Turkish man suspected of threatening Saudis with knife in Istanbul cafe

Authorities are struggling with a surge in nationalist hate crime

Police in Istanbul have arrested a man suspected of insulting and threatening a group of Saudis with a knife.

Istanbul’s police department said that they arrested a 43-year-old man identified by the initials MI who “threatened other people […] with a knife and swore and insulted them”.

The man, who was arrested at his home on suspicion of intentional injury, was under the influence of alcohol when the attack took place at 2am on Tuesday, police said.

The incident happened in the Maslak district of northern Istanbul. In a video that circulated online, a man is seen brandishing a knife and swearing in Turkish at a group of Arabs sitting in a cafe.

“I am a Turk, a Turk. You’re keeping me awake, who are you? This is my country, look, here’s the knife,” the man can be heard saying.

During the incident, the man also made a hand sign associated with the Grey Wolves, an ultranationalist Turkish group with a long history of political violence.

It is also linked to the Nationalist Movement Party, a political party that holds seats in the Turkish parliament.

The incident took place at a time of heightened violence against Arabs in Turkey.

This week, Syrians in Turkey have been assaulted, shops burnt in cities where many of the three-million plus refugee population live, following allegations of sexual assault by a Syrian man against a child.

In recent years, social media users have documented similar attacks on tourists from Gulf countries and Egypt using the hashtag “Turkey is not safe for Arabs”.

The incidents include fist fights on the streets of Istanbul and interviews in which Turks make derogatory comments about Arabs.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has tried to improve relations with Gulf countries and Egypt in particular in recent years, following worries from Arab leaders over Turkey’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

While the numbers of Saudi visitors to Turkey rose sharply last year, arrivals from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan declined in 2023, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News.

Tourism officials attributed the development to regional instability over the war in Gaza.