Shamima Begum, the ISIS teenage bride who just this week lost her U.K. citizenship, is making the headlines, not simply because what a U.K. minister appears to have done is against international law, but also because of her lack of remorse for supporting the terror organization.

It is this chilling lack of regret which perhaps has led to less of a hue and cry than what we might have expected given that the polemic move by Sajid Javid is going to stir debate for months to come and possibly even make the London 19 year old an icon with some Muslim communities. Many might deem it too “extreme” an action, given that she was a child when she left the U.K. and that she is a U.K. citizen.

Certainly, a number of highbrow Muslim commentators in the U.K. and even some Middle Eastern pundits based in London (who have played the ‘racist’ card against me on Twitter) are ready with their opprobrium and their argument that it wouldn’t happen to a white, Anglo Saxon jihadist.

The young Minister’s tact might be messy and even illegal under international law. It may even be ‘racist’ in its dimension.

And they are right on this point. But what they fail to grasp is that the alternative which is in store for white British extremists is in fact even more extreme. The government has said that up to 350 jihadists will face ten year prison sentences in the U.K., under new anti-terror laws being drafted. And if that isn’t enough to satisfy the baying crowd who want blood, then the Americans have plans to extradite a number of jihadists already in the U.K. who are being given the soft treatment by Britain straight to Guantanamo for life terms.

Either way, there are plans under way to oppose the softly-softly approach by some countries like Denmark which rehabilitates the jihadists and gives them new homes and a job. The crackdown both in the U.K. and in the U.S. is the start of a new ‘extremist’ approach for acts of terrorism. ISIS type terrorism requires extremist measures as it is unprecedented and many would argue the jihadists themselves would not consider leaving the U.K. to support the caliphate if there were not tough measures in place in the first place. Britain is trying to take the first steps to prevent radicalized Muslims taking advantage of liberal, cosmopolitan Britain to propel them into the arms of terror groups, on home soil or even abroad.

Britain is trying to take the first steps to prevent radicalized Muslims taking advantage of liberal, cosmopolitan Britain to propel them into the arms of terror groups, on home soil or even abroad.

But what Lina Khatib and Shiraz Maher both fail to grasp though is that even if it is racist, it was a failure of international law and racism in its most heinous form which maimed and killed U.K. citizens in a number of ISIS inspired attacks. Muslim commentators tend to forget that racism is not the exclusivity of Caucasians, as anyone in the Middle East who has experienced what a car bomb does to humble people shopping in malls will tell you.

If we are to ask the 22 families of the victims of the Manchester bombing their views, I’m sure they will find their loved ones being torn to pieces an act of appalling racism, given that it was orchestrated by a British Muslim of Libyan origin. It was his hideous indulgence in appalling racism and a flagrant lack of any laws which allowed him to murder those innocent concert goers, many of them young girls enjoying a night out.

There cannot be a greater racist organization than ISIL as, in fairness to those who play the racist card, it is equally forgotten that the biggest victim of jihadist terrorism is by far modest Muslims themselves, which is why Javid’s move is a curious one. It keeps Begum and her new born child in the Middle East which gives us all food for thought.

His approach might be illegal and deemed racist by some, but the alternative is that she comes to the U.K. and faces jail time, and that her tenure in prison is sensationalized both by media and U.K. Muslims and that, due to U.K. liberal views on those serving time (access to legal aid to fight appeals) she could well be a rod for the government’s back. She could also be an inspiration for other young girls and could even, in time, slip through the surveillance net and go back to her own ways.

We saw this with the case of Anjam Choudary who repeatedly ran a banned extremist organization in the U.K. for years before the law finally gave him a pathetic five year prison sentence, which he only served half of in reality. British extremists have repeatedly shown that they do not repent and merely exploit the liberal system – often living off benefits as many invariably do not work – for their own evil purposes.

Begum was a breaking point for the U.K. Something had to give and the government’s decision will no doubt send a message to immigrants who came to the U.K. from Bangladesh and other Muslim countries that even your own first generation British born children can lose their citizenship if they join terror groups which kills and maim U.K. citizens. It’s hardly ideal. But it’s a start of a much needed extremist reaction to ISIS type terrorism as many jihadists in the U.K. take advantage of the U.K.’s tolerance with heinous consequences, which is making Britain the laughing stock of many Arab countries.

My own personal view is that Javid’s reaction was actually quite moderate in that it keeps Begum from Guantanamo Bay or a ten year stretch in the U.K. prison system. A much tougher approach on U.K. jihadists – Anglo Saxon or Muslim country origin – would be to strip their families of all social benefits. I suppose the paid Arabists on the commentary circuit would no doubt find this racist as well. 

Even though the annual convention of the CDU’s youth wing held on 6 October got public attention due to some of the critical statements made against Chancellor Merkel’s leadership, one interesting stance by the CDU’s General Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is known as one of Merkel’s closest allies, has been partly disregarded in particular by the Turkish public.

The annual convention was elaborated as a first stage right before the CDU’s party congress in December, during which Merkel is hoping to be re-elected as the party’s chairperson. Despite several other potential and younger candidates, it seems quite obvious that Merkel is going to win the election in December. However, following the current period of her fourth government in three years, another CSU personality will most likely take over the party leadership.

It’s striking that potential candidates aim to push towards a rather nationalist bias by insistently making use of anti-Turkish discourse. This happened once again during the recent annual convention, as Mrs. Kramp-Karrenbauer addressed Turkey-Germany relations in the context of dual-citizenship for Turkish people living in Germany.

During her speech at the annual convention, Kramp-Karrenbauer criticized Turkey’s President Erdogan by stating, “If President Erdogan continues to push Turks into a loyalty struggle, the right to have dual-citizenship has to be reconsidered again. If Erdogan wants to divide the Turkish community in Germany, this topic will be on the table, in particular for Turks with a dual-citizenship.”

No doubt, the CDU’s General Secretary Kramp-Karrenbauer is trying to make us of anti-Turkish mood by falsely accusing the Turkish president in order to increase her profile in the eyes of the younger and more nationalist voters. One should remember that despite the CDU’s historical disapproval of the right for dual-citizenship, Chancellor Merkel was – together with and due to the pressure by the coalition partner SPD – able to pass an amendment to the citizenship law in 2014, which finally allowed for young and newborn Turks to hold both Turkish and German citizenship.

Other EU citizens already have this right. However, till this date, some CDU members have continued to problematize this step, in a rather blackmailing manner. Such politicians have implied, or directly threatened, Turks in cancelling this right, particularly in cases when either President Erdogan receives support from Turks in Germany, or if the CDU’s votes decrease due to domestic problems.

In such conditions, politicians do not hesitate to make use of a nationalist discourse as in the most recent case of Kramp-Karrenbauer. However, on the other hand, no concrete steps are taken or no sincere statements are made by CDU politicians when Turks or Muslims in Germany face difficulties in their daily lives, caused especially by far-right and anti-Islam circles.

It’s very likely that people would rather welcome statements by Germany’s conservatives who are not playing in the hands of far-right voters and dividing society by themselves. In recent years, the bias of conservatives in Germany has reached a peak of absurdity.

Although these kinds of topics have nothing to do with Germany’s current problems, politicians with certain future career goals regularly and insistently address similar populist and Turkey related topics. This is a fundamental problem for major conservative parties and circles.

My estimation is that Kramp-Karrenbauer will be the CDU’s next chairperson, unless more controversial and even more nationalist personalities such as Jens Spahn are able to mobilize more supporters. In this context, Kramp-Karrenbauer was appointed by Merkel as the party’s new General Secretary in February and quit her job in the German state of Saarland.

The reason for this was the fact that federal CDU members became increasingly critical against Merkel’s policies and her weakness to build a new federal government. Consequently, in order to silence criticism, Merkel brought a close ally into the federal stage who is also a rightist and more conservatively oriented in societal topics. Kramp-Karrenbauer appeared in the media in 2017 when she banned Turkish politicians from holding election campaigns in Saarland – despite the fact that no politician from Turkey had actually planned to campaign in Saarland.

One notices a similar pattern and a symbolic act of which certain politicians regularly make use of in order to achieve some populist goals within a party. But these kinds of abnormalities cause an unrest among the Turkish community, encourage far-right circles and contribute in a negative way to Germany’s image. One has to consider these ambivalent and populist maneuvers in depth and decide who is dividing German population.

In order to sustain domestic economic vitality, many countries have been employing various instruments to attract financial resources in recent years. One such instrument is “citizenship through investment,” or “economic citizenship,” which exists in many countries in different forms. This application aims to attract foreign investment and capital, which in turn will increase employment and economic growth. According to the volume of investment, states may grant a residence permit or the right to citizenship to the investor.

While the policy has been discussed in the past, this program came into force in Turkey on January 12 2017, after being published in the official gazette. In accordance with this new law, a person making an investment of a certain amount, buying real estate, providing employment, having a certain amount of deposit in a Turkish bank or keeping state bonds for a minimum length of time will be granted the right to obtain Turkish citizenship. This application is important for a country like Turkey, which has issues achieving a certain level of growth with domestic savings, as it will incentivize foreigners to bring their capital to the country.

What are some examples of this application around the world and what does it aim to do?

The increasing global uncertainties and rising geopolitical risks of recent years have been causing unexpected deviations from growth rates, along with inadequate economic vitality, all over the world. The recession of global economics and the shrinking demands within the last years led some European countries to discussing and implementing plans to grant citizenship in exchange for investment.

The common aim of this program is to increase employment and growth through attracting more investments and foreign capital. In exchange for these, the investor will be granted a residence permit or the right to citizenship according to the level of investments (Table 1). Competing with other countries which have implemented similar programs, some countries try to attract more applications from investors by diversifying investment options. These diverse investment options include buying real estate, making a donation to a national development fund, or buying state bonds, along with other financial instruments such as private investment options and bank deposits. While citizenship through investment is preferred by small island countries for becoming an economic center, European countries employ it to lure more investments.

Portugal was able to harness approximately 13% of its direct foreign investments in 2014 with this program granting residence to foreigners, while Spain made around $375 billion in revenue by selling real estate to foreigners as of 2010, as a result of streamlined residence and work permit laws and incentives which were introduced in the 2000s. It is interesting that more than 20% of the real estate in Spain was sold to citizens of Northern Africa and Arab countries. In this sense, many countries are considering granting citizenship to foreigners in exchange for activities which revitalize the economy like buying real estate, investing or employing people.

What does Turkey aim to achieve by granting the right for citizenship to foreign investors?

According to the newly implemented regulation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, foreigners satisfying any one of the conditions below will be able to become a Turkish citizen:

• Investing a fixed capital of at least $2 million.
• Possessing real estate worth at least $1 million for three years without selling.
• Creating employment for 100 people.
• Depositing at least $3 million to banks that are active in Turkey and keeping it for three years.
• Buying bonds worth at least $3 million and keeping them for 3 years.

With this regulation, it can be seen that Turkey is aiming to maintain economic vitality through investment and employment. From the well-roundedness of the regulation, it can be foreseen that these investments will contribute to many sectors, notably the banking and real estate sectors. In parallel with this, the capital that enters the country will be channeled to savings instead of consumption, which will result in improving the financial performance of the country. This regulation is expected to be preferred by those segments of societies in foreign countries that are concerned about rising far right and Islamophobic attacks in the West, and are looking for a more comfortable environment.

Will this application be able to revitalize the real estate sector?

Investors who buy real estate and invest in sectors that create added value are expected to increase inflow of foreign currency to the country. As it will consolidate the foreign interest in Turkey’s real estate sector and revitalize the demands for excess supply of real estate, it is being received positively by the sector.

Increasingly successful in selling real estate to foreigners in the last years, Turkey aims to revitalize the sector by creating demand to especially moderate and luxurious segments of real estate. The revenue of $5 billion in 2015 which was attained through selling real estate to citizens of Central Asia, Russia, the UK, and Germany is expected to be doubled gradually (Table 2).

In conclusion, citizenship through investment aims to diversify employable financial instruments in today’s recessing global economic policies. The global economic uncertainties and political risks, along with the increasing tensions in the region, indicate that investors’ demand for applications that grant citizenship will continue to rise.

In this sense, the program is expected to contribute to Turkey’s economic structure, especially in the inflow of foreign currency and closing the current deficit, during a period in which the global economy is ailed by stagnation. Considering the attractive investment opportunities which were triggered by improved relations with the Gulf countries, the said program will most probably electrify economic activities. This program, which already led to positive developments in the real estate sector, must be expanded to incentivize medium-to-large scale businesses contributing investment and creating employment, along with allowing refugee entrepreneurs to become a part of the mainstream economy.