A Historical Crossroads: The Erdoğan, Trump, and Sisi Summit and Bediüzzaman’s Century-Old Foresight on Egypt
President Erdoğan's attendance at the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit with Trump and Sisi marks a new era in the Middle East. This analysis places the summit's location—Egypt—in the context of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi's strategic foresight from the early 1900s, which highlighted Egypt's pivotal role as an "intelligent son" in the Islamic world's political awakening.
Editor2
YUSUF INAN / TURKEY - SHARM EL-SHEIKH / EGYPT
Summit Diplomacy and New Balances in the Middle East
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to attend the 'Sharm El-Sheikh Summit for Peace' tomorrow in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdelfattah el-Sisi. This critical visit, announced by Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, is highly significant for sustaining the ceasefire agreement reached in Gaza, determining the future of the region, and rebuilding the political balances in the Middle East. The gathering of three key leaders in Egypt strengthens Turkey's active role in Middle Eastern diplomacy while simultaneously enhancing Egypt's regional standing. When evaluated in the context of NATO’s suggestion of a "Turkey Model" for Egypt, this summit highlights the vital importance of a stable Egypt, reconciled with itself and the world, for regional and global peace.
Egypt's Destiny and the Century-Old "Three Lights" Foresight
The fact that the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit is taking place in Egypt brings to mind the striking strategic foresight made in the early 1900s by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, a great thinker and sage whom Turkey has yet to fully appreciate. Bediüzzaman's analyses, which seemed to point to today's political landscape a century ago, demonstrate how critical developments in Egypt are for world peace.
An anecdote found in Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s work, Tarihçe-i Hayat (The Story of His Life), forms the basis of this foresight. While traveling from Istanbul to Van, Bediüzzaman stopped in Tiflis. On Sheikh San’an Hill, he was approached by a Russian police officer to whom he said:
"Three lights are beginning to be revealed, one after the other, in Asia and the world of Islam. While with you, three layers of darkness will start to recede one over the other. This curtain of despotism shall be torn down and contract, and I shall come and build my madrasah here."
When the officer remarked, "The Islamic world is all broken up and fragmented," Bediüzzaman described the global situation and the future as follows:
“They have gone to study. It is like this: India is a promising child of Islam; it is studying in the British preparatory school. Egypt is an intelligent son of Islam; it is taking lessons in the British school for civil administration. Caucasia and Turkestan are two valiant sons of Islam; they are receiving instruction in the Russian war academy..."
The Prediction Unfolds: Transformation Extending from the Caucasus to Egypt
Bediüzzaman’s foresight carries a surprising parallel to the historical events that unfolded, acting like a window opened from 1900 to 2010. The "curtain of despotism" (perde-i müstebidane), mentioned in the conversation in Tiflis, dissolved with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Caucasia and Turkestan declared their independence, having received their "diplomas." Today, hundreds of Turkish schools, universities, and business partnerships have been established in these regions.
Today, the critical summit convened for the Gaza ceasefire taking place in Egypt—which Bediüzzaman identified as the "intelligent son of Islam"—gains significance as a century-later confirmation of Egypt’s central role in regional and global diplomacy.
"It is deeply saddening that we are only now noticing the light lit a century ago by a sage whose burial place is not even fully known."
This situation highlights how late Turkey has been in recognizing the ideas of the great thinkers who emerged from its own soil.
The Turkey-Egypt Model and World Peace
Another important dimension of the summit is the claim that NATO is proposing a "Turkey Model" for Egypt. The existence of a stable Egypt, progressing toward political stability, democratization, and economic development, standing alongside a Turkey with the same characteristics, will reduce tension in the Middle East, bring comfort to the region’s people, and contribute to global peace.
The meeting of Erdoğan, Trump, and Sisi demonstrates that Egypt is not merely a cradle of ancient civilization but a crossroads of destiny where peace in the Middle East will be built.
This summit may be the most concrete step taken toward the Middle East completing its "education" and raising the banner of justice, as foreseen by Bediüzzaman a century ago.
Turkey, as a central actor in this historical moment, is positioned as both a mediator and a model.
YUSUF İNAN / PEACE AT HOME, PEACE IN THE WORLD (*)
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(*) As Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, once said, 'Peace at Home, Peace in the World.' This timeless principle serves as a guiding light for nations striving for harmony, coexistence, and global stability.
