The exploitation of politically sensitive issues, such as the plight of Muslims abroad, for domestic political consumption rather than displaying a genuine effort and sound diplomatic outreach to help contribute to resolving their problems with the consent and cooperation of authorities has been a leading characteristic of political Islamists in Turkey. 
Since there is no strong support for this among a Turkish public that overwhelmingly subscribes to a centuries-long Sufi-oriented tradition, political Islamists cleverly seize upon human rights abuses that target mainly Muslims in other countries and play back their sufferings to Turkish audience with the hope that Islamists will pick up more political support on the home front.
Speaking at a parliamentary group meeting on April 22, 2013, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suddenly uttered the name of Pattani, a southern province of Thailand where the long-standing animosity of the province's majority Malay-Muslim population towards the central government has been a lingering issue fueling violence amid reported abuse by law enforcement forces and a weak justice system. The Thai government has been trying to address the problems in this deep south province with reforms in local governance and judiciary, albeit with limited success. Thai government is also compelled to deal with violence generated by some factions that use extremist religious ideology to channel Malay Muslims' frustration into recruitment to their ranks.