By Ali Abo Rezeg

ANKARA

Head of the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), Ali Qara Daghi, has extolled the Ottoman role in spreading Islam and protecting Palestine.

Qara Daghi’s praises came in a late Wednesday tweet in which he also indirectly criticized UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan for recently retweeting an image disparaging the Ottomans.

“The Ottomans have the honor of having established a great Muslim civilization and spreading Islam across the world,” Qara Daghi said.

The head of the largest umbrella organization for Muslim scholars, Qara Daghi went on to assert that the Ottomans had striven to safeguard “the blessed land of Palestine” and had “not given up a single grain of sand thanks to Sultan Abdul Hamid II”.

He added: “But during the period of Arab nationalism, Palestine -- including Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque -- was occupied [by the Zionists].”

On Saturday, Al Nahyan retweeted an image suggesting that celebrated Ottoman army commander Fahreddin Pasha, who had served as governor of Medina from 1916 to 1919, had committed abuses against the local population and had even pilfered their property.

Replying to the offensive post, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday tweeted: “It’s no coincidence that those who take pride in keeping the company of tyrants -- at a time when Muslims are under violent attack -- would target Fahreddin Pasha."