Algeria’s Kouloughli model: Erdogan exploits Turkish minorities in his vicious caliphate scheme
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a vast appetite
to achieve his Ottoman dreams at the expense of others, which he does not tire
of declaring and emphasizing on every occasion. The illusion of restoring the
defunct Ottoman Empire continues to push Erdogan to attack neighboring countries,
using Turkish minorities as a pressure card in his malicious scheme.
Algerian Kouloughlis
During the Ottoman rule of the countries of the Arab
Maghreb, the Turkish Janissary soldiers married local women in Algeria, and
tribes were produced from these marriages, which still exist today, called the Kouloughli
tribes. These Ottoman Turks were all necessarily of Turkish nationality, but
many came from the Balkan countries, Circassia, Bosnia and Greece, along with
ethnicities of Eastern Europe, which were the striking force of the Ottoman
armies.
These tribes were formed from the offspring of mixed
marriages between these Ottoman men and the local women in Tunisia, Libya and
Algeria. Turkish statistics confirm the existence of more than 2 million
Algerians of Turkish origin, as there are more than 200 families belonging to
the Kouloughli tribes, constituting more than 5% of the Algerian population. They
are concentrated in the city of M'sila, Medea and other coastal cities. Erdogan
is exploiting them to implement his malicious plans after realizing the
difficulty of implementing his threats to the military presence in Libya.
Erdogan tried to take advantage of the protest movement
witnessed in Algeria since February 22, 2019 by urging the Algerian Turks to
cause unrest and sedition, but the Algerian street expelled them from their
demonstrations demanding political reforms.
At the same that Erdogan was adopting a courteous policy
with former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, he was opening a secret
and intense line of communication with the Algerian Turks, as well as the
Brotherhood-affiliated Movement of Society for Peace (MSP).
Because Erdogan was unable to cross the Mediterranean to
land his forces in Libya, he has tried to attract new allies in his offensive
on Libyan territory following the international rejection of his policies and
his desire to occupy Libya. However, Erdogan did not take it into account that
his ambitions would clash with the doctrine of the Algerian army, which is
clear in rejecting any military participation outside its borders. But he may
try during his intensive negotiations with them to gain their political support
for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez
al-Sarraj, or at least not to oppose Turkey’s interference in Libya, especially
since any improper behavior could cause an adverse reaction from Algeria, which
sees Libya as its backyard.
Consequently, any foreign military presence in Libya
will be seen by Algeria as being directed against it. Indeed, Algeria will soon
join the coalition opposed to the GNA ruling in Tripoli, for fear of the
Turkish military presence, in addition to the fear of the Kouloughli tribes securing
Turkish influence in the country. Turkey had implemented this same scenario in
Cyprus, which indicates that this is a policy adopted by Turkey towards
countries located in its spheres of influence.
Besieging Cairo
The Turkish President's attempts to seize areas of influence
in various Arab countries aim at closing in on Egypt by being present on its
borders, whether from the side of Sudan, Palestine or the countries of North
Africa. This can be seen as a miserable attempt to besiege Egypt by encroaching
on its borders in retaliation for Cairo’s opposition to the Brotherhood’s malicious
plans. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has stood in the way of Turkey’s
plan to extend its influence in the Middle East and its regional project to
acquire economic zones in the eastern Mediterranean, especially following the
findings of huge gas reserves, including the Zohr field, in Egypt’s backyard.
