Zekeriya Kurşun All daily Yeni Şafak Columns

05.04.2025, Saturday
14:55

Zekeriya Kurşun

83 columns listing

Should we be happy about Biden’s election win?

09 November 2020, Monday

I went through my past columns and took a look at what I wrote about Donald Trump. I realized that I was never optimistic concerning him. I criticized him, and even likened him to a tightrope walker. I found that I was not mistaken. At this point, I pondered whether I should be pleased that he lost the election. However, I realized that there is nothing to be pleased about. What good would it do to celebrate in a collapsing world order, while the U.S. established order, which wants to take the w

Boycotting Turkish products: Saudi Arabia’s economic suicide attempt

20 October 2020, Tuesday

Echoes of dissent first came from Riyadh, soon after social media websites launched and ran a campaign to boycott Turkish products, so an atmosphere of hesitation reigned and opinions were split on those very same websites as comparisons began to be drawn between imported Turkish products and those manufactured locally. Authors, cartoonists, satirists and others also weighed in, and secret instructions were issued to customs services from official authorities to restrict the flow of imported Tur

Why do the Saudis have a bone to pick with me?

27 July 2020, Monday

Saudi Arabia, which has been utilizing my writings for years as a resource in its academies, has now launched a campaign against me. When I saw the first title of the series of articles by author Talal al-Tureyfi, I was excited, thinking that I was going to have a debate about history on equal terms. But then, when I read the delusions that even a second-year high school student could not have written, my enthusiasm waned. The fact that articles were simultaneously published in Arabic by Asharq

Skulls and bones: Algeria’s martyrs and France’s message to North Africa

06 July 2020, Monday

Turkey taking initiative in the Mediterranean in cooperation with Libya’s legitimate administration, the Government of National Accord (GNA), shifted the balances in North Africa. This not only triggered a political process that will long continue to be debated but also led to the revival of the region’s historical memory. In articles I wrote following the deal between Turkey and Libya, I had said that this would be perceived as a challenge to the world, and activate anti-Turkey lobbies.Currentl

Solidarity and soft power in the Muslim world: in conversation with historian Dawood Auleear, Jalal Ferdi

08 June 2020, Monday

What do we know about the island of Mauritius? Have we ever heard about Jalal Ferdi? What is it that unites a small island on the southwest of the Indian Ocean and a Turkish educator who lived through the last periods of the Ottoman Empire and the first years of the Republican era?Do you recall Ottam Empire’s Cemiyet-i Hayriye-i İslamiye (Benevolent Society of Islam), a branch of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa (Special Organization of the Ottoman Empire), which was founded by the Unionists? In one of my

Peaceful coexistence: how the Ottomans ruled Jerusalem

04 June 2020, Thursday

I am obliged to write this column due to a report published in Israeli media a few days ago. According to the report, new meetings have been launched between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Jordan about the future of Jerusalem. Considering the situation that has emerged in recent years and especially the normalization policy led by Mohammed bin Salman regarding relations between Israel and Gulf countries, this report has no value. However, attempts made during the same p

Refuting Saudi claims: Ottoman Empire, the ‘Protector of the Two Noble Sanctuaries’

07 May 2020, Thursday

In an article I wrote for this column shortly before self-isolation, I had mentioned the possibility that this year Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, might be canceled. Current developments indicate this is where we’re headed. It is a fact that the concern of the Islamic world and Muslims that they may not be able to fulfill their compulsory act of worship this year is a greater threat than the coronavirus. The lack of any serious preparation in this regard shows that

How the Ottoman Empire, Turks protected Libya from foreign threats

20 April 2020, Monday

Silent affairs are taking place in Libya. The operations conducted by forces affiliated with Libya’s legitimate Government of National Accord (GNA) on al-Watiya and Tarhuna bases, which are currently under Khalifa Haftar’s control, are ongoing. The inadequacy of the 9th Brigade, which Haftar established in 2019 as an attack base in the strategic Tarhuna region, has started to shift the balances on the ground with the latest efforts of the GNA thanks to technical support from Turkey. The 9th Brig

The Kaaba’s cover (kiswah) has also been quarantined

06 April 2020, Monday

All hell is breaking loose because of a virus that has shortly became a part of our lives even though it was not on our agenda. More precisely, a doomsday rehearsal is being performed. Reports, articles, expert opinions and, of course, conspiracy theories are bountiful. The origin of the virus, whether it was produced as a biological weapon and, most importantly when it will leave our lives are the questions occupying everyone's minds, as if it will be any help in eliminating it.We are being pre

Turkey must show the world it is self-sufficient!

02 April 2020, Thursday

The responsibility of being human necessitates that we pay attention to and care for all our kind and, if we have the means to palliate grief anywhere in the world, share it. Of course, our awareness of being human requires that we suffer for all of humanity. Despite this, I had concluded my last article saying, “It is time to focus on Turkey.” This is very much like the rule on flights that in the time of necessity, you are required to put the oxygen mask on yourself first and then on your chil