The conference was held in the Bağlarbaşı Cultural Center in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district. (Photo: DHA)
A “caliphate conference” organized by a magazine named “Radical Change” took place in İstanbul on Tuesday, with executives of the outlawed fundamentalist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) in attendance as speakers.
Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir from across Turkey and other countries participated the event, which marked the 92nd anniversary of the abolition of the caliphate.
The conference held in the Bağlarbaşı Cultural Center in the Üsküdar district saw a dispute over posters of Atatürk — the founder of the Turkish Republic — that were hung on the venue’s walls.
Mehmet Pabak, one of the speakers, defended the idea of caliphate and criticized the Atatürk posters hung on the walls of the hall. He said: “Even the existence of caliphate itself used to be a means for all Muslims to stand in unity. They did not have tolerance for this. They had the caliphate revoked, leading to a separation. Even when we are talking about this, we cannot be absolved from the shadow of those who revoked the caliphate. There are pictures of him on both sides [of the hall]. I am addressing the mayoral administrations that impose this: These halls do not belong to your fathers. They were built with taxes you took from us. Hence, these places should be neutral. But, the cruelty is pursued. This is the pressure from the official ideology.”
Other speakers also mentioned the Atatürk posters and stated that the organizers had argued with the manager of the hall over the posters but he refused to remove them.
Ahmet Kalkan, another speaker, likened weekly ceremonies at schools, in which the national anthem is sang in front of Atatürk statues to “Muslims being forced into idolatry.”
During the event, Mahmut Kar, one of the Hizb ut-Tahrir executives, responded to questions from reporters. Kar was asked a question about alleged links between the radical group and the Ergenekon terrorist organization, which is accused of planning a military coup against the government. In response, Kar said: “The efforts to associate the Hizb ut-Tahrir with Ergenekon had a certain logic. Hizb ut-Tahrir was presenting the society with its view of Islam. Meanwhile, others presented the ideas of moderate Islam, the alliance of civilizations and dialogue between religions. The youth of Hizb ut-Tahrir inflicted atrocities. More than 500 of them were jailed over the past 12 years. At the moment, cases against 200 of them are being handled by the Supreme Court of Appeals. A total of 900 years of prison sentence is sought for these 200 people.”
Kar also made anti-Semitic remarks, slamming President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the current government for Turkey’s large trade volume with Israel.