Wake Up, West: The Stealthy Islamic Encroachment Enabled by Naive Leftists and Turkey’s Influence

By Harry Theocharous, a Cypriot freedom activist and researcher.

For over two decades, I’ve dedicated my life to documenting and exposing the ongoing Turkish occupation of my homeland, Cyprus, since the brutal 1974 invasion. Through tireless research, interviews with survivors, and advocacy on various platforms, I’ve uncovered the patterns of Islamist expansionism that threaten not just Cyprus but the entire West.

As someone who has spent years researching the scars of Islamist aggression on my own country, I see the same playbook unfolding across Europe and North America. The rapid rise of political Islam isn’t accidental, it’s been accelerated by leftist policies that champion open borders and multiculturalism without vigilance, turning well-meaning ideals into tools for radicals. These progressives, in their naive quest for so-called “inclusivity,” have become enablers of those who aim to subvert our societies. Make no mistake, this critique targets not peaceful Muslims seeking better lives, but the militant ideologies and state sponsors like Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who export division and conquest. Drawing from my extensive research on Turkey’s occupation of Cyprus, I implore the West to recognize this threat before it consumes us all.

Echoes of Terror: From PLO Hijackings to Sadat’s Murder

My research into Middle Eastern conflicts reveals how terrorism has long been a weapon for Islamist causes. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Palestine Liberation Organization hijacked civilian planes to terrorize the world into noticing their agenda. Incidents like the 1970 Dawson’s Field hijackings, where multiple aircraft were seized, hostages tormented, and planes destroyed, or the 1985 TWA Flight 847, where an American was murdered in cold blood, weren’t mere protests. They were acts of Islamist-inspired terror, blending Palestinian nationalism with a broader jihadist ethos that rejects coexistence.

This fanaticism claimed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981, assassinated by extremists for brokering peace with Israel via the Camp David Accords. My studies show how groups like Egyptian Islamic Jihad viewed Sadat’s moderation as heresy, a pattern that persists in today’s rejection of peace by hardliners. These historical acts aren’t relics, they are blueprints for the violence we see now, often glossed over by leftist narratives in the name of “resistance”.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Shadow and Turkey’s Malignant Influence

Central to this danger is the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization I’ve tracked through its influence on global extremism. Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood promotes a vision of Sharia rule that has birthed groups like Hamas. And propping it up is Turkey, Erdogan’s regime, acting as the Muslim Brotherhood’s patron, offering sanctuary and funds while advancing its own neo-Ottoman dreams.

Through my research, I’ve documented Turkey’s expansionist military network, bases in Somalia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Albania, and Libya, not as defensive measures, but as platforms for Islamist influence. These outposts support Muslim Brotherhood allies and project Turkish-Islamist power, often at the expense of local sovereignty.

But Turkey’s invasions reveal the true intent. My decades-long focus on Cyprus exposes the 1974 invasion as a textbook case of Islamist takeover. Under the false pretext of protecting Turkish Cypriots, Turkey unleashed Operation Attila, bombing villages, massacring civilians, and displacing over 200,000 Greek Cypriots, including families like mine. They seized 37% of the island, ethnically cleansing the area and importing settlers to shift demographics.

The United Nations has repeatedly condemned this as illegal, yet Turkey’s occupation endures, with over 40,000 troops stationed there, turning northern Cyprus into a militarized zone. Mosques replace desecrated churches, cultural sites are looted, and the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” is recognized only by Ankara. This isn’t history, it’s ongoing aggression, with recent abductions of Greek Cypriots venturing into occupied lands, as I’ve highlighted in my advocacy work.

Turkey’s pattern repeats elsewhere, with invasions into Syria, occupying Kurdish areas, Iraq, and Libya. Even in Azerbaijan, Turkish support in 2020 fueled conflict. Erdogan sympathizers, whether leftist intellectuals excusing “anti-imperialism” or Islamist enablers, ignore these crimes, but my research proves they are part of a deliberate strategy to revive Ottoman-style dominance through military and ideological means.

October 7 and the Left’s Betrayal

The Hamas atrocities on October 7, 2023, where over 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered in horrific ways, echo the barbarity I’ve researched in the occupied territories. As a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, Hamas’s massacre involved beheadings, rapes, and burnings, yet Western leftists manipulated facts to defend it, spreading lies about “fabricated” evidence and portraying terrorists as freedom fighters.

These “useful idiots,” influenced by propaganda, chanted slogans calling for Israel’s destruction while antisemitism surged. My work on occupation shows the hypocrisy, leftists condemn colonialism but overlook Islamist variants, enabling manipulation that radicalizes youth and divides societies.

Ignored Prophets: Warnings from Moderate Voices

Voices from the Muslim world echo my warnings. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed cautioned Europe in 2017 about political Islam breeding terrorism. Mohammad Tawhidi, aka the Imam of Peace, has decried importing radicals as garbage that destroys hosts. Recently, in 2025, pastor Martin Sedra warned of demographic and ideological invasions, aligning with my findings on how unchecked migration and ideology erode Western values.

Sedra, in his appearance on Lila Rose’s show, outlined three deliberate steps by which Islam intends to take over Europe and America, drawing from Islamic teachings and historical patterns:

First, migration, or Hijrah, where Muslims relocate to non-Muslim lands in large numbers, often facilitated by leftist open-border policies, to establish footholds.

Second, consolidation is achieved through high birth rates, the establishment of parallel societies, mosques, and the influence of institutions, while portraying themselves as victims to garner sympathy and power.

Third, jihad, when demographics shift and strength grows, imposing Sharia law through political pressure or violence, subjugating the host society. These steps, Sedra emphasizes, mirror Muhammad’s progression from Mecca to Medina to conquest, and are evident in Europe’s no-go zones and America’s growing Islamist lobbies.

Time to Fight Back

From my years researching Turkey’s grip on Cyprus, I know inaction invites disaster. Turkey’s invasions and occupations, sympathized with by naive leftists and Islamist allies, model the broader threat. We must expose them, enforce borders, and promote true integration. Heed these lessons, or watch your freedoms vanish, as mine did in 1974. The West must act now.

READ MORE: Turkish Media Warns of Possible Israeli Strike on Turkey After Qatar Attack.