President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received a rousing welcome from Sudan and was hosted like he was the leader of the African country during the past 36 hours. A local man on the street shows you the thumbs up sign when he realizes you are a Turk and immediately acknowledges Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – he has become a household name for many Sudanese. People turn to you and say "al-Quds" (Jerusalem) when they learn you are a Turk. Then they call "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the greatest).

These are the sentiments aired in the street of Khartoum, the legendary Islamic city of Africa. Erdoğan was treated to a standing ovation and slogans of affection as he spoke at the Sudanese Parliament to 540 members of the assembly, including 134 women deputies. He was adorned with flowers and praise as he moved about Khartoum. Similar scenes ensued as Erdoğan visited ancient Ottoman buildings and the same thing goes for when he visited Port Sudan. The deputies we talked to said Erdoğan has once again won the hearts of the Sudanese as he took leadership initiatives when U.S. President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel and decided to move his embassy from Tel Aviv to this ancient city.

They said Erdoğan saved the dignity of the Muslim nation, the Ummah, with his bold move to convene the emergency session of the Islamic summit in Istanbul where east Jerusalem was declared the capital of the Palestinian state.

Then Turkey's push to take the issue to the United Nations and its efforts to secure a resolution by the U.N. General Assembly rejecting Trump's move has won the hearts of the man in the street throughout the Muslim world as well as in Sudan.

Besides Erdoğan's efforts on Sudan, his unending energy and insistence to help the oppressed Muslim masses around the world, his push to help the people of Sudan has put him as number one in the hearts of the Sudanese. Hence the sounding welcome and the affection displayed for him.

This should be an eye opener to the adversaries of Turkey. They should learn to live with Erdoğan instead of trying to dispose of him through clandestine methods. They should understand the feelings of affection Erdoğan has created among the Muslim masses in the world in general and the Middle East in particular.

What is interesting is the fact that we have observed the same affection and warmth the people of Khartoum displayed in southeastern Turkey's predominantly Kurdish areas when Erdoğan visited the border provinces of Hakkari and Şırnak on Saturday.

Erdoğan was treated to a rousing welcome in both cities where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) held its provincial conventions. The people cheered him in the streets and lively crowds attended his rallies.

The people we talked to in the streets said that in the past two years security forces put up an effective fight against the PKK and eradicated the radical militants in the region and thus allowed the people to live in secure and peaceful towns and cities. They said it was good to feel the presence of the state in their streets and thus they support Erdoğan. They also stressed that they want the state to show its muscle in the years to come and that they hope they will not be abandoned again and be left in the region with the PKK terrorists in the future.

So Erdoğan is scoring high marks at home and abroad with the Muslim masses and the Kurds of Turkey.