The Mastermind, a documentary aired repeatedly on Turkey’s pro-government television channel, presents an elaborate “history” of an international Jewish conspiracy from Moses to the present day. The title takes its cue from a speech by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan blaming an unnamed “mastermind” for orchestrating the various problems afflicting his country. Burak Bekdil writes:
The main theme of the film is the 3,500 years of “Jewish domination of the world.” It focuses on three “Jewish” historical figures . . . : the medieval philosopher and Torah scholar Moses Maimonides, Charles Darwin (who was not a Jew), and the German-American philosopher Leo Strauss. . . .
Sounds surreal? Not in Turkey in the year 2015. The Mastermind is not the product of a bunch of crazy fanatics. It is a calculated move by a bunch of smart politicians who want to win votes (and often succeed) from an . . . anti-Semitic, religiously devout Muslim population.
According to the findings of a survey by Switzerland-based pollster WIN/Gallup International, 79 percent of Turks identify themselves as religiously devout. . . . Among many Sunni Turks, anti-Semitic sentiment is often a prerequisite to piety. Therefore, the film The Mastermind directly targets an audience that makes up 79 percent of Turkey . . . ahead of critical parliamentary elections on June 7.
Read more on Gatestone: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5608/turkey-antisemitism-mastermind