Will Erdogan apologize to Turkey's Shiites?
Turkey’s high political tensions finally engulfed the Turkish Shiites (Jaafaris) who are furious with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for calling Shiites “liars, slanderers and hate mongers.”
It was Turkey’s Shiite (Jaafari) community's turn to be offended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he criticized the Gulen faith movement, which he holds responsible for revealing the corruption files. Talking about Gulenists on a TV program, Erdogan said, "These people have three major characteristics. They practice taqiyya [religiously sanctioned dissimulation], they lie, they slander. As a result they are involved in sedition, malice. They are far ahead of Shiites. Shiites cannot compete with them.” Many news websites quoted Erdogan verbatim.
Turkey’s Shiites, who call themselves Jaafaris as a tribute to the sixth Imam Jaafar-i Sadek, are now expecting an apology. Civil society organizations of the Jaafaris, the Caferi-Der and Jaafari Wise Men Union (CABIR), declared that the prime minister had to be equidistant from the beliefs of all citizens and had to know that insulting any faith is a crime. Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) member of parliament Ali Ozgunduz, who represents the Jaafari community, said the prime minister had committed the crime of “provoking people to hatred and enmity” by libeling Shiites, and said, “Erdogan’s out-of-control discriminatory, racist and sectarian approach is threatening our social peace.”
The protest demonstration Jaafaris had planned for Istanbul was canceled at the last minute. Caferi-Der Chairman Sinan Kilic explained why to Al-Monitor, saying, "The atmosphere at Okmeydani [Istanbul’s predominantly Alevi district] and the killing of Burakcan [Karamanoglu] showed us the intention of dragging Turkey [into] a dangerous process. In such an atmosphere, street actions can provide material to provocateurs. If a stray bullet kills one child, it will be impossible to hold back the Alevis and Jaafaris. The genie will be out of the bottle, and the country will suffer.”
Journalist Mahmud Gok, also a Jaafari, told Al-Monitor, "The labeling of Jaafaris, true citizens of this land, as tricksters, slanderers and liars has inflicted serious injury. There is anger. Jaafaris have never been a community as described by the prime minister. To the contrary, Jaafaris are a faith community who sacrifice their own rights just to avoid discord. I don’t think the prime minister said that intentionally. This may well be a reflection of his prejudiced subconscious knowledge.”
