Who is the leader of the Muslim world? Egyptians say ‘Turkey’ all the way

Despite all the smear campaigns launched against Turkey in Egypt under the administration of putschist Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the people of Egypt continue to stand by Turkey and have deemed Erdoğan the leader of the Muslim world.

A poll conducted with the participation of 1,047 Egyptians by Turkey-based research company Areda Survey yielded quite the shocking results and shed light on how the people of Egypt really feel towards Turkey.

When asked, “Who is the leader of the Muslim world besides your own country?”, 31,4 percent of respondents answered “Turkey,” with Saudi Arabia lagging far behind with only 10,4 percent.

Egypt and Turkey are at loggerheads on a slew of subjects, including Turkey’s role in Libya, Egypt’s support of Israel normalizing relations with the United Arab Emirates and the maritime dispute in the East Mediterranean.

Egypt, alongside the United Arab Emirates and Russia, backs Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, who abandoned an offensive on the capital after Turkey stepped up support for Tripoli.

The UAE is the third Arab country to forge ties with Israel in more than 70 years, after Egypt and Jordan in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

In the poll which was conducted between Aug. 20 and Aug. 27, only 40 percent said they were happy with the country’s current administration; 41,6 percent explicitly said they were unhappy with it and 18,4 percent claimed they were “unsure.”

The poll showed that 48,5 percent would refuse to vote for the current regime if elections were to be held, while 35 percent said they would re-elect Sisi; and 16,5 percent said they were “undecided.”

In July 2013, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, flanked by military leaders, announced the removal of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in a televized broadcast. On June 8, 2014 Sisi was sworn into office as Egypt’s president after he got 97 percent of vote, leaving behind Hamdeen Sabahi.

The survey also revealed the extent of Egyptians’ displeasure with the administration of the economy as over 50 percent of participants said, “Energy resources are being used for the own personal interests of the regime,” while 38,1 percent said they believed resources were being used in the interests of the public. Eight percent also said, “Our economic resources are under the control of the West.

Despite all of Sisi’s threats aimed at Turkey, Egyptians have once more revealed their adoration for Turkey. After 31,4 percent stated that Turkey is the leader of the Muslim world, and15,3 percent said they would even go to war and fight for Turkey.

When asked “Which country would you like to live in?,” 45,6 percent of participants replied “in my own country”; 19,3 percent said in European countries; and 9,1 percent said they’d like to move to Turkey.

According to the results provided by Egyptian participants in the poll, those surveyed inside the country indicated that they don’t feel they’re free, as 53% of respondents answered the question “do you think you’re living freely?” with a “No,” while 37,3% said they thought they have freedoms. Meanwhile, 9,1% were undecided on this question.

Another shocking result from the survey was the answer to the question “Would you take part in a movement asking for democracy?” As respondents were split almost evenly with 30,3% saying that they would take part in such a movement, while 38% and 31,7% said they would not or were undecided respectively.

Asked about what they would do should a civil war erupt in the case of a nationwide leadership crisis, 46,8% said they would “fight to protect their country,” while 29% indicated that they are “willing to fight to topple the current administration,” while the remaining 24% signaled their willingness to “move to a neighboring country.”

At least 817 protesters were killed by Egyptian security forces, according to Human Rights Watch, which described the killings as “systematic” and “one of the world’s largest” in a single day in modern history. Opposition figures put the death toll at around 2,000.

Despite numerous calls for justice by human rights groups, supporters and the families of the victims, justice has not yet been served. It is believed that since the regime considers the protesters “terrorists,” it has no incentive to grant them rights.