{"id":1135159,"date":"2021-12-20T19:05:23","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T00:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1135159"},"modified":"2021-12-20T19:05:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T00:05:26","slug":"erdogan-declares-holy-war-on-inflation-as-turkeys-economy-collapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/erdogan-declares-holy-war-on-inflation-as-turkeys-economy-collapses\/","title":{"rendered":"Erdogan Declares Holy War on Inflation as Turkey\u2019s Economy Collapses"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ferdogan-declares-holy-war-on-inflation-as-turkeys-economy-collapses%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1135159&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/AP_21046499323764-640x335-1.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday invoked Islamic law to restate his promise to bring inflation under control without raising interest rates, even as Turkey\u2019s economy teetered on the brink of a meltdown and its currency fell to an all-time low against the euro.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSooner or later, just as we lowered inflation to four percent when I came to power \u2026 we will reduce it again,\u201d Erdogan said of inflation on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cBut I won\u2019t let my citizens, my people, be crushed by interest rates,\u201d he added. \u201cGod willing, inflation will fall as soon as possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Erdogan dismissed domestic and international criticism of his economic policies as \u201cabsurd,\u201d and called speculation about possible capital controls to arrest the declining value of the lira \u2013 possibly including an outright ban on Turkish citizens buying foreign currency \u2013 as \u201crubbish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe are lowering interest rates. Don\u2019t expect anything else from me. As a Muslim, I\u2019ll continue to do what is required by <\/span><i><span>nas<\/span><\/i><span>,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><i><span>Nas <\/span><\/i><span>is a Turkish word referring to the teachings of the Quran, which has some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/islamicmarkets.com\/education\/riba-in-the-qur-an\"><span>dismal things to say<\/span><\/a><span> about loaning money for interest. Erdogan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-13746679\"><span>styles himself<\/span><\/a><span> as a global champion of Islamic values, having worked for decades to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2020\/07\/24\/erdogan-reverting-hagia-sophia-its-original-mosque-form-was-my-youth-dream\/\"><span>re-Islamicize Turkey<\/span><\/a><span> and reject the secular course charted by legendary reformist leader Kemal Ataturk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Turkish economy will continue on its path in accordance with the rules of a free market economy, as it has done so far,\u201d Erdogan insisted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The lira fell to below five percent of the euro for the first time on Monday, completing an astonishing 35-percent collapse in value over the past month and 50 percent this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>AFP<\/span><span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20211220-lira-plunges-again-after-erdogan-cites-islam-to-defend-rate-cuts\">noted<\/a> the lira dipped again after Erdogan invoked Islamic teachings to explain why he will not allow interest rates to rise, his second such religious declaration in the past few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou cannot run a modern economy integrated into the global economy on this basis. Even Saudi Arabia really does not attempt full shariah compliant macro(economic) management,\u201d economist Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management said in a note to his clients quoted by AFP.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Erdogan apparently thought stacking the central bank with his cronies and forcing interest rates down would create an economic boom to shore up his flagging popular support, but his policies unleashed devastating inflation and alienated his business allies, as represented by the powerful Turkish Industrialists and Businessman\u2019s Association (TUSIAD).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>TUSAID declared over the weekend that Erdogan\u2019s policies are \u201cnot only creating new economic problems for businesses, but for all of our citizens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cIt is urgent that we assess the damage that has been done to the economy, and quickly return to the implementation of established economic principles, within the framework of a free market economy,\u201d the organization said, an unusually harsh bit of criticism from the Turkish business community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Erdogan lashed out at TUSIAD by name in his Sunday remarks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou are working to put in power a government that you can exploit. This nation will not allow you to do that. I am calling you out. You have only one job: to ensure investment, production, employment and growth,\u201d the president snapped.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cThe currency\u2019s collapse fed into consumer prices almost overnight, resulting in inflation so rampant that supermarket employees were barely able to keep up with changing labels. Working-class Turks and pensioners began forming long lines in front of municipality stalls to get subsidized bread in recent weeks,\u201d <\/span><span>Bloomberg News<\/span><span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-12-19\/turkey-s-erdogan-says-islam-demands-lower-rates-and-so-does-he\">reported<\/a> grimly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Worst-case scenarios <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/business\/opinion\/2021\/12\/20\/turkeys-economic-meltdown-threatens-stability-of-europe.html\"><span>floated<\/span><\/a><span> by international analysts have Erdogan bringing Turkey\u2019s economy down in hyperinflationary flames \u2013 and triggering a cascade collapse across Europe. Investors are increasingly nervous about Turkey defaulting on its debts, and even those interested in loaning more money are having trouble determining the value of Turkish assets when the lira plunges a little more every hour.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Turkey\u2019s banks are in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/turkeys-borrowing-costs-soar-as-crisis-enters-new-phase-11640015497\">precarious position<\/a> because over half of their deposits are made in foreign currency, which they loan to the central bank. The central bank sold off a great deal of its foreign currency reserves over the past month to stabilize the lira. If Turkish depositors stampede to pull their foreign currency out of the banks, the entire financial system could collapse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Staunch Erdogan supporters in the Turkish heartland are sharing grave doubts with foreign reporters as inflation crushes their hopes.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m looking for work, I can\u2019t pay my debts,\u201d a Turkish laborer and longtime Erdogan supporter told the Greek newspaper <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/economy\/1174130\/turkey-s-crisis-rattles-the-faithful-in-erdogan-s-heartland\/\"><i><span>Ekathimerini<\/span><\/i><\/a> <span>on Monday, speaking from a district that gave Erdogan 75 percent of the vote in 2018.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere is no solution. People are fed up now,\u201d the dejected worker said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cDevelopments since 2018 when Turkey had its first economic crisis under Erdogan \u2026 all point to the fact that Erdogan is a sultan in the autumn of his career,\u201d director Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy\u2019s Turkish program told <\/span><i><span>Ekathimerini.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><span>UK <\/span><i><span>Guardian<\/span><\/i> <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/dec\/19\/theres-jobs-but-no-money-turkeys-economic-crisis-begins-to-bite\">found<\/a> a woman in Istanbul attempting to pawn her jewelry and confessing she checks the price of gold \u201croughly 50 times a day\u201d as the lira plummets, while her husband dabbles in cryptocurrency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMy husband said we should get the gold assessed. We\u2019re undecided about what to do because the price of everything is fluctuating. We can\u2019t get a loan to pay for it as we can\u2019t trust what will happen with the currency. I don\u2019t know what to do,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A Turkish currency trader told the <\/span><i><span>Guardian <\/span><\/i><span>he pulled all the gold displays from his shop windows because he was tired of people flooding into his store to ask the current value of gold, and then departing without buying anything. Other traders reported panic-buying of U.S. dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Turkey\u2019s stock market is beginning to sputter with \u201ccircuit breaker\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/economy\/2021\/12\/20\/turkey-stock-trading-halted-again-due-to-rapid-losses\"><span>trading shutdowns<\/span><\/a><span>, two of which occurred on Monday after \u201csnowballing losses\u201d triggered a round of \u201cpanic selling,\u201d according to brokerage manager Tuna Cetinkaya.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday invoked Islamic law to restate his promise to bring inflation under control without raising interest rates, even as Turkey\u2019s economy teetered on the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1135159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1135159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1135159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1135159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1135159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}