Erdogan slams UAE over ‘ancestors’ retweet

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan leapt to the defence of an Ottoman military commander on Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates foreign minister retweeted accusations that Ottoman forces looted the holy city of Medina during World War One.

According to the report by Reuters, Erdogan appeared to be responding to a tweet shared on Saturday by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahayan, which said Ottoman troops led by Fakhreddin Pasha stole money and manuscripts from Medina in 1916 and of committing crimes against the local Arab population during his rule.  

The tweet also said Turkish forces abducted residents of Medina and took them to Istanbul.

These are Erdogan‘s ancestors, and their history with Arab Muslims,” read the tweet, originally posted by someone identifying themselves as an Iraqi dentist from Germany.

Medina, now part of Saudi Arabia, was part of the Ottoman territory for centuries until the empire’s collapse at the end of World War One. The city, which houses the Prophet Muhammad's tomb and is revered by Muslims, was ruled by the Ottomans until they were defeated by the British and their Arab allies in World War I.

Ottoman governor Fahreddin Pasha, administered over Medina between 1916-1919.

In a speech to local administrators on Wednesday, Erdogan said Fahreddin Pasha had not stolen from Medina or its people, but strived to protect the city and its occupants during a time of war.

Those miserable people who are delirious enough to shamelessly and tirelessly say Erdogan’s ancestors stole sacred items from there and brought them to Istanbul – it was to protect them from the people that came to invade, he said.

While Fahreddin Pasha was defending Medina, you miserable ones who slander us, where were your ancestors?

The United Arab Emirates, a close US ally, sees Erdogan‘s Islamist-rooted ruling party as a friend of Islamist forces which the UAE opposes across the Arab world.