'Bread and Freedom': young Turkish Islamists turn Left

ISTANBUL // Young Turkish Islamists have a warning for those who regard Turkey's blend of a free-market democracy with a Muslim identity as a model for a better future after the Arab Spring.

"They should stop seeing Turkey as a dream and start seeing it as a nightmare," said Muhammed Cihad Ebrari, 27, a website editor and host of a meeting of young Muslims in his Istanbul apartment to discuss the injustices of the modern world.

Mr Ebrari and the others are members of a group called Anti-capitalist Muslims. They accuse Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the religiously conservative prime minister, of ignoring Islamic principles by making the rich even richer.

Analysts say the mere existence of the group, which has about two dozen active members and, according to Mr Ebrari, the ability to mobilise thousands through social media, shows the pro-business policies of the Erdogan government have raised serious questions in Islamic circles.
The Turkish Left, weak and divided, has been unable to draw strength from social problems such as youth unemployment, which stands at 18 per cent, or poor workplace safety standards that led to the death of 69 people in work-related accidents in May alone. (...)