Not a friend. Not an ally. Turkey should be expelled from NATO immediately.
“Vahdet group’s jihadist cleric continues to radicalize many in Turkey,” by Abdullah Bozkurt, Nordic Monitor, March 3, 2019 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
A radical imam whose teachings have influenced many jihadists including the killer of the Russian ambassador to Turkey continues to preach freely with protection provided by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Nordic Monitor research identified Hüsnü Aktaş, a 69-year-old cleric who was jailed several times in the past for radical activities, as one of the influencers in the circle of Turkish jihadists who helped radicalize many including Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, the 22-year-old police officer who gunned down Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov on Dec. 19, 2016 in the Turkish capital.
The revelations did not come as a surprise given the fact that the foundation run by Aktaş was previously charged with aiding and abetting a Chechen group that hijacked a ferry as it was about to depart the Black Sea province of Trabzon for Sochi in January 1996. The indictment filed at the time against Aktaş and his Vahdet (Unity) Foundation in 1997 showed that the hijackers — identified Turkish nationals Muhammed Emin Tokcan, Tuncer Özcan, Sedat Temiz, Erdinç Tekir, Ertan Coşkun and Ceyhan Molla Mehmetoğlu; Abkhazian national Roki Gitsba; and Chechen nationals Ramazan Zubareyev and Viskhan Abdurrahmanov – received help from the foundation.
Chechen and Turkish hijackers kept passengers and crewmembers on board the ferry as hostages.
The hijackers kept 177 passengers and 55 crewmembers on board the ferry as hostages and diverted the ferry to Istanbul to publicize the situation of Chechens in Russia and demand the release of Chechen fighters under siege by Russian forces. All the suspects were arrested after the 72-hour crisis was resolved with no causalities except that harbor security chief Rahmi Tunca was shot in the leg by the militants. The suspects were tried and convicted, but most broke out of prison under suspicious circumstances.
Aktaş’s name was brought up again during the investigation into the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey where an al-Qaeda-inspired police officer gunned down the envoy in a cold-blooded murder at an art event. It turned out the reclusive police officer had attended one of Aktaş’s sermons. Yet this dangerous cleric was not listed in the Karlov indictment as a suspect but rather testified as a witness. In his statement to the prosecutor, he claimed he did not remember the Russian envoy’s killer attending any of his lectures but admitted that one of his students named Mustafa Akalın later came to him and apologized for bringing the killer to a gathering. He also said he did not remember what he preached when Altıntaş came to his sermon.
Enes Asım Silin, a 30-year old Turkish al-Qaeda militant and suspect in the Karlov case, told a different story about Aktaş, however. In a statement he provided on Jan. 18, 2017, Silin recounted a conversation with the assassin who told him about the talk he had with cleric Aktaş. In his conversation with Altıntaş, Aktaş urged him to resign from the police force, saying that working as a police officer was incompatible with religious principles. Silin is a senior figure in the Turkish al-Qaeda network and one of the board members of the Global Humanitarian Aid and Political Training Center (Küresel İnsani Yardım ve Siyasi Eğitim Merkezi, or KİSEM), which is a front NGO run by İbrahim Şen, a former Gitmo detainee and a convicted senior al-Qaeda militant.
The Erdoğan government hushed up the 2014 probe into al-Qaeda and released all the suspects from custody including Silin, Halis Bayancuk (known by his assumed name of Abu Hanzala) and Şen. The probe revealed how Şen worked as a trafficker and supplier for al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist groups in Syria through close coordination with Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT). Embarrassed by the exposé, the Erdoğan government purged all investigators and prosecutors in this al-Qaeda case and jailed most of them on trumped-up charges. Both Bayancuk and Şen were later rearrested in a separate case. Their trials are pending and will likely result in their release, as has happened several times in the past….
Carolyn Marlin says
Sir are all USA news report only pro muslim in all news reports???
gravenimage says
No, they are not. Too many are, though.
Jule Bacal says
It sure seems that way much of the time, doesn’t it. Its often media that have ties and profits in Muslim countries which they want to keep. I am not left or right but I just wonder what happened to integrity? It seems to be true, as disappointing to me as it is, that most can be bought and actually our economy causes that our Lives depend on money. Still…
Elizabeth Baklaich says
Amen! People are waking up but it is slow and the pushback is hard. Retired people who are secure are in the best position to be active. Education is key!
CRUSADER says
Perhaps the Cleric would be best to know what Saint Paul said in ACTS 17, verses 29-31:
——————————————————-
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
AMEN
+++++++++
CRUSADER says
ACT for America is a great place to plug into.
ActforAmerica.org/issues
gravenimage says
+1
Indiana Tom says
Now we know all of this is false, as we have it on good authority by one of our posters that Russia and other Slavic countries never have problems with Muslims, and how they are all such good Orthodox Christians, and all the problems in the world is the fault of the USA. No the slavic brotherhood never has a Muslim problem. No never.
christianblood says
If this Turkish (Nato) imam is indeed behind the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Turkey Russia must get him!
gravenimage says
But christianblood has applauded Russia allying with Russia–and has previously discounted the murder of the Russian Ambassador there.
And no, posting more Russian folk songs here does not make this any less disturbing.
I don’t want to see any Infidels suffer from Jihad–diplomatic personnel least of all.
Jule Bacal says
That is really beautiful Christian blood. Thank you.
Jule Bacal says
There are two kinds of Basic Islam…Sunni and Shia. (Of course each of those has a million splits and often fight with each other) But Shia tells Russia all kinds of lies to get their backing and visit the Orthodox Christian churches singing praise and that the prophesies of Shia Islam include Russian Orthodox. But its BS. I know Putin does no way believe them but Russia was kind of put in a corner without friends because of the economic war. so they go with it, for now. But Sunni will always call Russia ‘enemy’. Islam is So into war, enemies, oppositions, soldiers fighting the invisible evils and it is the Whole lifestyle. Everything but them is Satan and Allah commands they fight everything. Old Russia did do some terrible things (like US has to and like Brits and Dutch, and France, And Norway, and and and…….) But my opinion is that Russia will have to be with Europe USA in defense against Islam soon just like in the WW’s when Russia fought Germany’s Hitler movement. Because No Muslim country anywhere will ever stop attacking non Muslims or any systems others have…ever.
gravenimage says
Turkey: Muslim cleric who incited Muslim to murder Russian ambassador still preaching, with protection from Erdogan
…………….
Sickening, but who can be surprised?
CRUSADER says
Isn’t Turkey an easy alley to enter EU through?
J D.S says
One of thousands who spews out of their mouths their filthy preaching…and the muslim just swallows that spit down and goes along with it. Oh I know in the U.S. there is still some monitoring of mosques…not like just after 9/11 though
Jule Bacal says
Not nearly enough and ‘free speech’ DOES HAVE SOME REGULATIONS. Islam breaks them all but no one has the guts to call them on it. Yet. I am even kind of glad Omar opened her big mouth because it is causing people to pause…..The more this happens, the more people will have to face and admit that Islam, KKKlan, Nazigroups, Supremacists of any kind have no place in a free country, because they are the Trojan horse thing out to dump our constitution, values, ideals. That is called treason. The Qur’an/hadiths are an antiJew Dog whistle so loud and clear, I dare any apologist on the left or anywhere, anyone with half a brain to read it and still apologise for Islam. I am/was on the left and it only took one reading & just a little history for me to about face. So Please Omar…give us more. Let everyone know the Qur’an is not just a dusty old book but Muslims must take every word and BELIEVE as much today as 600AD or face punishment/death/torment forever after death, for apostasy. I will say it is very cleverly written and the Warlords who put it together covered every argument and filled every hole with more Fear and terror for complete control. (but its such obvious BS) But we just keep writing these things to each other and How are we educating the world?……Or reminding people of the Speech regulations like no slander, libel, incitement, threats, persecution, child porn or endangerment etc. That is not conversation or discussion.
gravenimage says
Grimly true, CRUSADER.
Kepha says
How is this working for a Turkish-Russian rapprochement?