Syrian rebels name batallion after former Turkish PM Erbakan

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet photo

A group of Syrian dissidents have declared themselves as students of Turkey’s first Islamist prime minister, the late Necmettin Erbakan, while publishing a video online calling for jihad, daily Hürriyet has reported.

The dissidents read passages of the Quran and called on other Syrians to join the holy fight.

The group accuses Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of collaborating with Israel as he has never fought against the Israeli state.

The group also accused Western states of supporting the al-Assad regime by keeping their silence.

The former leader of “Milli Görüş” (The National View), as well as the leader of a number of political parties, Erbakan was known for his Islamist and anti-Zionist stance.