's dominant political force in 2002, for Erdogan, elevating the public role of Islam has been more than a slogan. At public gatherings, the Turkish president has made the "rabia", a hand gesture of four fingers raised and the thumb hidden, to protest the overthrow of Egypt's Islamist then President Mohamed Morsi by Egypt's military. Erdogan evidently sees himself as a global Islamic leader with national elections to win. Through four million Turkish Muslims in Germany and vast communities in the Netherlands, France, Austria and beyond, Erdogan does indeed have enormous influence in Europe. As a leader of the Ummah [Islamic community], Erdogan challenged the leader of Christianity. In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a famous lecture at Germany's University of Regensburg, where he diagnosed Islam as inherently flawed. During his address, the Pope quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". The Muslim world erupted in anger. In an apology tour of Erdogan's Turkey, Benedict XVI reversed his firm position of just two years before and supported Turkey's joining the European Union. The year before becoming Pope, then-Cardinal Ratzinger had said that Turkey should never join the European Union. "Europe is a cultural continent, not a geographical one," Ratzinger said to Le Figaro. "It is its culture that gives it a common identity. The roots that have formed it, that have permitted the formation of this continent, are those of Christianity. [...] In this sense, throughout history Turkey has always represented another continent, in permanent contrast with Europe. There were the wars against the Byzantine empire, the fall of Constantinople, the Balkan wars, and the threat against Vienna and Austria. That is why I think it would be an error to equate the two continents." Ratzinger said the something similar in another instance, that "Turkey in Europe is a mistake": "The European continent has its own Christian soul and Turkey, which is not the Ottoman Empire in its extension but still constitutes its central core, has another soul, naturally to be respected". Both Benedict and Erdogan understood that Islamic Turkey has been the nemesis of Christian Europe -- from October 7, 1571, when Europe inflicted a catastrophic defeat on the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto, until September 12, 1683, when Europe again defeated the Turks at the outskirts of Vienna, the city they had historically tried to capture as a base for the conquest of the rest of Europe. It was in the half-century that followed the fall of Constantinople in 1453 -- the great Eastern Christian center, whose collapse marked the end of the Byzantine Empire -- that Christian Europe started to expel the Ottoman Turks from the continent. Now it seems as if Erdogan, by other means, is trying to pursue a historic Turkish revenge on Europe. Erdogan is seemingly using this ideology of conquest to cement his internal and external power. Erdogan's most powerful tool in his relations with Europe has been migrants. "You cried out when 50,000 refugees were at the Kapikule border", Erdogan said in 2016, referring to the border with Bulgaria. "You started asking what you would do if Turkey would open the gates. Look at me — if you go further, those border gates will be open. You should know that". Last month, during his military operation against the Kurds, Erdogan repeated the same threat: "Hey EU, wake up. I say it again: if you try to frame our operation there as an invasion, our task is simple: we will open the doors and send 3.6 million migrants to you." Europe, unable to control its own borders, is stalling. Since he came to power, Erdogan, in a building spree, has reportedly built 17,000 mosques (one fifth of Turkey's total). The largest is located in Camlica, the Asian shore of Istanbul. From Mali to Moscow, by way of Cambridge and Amsterdam, Erdogan is ceaselessly active in "diplomatizing" his religion. The "biggest mosque in the Balkans" is Turkish and is located in Tirana, Albania. "The largest in West Africa" was built by Erdogan in Accra, Ghana. "The largest in Central Asia" he built in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The "largest mosque in Europe" will be his new Turkish mosque in Strasbourg. He is planning to open Turkish schools in France. Erdogan has empowered Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), which now has 120,000 employees and a budget the size of twelve other ministries combined. In 2004, with 72,000 employees, the Diyanet was about half that size. This is the religious network with which Erdogan has a foot in European affairs. In Germany, Turkey controls 900 mosques out of a total of 2,400. These Islamic centers not only serve members of the Turkish diaspora, but also stop them from assimilating into German society. Speaking with Turks in Germany, Erdogan urged them not to assimilate, and called the assimilation of migrants in Europe "a crime against humanity". He apparently wants them to remain part of Turkey and the Ummah, the global Muslim community. Last year, Austrian authorities announced the closure of several Turkish-controlled mosques after "children in a Turkish-financed mosque re-enacting the first world war battle of Gallipoli." According to The Guardian: As many as 60 Turkish imams and their families face expulsion from Austria and seven mosques are due to be closed under a clampdown on what the government has called "political Islam". Austria's chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said the country could no longer put up with "parallel societies, political Islam and radicalisation," which he said had "no place in our country". Erdogan, however, knows that against Europe, numbers are on his side. "Make not three, but five children. Because you are the future of Europe," Erdogan told the Turkish diaspora. Eurostat, the official statistics agency of the European Union, shows that in terms of birthrates, Turkey is ahead of Europe. In one year in Turkey, more than 1.2 million children were born, while only 5.07 million children were born in all of the EU's 28 member states. What would Europe look like if 80 million Turks joined the EU? Already in 1994, when Erdogan was campaigning to become the mayor of Istanbul, he talked about "the second conquest of Istanbul". (The first conquest was the defeat of Christian Constantinople in 1453.) According to the exiled Turkish novelist Nedim Gürsel, Erdogan, when he was mayor of Istanbul, took it upon himself to commemorate the Turkish conquest of Constantinople. "Celebrating a conquest that took place more than five centuries ago may seem anachronistic, I would even say absurd, to European leaders", Gürsel writes. "For Erdogan, the capture of Constantinople is another pretext for challenging the West and giving back to its people its repressed pride". Last January, Erdogan chose the tomb of an Ottoman forebear to pledge a victory over Syria. "You will not turn Istanbul into Constantinople", Erdogan said after the Christchurch massacre. Erdogan is obsessed with history and takes it far more seriously than Europeans do. "We will change Hagia Sophia's name from a museum to a mosque", Erdogan said earlier this year. The Hagia Sophia, built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in AD 537, was for 900 years the greatest cathedral in Christendom – until 1453 when the Ottoman Empire defeated the Byzantines and took over Constantinople; then it became one of Islam's greatest mosques. In 1935, President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk turned it into a museum; Erdogan has pledged to turn it back into a mosque, and recited a Muslim prayer in the formerly Christian site. Erdogan has also been expanding Turkey beyond its borders – starting with Cyprus, the Greek Islands, Suakin Island (Sudan) and Syria. "We are a big family of 300 million people from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China", Erdogan said in a recent speech from Moldova. The borders of Turkey, he stated in Izmir, span "from Vienna to the shores of the Adriatic Sea, from East Turkistan (China's autonomous region of Xinjiang) to the Black Sea". To expand his country's influence, Erdogan is also using Turkey's military. "Not since the days of the Ottoman Empire has the Turkish military had such an extensive global footprint", the journalist Selcan Hacaoglu reports. The Turkish-American political scientist Soner Cagaptay titled his new book, Erdogan's Empire. Mosques, migrants and the military are now Erdogan's new weapons in his campaign against the West. Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.