Will You Open a New Page in History with Democracy?

News:

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended his party's “32nd Consultation and Evaluation Meeting” in Ankara-Kızılcahamam. Erdoğan said:

“As of yesterday, the 47-year-long scourge of terror has inshallah entered the process of ending. Türkiye has started as of yesterday to close a long, painful page full of tears. Let us all remember that today is a new day. Today, a new page has opened up in history. Today, the doors of a great Türkiye, a strong Türkiye and of the Century of Türkiye have opened up wide… We will establish a commission in the Grand National Assembly and begin discussing the legal requirements of the process... We will work together as the AK Party, MHP, and DEM delegation to shape this process and carry it forward into the future’’. (Agencies, 12/7/2025)

Comment:

We are witnessing a period in which political interests, personal gains, and the brutality of the desire for domination have prevailed over the faith, values, and morals of the Ummah. The indirect and covert alliance between the AK Party, MHP, and DEM Party that has taken shape in the current political atmosphere in Türkiye should not be seen merely as a political maneuver or tactical move. The cycle of interests and benefits of political parties operating under democracy is, in a sense, their raison d'être. The coming together of those who represent the extreme points, who were once considered incompatible, and their cooperation along the same lines is a natural consequence of the "let bygones be bygones" principle. Indeed, the fact that leaders who have been insulting each other with vulgar language in public for years, are now part of a common alliance, and the fact that they now consider a party they once regarded as the political wing of terrorism to be part of their own alliance, is, of course, a form of unity that could only occur in a corrupt system like democracy.

On July 12, President Erdoğan's statement that “we will refine the next process together with the AK Party, MHP, and DEM Party alliance” is actually a confession of many political calculations. President Erdoğan is a leader who has instilled the idea — the end justifies the means in politics — into the very fabric of his politics. To achieve these goals, he has made everything — faith, sacred values, spirituality, nation, homeland, and anything else you can think of — politically expendable. Erdoğan, who reads the codes of democratic politics very well, has managed to maintain his power even during periods when public support began to wane.

While he strengthened his politics through Turkish nationalism by siding with the MHP in the Trench incidents, today he is trying to maintain his power by expanding his alliance front by siding with the DEM Party against the CHP. The People's Alliance, which is far from having the necessary number of votes for the new constitutional amendment, will make up for this deficiency with the DEM Party on certain issues.

It is clear that democratic parties cannot represent Muslims in any way. A system where having no principles is the only principle, where interests are placed above all else, and where the desire for power tramples on all values — cannot represent us. These alliances, which are being legitimized under the name of public interest, serve the interests of party leaders, not Muslims. The democratic, secular, Kemalist system that has been implemented for a century, is the source of the problems and cannot be part of the solution. Since this system is the source of the problems and the actor of the lack of solutions, there is no point in distracting the people with the results. There is nothing more absurd than thinking that democracy will open a new page in history. The system that has been implemented for a century has brought us to where we are today. Great goals and strong states emerge from firm creeds, and that is the creed of Islam. If we act on the ideas and solutions that emerge from this creed, the course of history will change. We must move beyond choosing the lesser of two evils. It is time to establish a system that will demonstrate and sustain justice, law, and rights in every aspect of life — not just in words, but in actions. Otherwise, as Imam Ghazali said, “Alliances of convenience made with oppressors serve not Islam, but Satan”. The System of Islam, which does not distract the people with dirty alliances and does not waste the energy of the Ummah for personal interests, is our only way out.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ahmet SAPA