Erdogan's South Asia ambitions coming under the spotlight

Turkey has a plan to expand its influence among Muslims in south Asia, especially in India, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduces himself as a defender of Muslims around the world.

According to the Indian government, the Turkish government had bankrolled Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for years.

It added that it succeeded in making a complete review of this issue.

Erdogan wants to revive his presumed Ottoman caliphate by 2023 when his country marks it’s the 100th anniversary of becoming a republic. He wants to become the spiritual leadership of Muslims around the world.

The Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies debated this issue recently.

It says Erdogan has plans for changing the map of the Middle East by reviving the Ottoman Empire.

The center added that Erdogan knows well that Arab states would strongly oppose his caliphate ambitions.

This is why he pins his hopes now on Muslim majority non-Arab states, such as Iran, India, Pakistan and Malaysia.

Erdogan also has grand expectations as far as the Muslims of the Sub-Indian Continent are concerned, given historical relations between India and Turkey, the center said.

Erdogan's dubious relations with terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and ISIS, came to light recently.

The Dutch intelligence said ISIS uses Turkey as a strategic base to regroup and prepare attacks against European states.

Strategic goals

Erdogan wants his country to become a religious, cultural and political leader of Muslims in South Asia.

To achieve that goal, he offers scholarships for Muslim students from South Asia in his country. He also bankrolls Islamist organizations in India.

The Turkish president also sends money and arms to the Islamic Group in Bangladesh, whose leaders face war crimes charges.

In India, extremists work to form a base of support for the Turkish president. They try to create this base among Muslims across India.