The murderous terrorist attack in Istanbul last week tragically -- ironically -- took place at the end of a successful day for Turkish diplomacy. That morning, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan touted finalizing the reconciliation deal with Israel and resolving Ankara's dispute with Moscow. That afternoon, the Islamic State group proved it would have the last word. Days later, with Turkey still licking its wounds, Islamic State struck again, this time in Bangladesh, a Muslim nation. Jordan has also found itself in the jihadi group's crosshairs, and over the past few weeks, Islamic State carried out two deadly attacks targeting Jordanian security forces. The attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh and Jordan are but another reminder of the threat Islamic State poses not only to the West, including Israel, but first and foremost to the Muslim world that bore it. A look at the dry numbers clearly shows that since its inception, Islamic State has killed more Muslims than Westerners -- a small surprise given how the group's dogma states that Muslims who fail to follow in its "true" path are worse than Jews or Christian infidels, and therefore must be eradicated. The latest string of Islamic State attacks must serve as a wake-up call for the Muslim world. This is especially true for Bangladesh, whose foreign minister blamed a previous terrorist attack in the country on Israel. This is also true for Turkey, as for years it dismissed the perils of radical Islam and Erdogan has even denied the notion of Islamist terrorism. Turkey embarked on a longstanding affair with Hamas, and it may soon learn that terrorism is as terrorism does, meaning that consorting with terrorists will not protect Turkish interests from the damage they will sustain. Turkey turned a blind eye to Islamic State activity on its soil for a very long time, especially from the fact that the group's recruits travel through Turkey before joining its ranks. Ankara made the mistake of thinking that donning an Islamist image and fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime will spare it from Islamic State's wrath. But Islamist terrorism marches to the beat of its own drum, and Islamic State has only grown more radical, more murderous, and more indiscriminate. Discovering that Turkey has become a prime target for Islamic State was a rude awakening for Erdogan. The fact that until recently Turkey focused mainly on its fight against the Kurds made things easier for the jihadi group, which exploits Turkey's open border with Syria and the millions of refugees fleeing Assad's atrocities to travel between the countries. One must also remember that Islamic State sees Turkey as the underbelly of the U.S.-led coalition against it. It is too soon to tell whether the Istanbul attack was the final straw, the attack that will evoke Turkey's wrath and make it wage all-out war on Islamic State. It is also too soon to tell whether the Bangladesh attack will promote real change in the Muslim world and make it truly band together to fight Islamist radicalism. Either way, this is a long and difficult battle, making Turkey and other Arab and Muslim countries not only pivotal players, but also prime targets. In this respect, the Istanbul attack once again illustrated the Turkish interest in settling its disputes with Israel and Russia. Israel and Turkey worked together on counterterrorism in the past, when Turkey was fighting Kurdish terrorism and Israel's operational experience proved invaluable for Turkey. Counterterrorism efforts could once again be the basis on which the two countries could resume robust cooperation.
A wake-up call for the Muslim world
פרופ' אייל זיסר
פרופ' אייל זיסר הוא מומחה למזה"ת ואפריקה וסגן הרקטור באוניברסיטת תל אביב
