Opinion Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan greets members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) as he arrives at a meeting at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, May 7, 2019. Photo: Cem Oksuz/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS. JNS.org – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to change the name of the Directorate of Religious Affairs to the “Directorate of Jerusalem and Umrah Affairs” isn’t about semantics but substance. Erdoğan views himself as a successor to the line of Ottoman sultans. He wants to restore the empire of old and sees himself as responsible for Jerusalem from the Islamic perspective.