Hatred of Iran while bombs fall: Sofuoğlu's test of conscience

Prof. Dr. Ebubekir Sofuoğlu, who has drawn reactions with many of his previous statements, has this time openly targeted Iran.

Sofuoğlu, who previously compared houses where university students live to "brothels"; called Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle "Trojan horses of the devil introduced to the Islamic world"; and asked "Can there be a prostitute in a mosque?" while referring to an icon in Hagia Sophia as a "prostitute," has now made unbelievable remarks about Iran on his own YouTube channel.

Describing the attack by Israel and the US on Iran as a "fake war game," Sofuoğlu claimed that Iran is being highlighted in the Islamic world during this process and that the regime will present itself as an invincible power.

The basis for Sofuoğlu's remarks, which could be described as hostility toward Iran, was his own unique interpretation of history. According to him, it was Iran that destroyed the Umayyads and the Abbasids. He also claimed that it was none other than Iran that fought against Islamic states.

Now, let us pause here and look at the matter a little more closely.

The US, whose history is full of occupations and invasions, is attacking Iran as the latest link in this chain and is once again showing its imperialist face. In such a situation, why would one adopt a hostile attitude toward the country under attack instead of talking about imperialism and the politics of invasion?

Is it sectarian nationalism?

Is it an obsessive hatred of Iran?

Or is it the subconscious of fanaticism?

Sofuoğlu is still talking about the country where the bombs are falling, not the bombs in the air. Not long ago, dozens of children lost their lives in bombings that took place just a few days ago. If you cannot control your hatred of Iran even in such a situation, the topic to be discussed is not politics; it is conscience and fairness.

Of course, you can object to Iran's political structure and the social policies it implements. Of course, you can criticize Iran on many issues, especially theological ones. However, you cannot talk about a country under an open imperialist attack with coffeehouse-style theories about "staged fights." This is not called criticism; it is a hostile attitude, regardless of your intentions.

Let us come to Sofuoğlu's famous historical determinations.

What was it? Iran destroyed the Umayyads and the Abbasids. You might as well say that the Iranians also fought the Battle of the Camel and Siffin.

The history you call the Umayyads is a history where oppression, persecution, and tears were never absent. The hands of Umayyad soldiers are stained with the blood of thousands of people, including Turks.

The Umayyads are the name of the lineage that massacred the Prophet's family. The Umayyads are the name of the mentality that put thousands of Muslims to the sword in Harrah, looted Medina, and committed all kinds of atrocities for the sake of spoils.

It was not Iran that destroyed the Umayyads, but the tyrannical order they established. It was destroyed by the politics of corruption, the social chaos they created, and the greed for power, property, and authority.

Furthermore, is such an order being defended? If this order were not to be destroyed, what would happen?

A similar situation applies to the Abbasids, if not for all their periods. Ultimately, we are talking about a dynasty, a sultanate regime.

Under these circumstances, relying on the Umayyads and Abbasids for your hatred of Iran is an injustice committed not only against today but also against history. Turning history into material for sectarian strife is not understanding the past, but holding it hostage to today's anger.

With these words, Sofuoğlu represents not only himself but a mentality. It is necessary to recognize that mentality. Because that mentality, even when looking at children dying under bombs, remembers its grudge first; it sees the "other," not imperialism. The names speaking change, the screens change, the podiums change, but that narrow mentality fed by fanaticism does not change.