The Daily Jot: Turkey and the Islamic State

The Daily Jot Daily reporting and analysis of current events from a biblical and prophetic perspective.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014 

Turkey and the Islamic State

The world is in turmoil over the Islamic State (IS) sweeping across Syria and Iraq. The goal of the IS is to establish a worldwide caliphate under Sharia law. It is apocalyptic in nature as Islam’s eschatology holds that the Mahdi, the 12th Imam, will rule over the earth for seven years, establishing the peace of Islam with Jesus Christ as the Mahdi’s prophet. This is a mirror opposite of Christian eschatology where the beast (antichrist) will rule seven years with a false prophet before Jesus returns. There is a war prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 where in 38:3, the Lord says, “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” Does this ancient prophecy have significance to IS and its supporters?

Turkey is where the ancient regions of Meshech and Tubal, formerly part of the Assyrian Empire, are located. Gomer and Togarmah, mentioned in Ezekiel 38:6 were also located in Turkey. Turkey is directly North of Israel. A link between Turkey and the Islamic State thus bears watching. With a little digging among foreign news sources, there is a connection between IS and Turkey. The Daily Jot reported previously that Turkish ambulances and hospitals were being used to treat IS militants wounded in battle. According to PressTV, the Iranian international English news network, four Turkish officers were arrested in Fallujah, Iraq for training IS militants. Persia, modern Iran, is also mentioned in the Ezekiel prophecy.

PressTV reports that German state television ARD revealed that IS is recruiting volunteers from an office in Istanbul. The office is run by IS-affiliated Turks and is helping ” foreign militants cross the Turkish border to join the terrorist group’s militants in Iraq and Syria. The report said that militants have been paid up to 400 euros, to join the battles.” World Tribune reports that political opposition to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is demanding answers about the IS training in Turkey. World Tribune wrote: “Opposition sources said ISIL has continued to operate in Turkey…They said ISIL was recruiting and training its fighters in remote areas of Turkey with the knowledge of the intelligence community.”

According to the World Tribune, Sezin Tanrikulu, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, said IS was operating several training camps, including one near Istanbul. Tanrikulu asked Interior Minister Efkan Ala, “Is the claim [correct] that the group alleged to have been the Turkish branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been allocated a camp ground or other places in Istanbul?” Tanrikulu also cited a video that showed alleged IS members training in Turkey. The online video was released by a Turkish website close to Al Qaida, and showed hundreds of purported IS fighters praying during Id Al Fitr on July 28. While IS may not be the final end time beast government, it bears watching because of its connection to Turkey and other actors mentioned in the Ezekiel prophecy.