On October 10, 2019, Turkish President Recep Erdoğan threatened to "open the gates and send millions of refugees to Europe." Who are these millions of refugees Erdogan speaks of?
Small boats filled with "migrants" have been leaving from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya -- some times daily -- carrying Muslims from various countries to the shores of Europe. But, along with these small boats leaving from Africa, Turkey moves "refugees" to Europe on large ships and ferry boats.
The first massive waves of “refugees” departing from Turkey began in 2015. These "refugees" were immediately placed on trains and buses, which were well organized and waiting for these refugees, and which took the “refugees” into France, Germany, and elsewhere into Europe. It was a Haj-like invasion of fighting age male Muslims -- the majority of whom had no passports or ID of any kind.
It was deliberate that they carried no I.D. -- you were to believe that these were "Syrian" refugees.
Western media showed relentless videos of pitiful looking people waiting at the Syrian-Turkish border allegedly fleeing Syria. This media onslaught was meant to fool you into thinking they were all "Syrian."
But who were they?
In June 2014, a reputable research group, the Soufan Group, reported that approximately 12,000 foreign fighters from 81 different countries went to Syria to fight with ISIS. Eighteen months later, in December 2015, another Soufan report stated that the number of foreign fighters had more than doubled the following year -- 31,000 people traveled to join ISIS from 86 different countries.(1)
Also in 2015, the US State Department stated that approximately 30,000 foreign fighters joined ISIS and came from at least 100 different countries.(2)
Syria reported at least 360,000 foreign fighters arrived in Syria from 93 different countries in 2014-2015. I believe Syria's stats are accurate.(b) But the point is, no matter how you figure the numbers, an incredibly large number of Muslims from around the world -- from around 100 different countries -- went to fight with ISIS every year since the war for an Islamic State in Syria began.
Considering that there were ten other major Islamist armies besides ISIS fighting in Syria, including al-Qaeda and the Turkish-Saudi coalition army called Jaish al-Fateh, this means there could easily have been much larger numbers of foreign fighters in Syria.(3)
Where did Turkey and Saudi Arabia get their fighters for Jaish al-Fateh, their coalition army in Syria?
The Muslim Brotherhood are established in at least 70 countries.
Al-Qaeda's home base is in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Al-Qaeda has larges bases in Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. Al-Qaeda also has a large presence in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and Burkina Faso. Al-Qaeda is also very active in Uganda, Kenya, Chad, CAR, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau.
Al-Qaeda's main source of funding is Saudi Arabia.
Since Erdogan became Prime Minister, then President of Turkey, the International Muslim Brotherhood has held all of their international conferences in Turkey. Turkey is a major source of funding for the Muslim Brotherhood internationally.
Al-Qaeda is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and since its creation, has worked in tandem with Muslim Brotherhood in several countries.
Going back to Turkey's use of large ships and ferries to send "refugees" to Europe starting in 2015 -- these were Islamists who had traveled to Syria to fight for the various Islamist armies of ISIS, al-Qaeda and the ten others, including the Turkish-Saudi coalition army called Jaish al-Fateh.
Trained fighters left Syria via Turkey to Europe. They received "refugee" status, even though they had no I.D. or documents.
The top two countries who had the most number of Islamist fighters who went to Syria are Morocco and Tunisia.(a)
Turkey is also on the top 10 providers of mercenary fighters to Syria, but worse, Turkey has the most fighters who returned home in the greatest numbers. This means it's easy for those fighters to make their way to Europe on a "refugee" ship from Turkey.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia and Turkey created their coalition army, an army with several divisions so it could spread itself throughout Syria. Turkey and Saudi Arabia funded and armed this army, Jaish al-Fateh, and supplied it with endless Islamist mercenaries from around 100 countries. The U.S. participated in the arming and training of these fighters (see: U.S. trained and armed).
There was a non-stop inflow of new fighters for Jaish al-Fateh, but also for al-Qaeda and ISIS via the Turkish border.
Starting in 2014, the Syrian-Turkish border crossings were controlled by the Turkish-Saudi army of Jaish al-Fateh. Four other border crossings were controlled by ISIS (see map below).
Jaish al-Fateh and ISIS controlled the border crossings. Turkey funnelled those people out as "refugees".
10% of those who joined ISIS in 2015 were women.(1) ISIS members, including women and children, are taught suicide bombing as part of their training. According to ISIS social media, training women and children was the major focus throughout 2015 and 2016.
I’ve reported on the “Caliphate Cubs” on several occasions.(4) These children are not Syrian. They are Chechyan, Afghani, Pakistani, Algerian and Tunisian -- whose Islamist parents sent them to ISIS camps. When these Caliphate Cub training camps first started up, the goal stated on ISIS social media was to have "future generations" trained and ready to fight in the West.
Additionally, there are ISIS training camps in Turkey, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sinai, to name a few.
The "refugees" Erdogan speaks of are waiting for the word to make their trek to Europe.
Map: ISIS controlled four border crossings and Jaish al-Fateh controlled one.
The first massive waves of “refugees” departing from Turkey began in 2015. These "refugees" were immediately placed on trains and buses, which were well organized and waiting for these refugees, and which took the “refugees” into France, Germany, and elsewhere into Europe. It was a Haj-like invasion of fighting age male Muslims -- the majority of whom had no passports or ID of any kind.
It was deliberate that they carried no I.D. -- you were to believe that these were "Syrian" refugees.
Western media showed relentless videos of pitiful looking people waiting at the Syrian-Turkish border allegedly fleeing Syria. This media onslaught was meant to fool you into thinking they were all "Syrian."
But who were they?
In June 2014, a reputable research group, the Soufan Group, reported that approximately 12,000 foreign fighters from 81 different countries went to Syria to fight with ISIS. Eighteen months later, in December 2015, another Soufan report stated that the number of foreign fighters had more than doubled the following year -- 31,000 people traveled to join ISIS from 86 different countries.(1)
Also in 2015, the US State Department stated that approximately 30,000 foreign fighters joined ISIS and came from at least 100 different countries.(2)
Syria reported at least 360,000 foreign fighters arrived in Syria from 93 different countries in 2014-2015. I believe Syria's stats are accurate.(b) But the point is, no matter how you figure the numbers, an incredibly large number of Muslims from around the world -- from around 100 different countries -- went to fight with ISIS every year since the war for an Islamic State in Syria began.
Considering that there were ten other major Islamist armies besides ISIS fighting in Syria, including al-Qaeda and the Turkish-Saudi coalition army called Jaish al-Fateh, this means there could easily have been much larger numbers of foreign fighters in Syria.(3)
Where did Turkey and Saudi Arabia get their fighters for Jaish al-Fateh, their coalition army in Syria?
The Muslim Brotherhood are established in at least 70 countries.
Al-Qaeda's home base is in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Al-Qaeda has larges bases in Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. Al-Qaeda also has a large presence in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and Burkina Faso. Al-Qaeda is also very active in Uganda, Kenya, Chad, CAR, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau.
Al-Qaeda's main source of funding is Saudi Arabia.
Since Erdogan became Prime Minister, then President of Turkey, the International Muslim Brotherhood has held all of their international conferences in Turkey. Turkey is a major source of funding for the Muslim Brotherhood internationally.
Al-Qaeda is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and since its creation, has worked in tandem with Muslim Brotherhood in several countries.
Going back to Turkey's use of large ships and ferries to send "refugees" to Europe starting in 2015 -- these were Islamists who had traveled to Syria to fight for the various Islamist armies of ISIS, al-Qaeda and the ten others, including the Turkish-Saudi coalition army called Jaish al-Fateh.
Trained fighters left Syria via Turkey to Europe. They received "refugee" status, even though they had no I.D. or documents.
The top two countries who had the most number of Islamist fighters who went to Syria are Morocco and Tunisia.(a)
Turkey is also on the top 10 providers of mercenary fighters to Syria, but worse, Turkey has the most fighters who returned home in the greatest numbers. This means it's easy for those fighters to make their way to Europe on a "refugee" ship from Turkey.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia and Turkey created their coalition army, an army with several divisions so it could spread itself throughout Syria. Turkey and Saudi Arabia funded and armed this army, Jaish al-Fateh, and supplied it with endless Islamist mercenaries from around 100 countries. The U.S. participated in the arming and training of these fighters (see: U.S. trained and armed).
There was a non-stop inflow of new fighters for Jaish al-Fateh, but also for al-Qaeda and ISIS via the Turkish border.
Starting in 2014, the Syrian-Turkish border crossings were controlled by the Turkish-Saudi army of Jaish al-Fateh. Four other border crossings were controlled by ISIS (see map below).
Jaish al-Fateh and ISIS controlled the border crossings. Turkey funnelled those people out as "refugees".
10% of those who joined ISIS in 2015 were women.(1) ISIS members, including women and children, are taught suicide bombing as part of their training. According to ISIS social media, training women and children was the major focus throughout 2015 and 2016.
I’ve reported on the “Caliphate Cubs” on several occasions.(4) These children are not Syrian. They are Chechyan, Afghani, Pakistani, Algerian and Tunisian -- whose Islamist parents sent them to ISIS camps. When these Caliphate Cub training camps first started up, the goal stated on ISIS social media was to have "future generations" trained and ready to fight in the West.
Additionally, there are ISIS training camps in Turkey, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sinai, to name a few.
The "refugees" Erdogan speaks of are waiting for the word to make their trek to Europe.
Map: ISIS controlled four border crossings and Jaish al-Fateh controlled one.
Cheri Berens' book, An American Woman Living in Egypt: Life during an Islamic takeover is available at Amazon
Read the Introduction to Cheri's book
Read the Jacket Back
Read the Introduction to Cheri's book
Read the Jacket Back
References
(1) Soufan Group research study: http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TSG_ForeignFightersUpdate_FINAL.pdf
(2) State Department stats, as well as from Russia, that ISIS alone has at least 30,000 fighters in Syria: https://www.rt.com/usa/345269-40000-foreign-terrorists-syria/
(3) For detailed descriptions of the top ten Islamist terror groups in Syria CLICK HERE or go to http://www.cheriberens.net/syrian-opposition-groups-defined.html
(4) Jihadi Juniors and Caliphate Cubs CLICK HERE
Notes
(a) The top ten foreign nationalities who have gone to Syria to fight for Islam are: Morocco, Tunisia, Western Europe, Former Soviet Union (Chechnya, Ukraine, Azerbaijan), Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Southeast Asia.
(b) Why the numbers of foreign fighters are at least 100,000 and maybe as high as 360,000:
1. Many governments do not release estimates or travel documentation of the number of their citizens who have gone to Syria or Iraq.
2. For some countries, the number may reflect all those who have gone, while others subtract those who have died or returned; for example, those who left from Europe, as many as 30% returned, and those numbers are omitted.
3. Some countries do not include women and children.
4. In all cases it is likely that more have gone than the relevant government is prepared to admit.
5. Stats from the Soufan Group, data from 2014 and 2015, did not include the number of fighters that went to Syria from 2011-2013; hence, the number of 30,000 is extremely lower than actuality of fighters in Syria and Iraq in totality.
6. Countries like Chechnya do not give the numbers of children who are in the training camps, including the Caliphate Cubs, in which Chechnyans enter their children as young as three years old.
7. Many Islamist fighters cross into Syria unnoticed or illegally from Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and are not counted.
8. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any other country in the world; a population of approximately 202.9 million Muslims. The Indonesian government did not give stats for these reports. But there have been several instances that allude to the fact that Indonesians support the idea of terrorism as a means to spread Islam and Islamic Law.
Indonesia has experienced many episodes of Islamic terrorism and jihadist movements since declaring independence in 1945. After proclaiming an “Islamic State” in 1949, the organization Darul Islam denounced the Indonesian state as apostate and staged a series of armed rebellions in the 1950s and 1960s before moving underground.
Daryl Islam then split into numerous groups, including Laskar Jihad, which led a campaign against Christians throughout Indonesia. Another offshoot group, Jemaah Islamiyah, conducted the 2002 Bali bombings. Indonesian jihadists have also gone to Afghanistan as mujahideen.
With a population of 202,900,000 Muslims, a certain percentage of those would most certainly support ISIS and go to Syria, especially considered the Islamic State's slick recruitment Internet magazine and social media propaganda sites which are very appealing to young Muslims -- even in America.
* Much of the information about Indonesia came from: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/isis-indonesia-foreign-fighters/422403/
(1) Soufan Group research study: http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TSG_ForeignFightersUpdate_FINAL.pdf
(2) State Department stats, as well as from Russia, that ISIS alone has at least 30,000 fighters in Syria: https://www.rt.com/usa/345269-40000-foreign-terrorists-syria/
(3) For detailed descriptions of the top ten Islamist terror groups in Syria CLICK HERE or go to http://www.cheriberens.net/syrian-opposition-groups-defined.html
(4) Jihadi Juniors and Caliphate Cubs CLICK HERE
Notes
(a) The top ten foreign nationalities who have gone to Syria to fight for Islam are: Morocco, Tunisia, Western Europe, Former Soviet Union (Chechnya, Ukraine, Azerbaijan), Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Southeast Asia.
(b) Why the numbers of foreign fighters are at least 100,000 and maybe as high as 360,000:
1. Many governments do not release estimates or travel documentation of the number of their citizens who have gone to Syria or Iraq.
2. For some countries, the number may reflect all those who have gone, while others subtract those who have died or returned; for example, those who left from Europe, as many as 30% returned, and those numbers are omitted.
3. Some countries do not include women and children.
4. In all cases it is likely that more have gone than the relevant government is prepared to admit.
5. Stats from the Soufan Group, data from 2014 and 2015, did not include the number of fighters that went to Syria from 2011-2013; hence, the number of 30,000 is extremely lower than actuality of fighters in Syria and Iraq in totality.
6. Countries like Chechnya do not give the numbers of children who are in the training camps, including the Caliphate Cubs, in which Chechnyans enter their children as young as three years old.
7. Many Islamist fighters cross into Syria unnoticed or illegally from Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and are not counted.
8. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any other country in the world; a population of approximately 202.9 million Muslims. The Indonesian government did not give stats for these reports. But there have been several instances that allude to the fact that Indonesians support the idea of terrorism as a means to spread Islam and Islamic Law.
Indonesia has experienced many episodes of Islamic terrorism and jihadist movements since declaring independence in 1945. After proclaiming an “Islamic State” in 1949, the organization Darul Islam denounced the Indonesian state as apostate and staged a series of armed rebellions in the 1950s and 1960s before moving underground.
Daryl Islam then split into numerous groups, including Laskar Jihad, which led a campaign against Christians throughout Indonesia. Another offshoot group, Jemaah Islamiyah, conducted the 2002 Bali bombings. Indonesian jihadists have also gone to Afghanistan as mujahideen.
With a population of 202,900,000 Muslims, a certain percentage of those would most certainly support ISIS and go to Syria, especially considered the Islamic State's slick recruitment Internet magazine and social media propaganda sites which are very appealing to young Muslims -- even in America.
* Much of the information about Indonesia came from: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/isis-indonesia-foreign-fighters/422403/