Diyanet's August 30 sermon includes July 15: Atatürk's name not mentioned

Atatürk's name was not mentioned in the sermon prepared by Diyanet, as August 30 Victory Day coincided with a Friday. 

While the sermon on the meaning and importance of Victory Day focused on the theme of "the spirit that makes us who we are and makes us a nation," it also made references to the events of July 15. However, the name of Atatürk, the leader of Turkey's struggle for independence and the architect of the August 30 Victory, was not included.

The sermon touched upon the struggles the Turkish nation has waged throughout history, emphasizing a timeline stretching from Badr to Malazgirt, from Çanakkale to the August 30 Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, and finally to July 15.

Martyrs, veterans, and state leaders were commemorated, and gratitude and appreciation were expressed toward them. While the love for the homeland and the sacrifices of the martyrs were highlighted with verses from the National Anthem, it was noted that, as in previous years, Atatürk's name was not mentioned.

Here is the Friday sermon for August 30, 2024:

"Respected Muslims!

For us, the homeland carries meanings far greater than just a piece of land. Our heavenly homeland is a legacy from our ancestors. It is a land of scholars and sages. It is the trust of our dear martyrs and heroic veterans. Our homeland is the land where we live freely, our home of peace and security. It is the home where our souls find tranquility, where our identity is shaped, and where our roots deepen. Our homeland is the symbol of our independence. It is the place we ran to from front to front so that no stranger's hand would touch it; it is the place for which we gladly sacrificed our lives. The love of the homeland is so valuable that our Prophet (pbuh) gives the following good news in a hadith about those who keep watch for the safety of the homeland: 'There are two eyes that the fire of Hell will not touch: The first is the eye that weeps out of fear of Allah. The second is the eye that spends its night keeping watch in the way of Allah.'

Dear Believers!

Our love for our homeland is expressed in our National Anthem as follows:

Who would not be a sacrifice for this heavenly homeland?

Martyrs would gush forth if you squeezed the soil, martyrs!

May God take my soul, my beloved, and all I possess,

And may He not deprive me of my one and only homeland in this world.

Yes, as a nation, we have considered defending our homeland a sacred duty. We have remained wholeheartedly committed to the verse of our Almighty Lord: 'Do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers.' We never lost our hope in the face of difficulties. Despite all kinds of impossibilities, we fought against the most intense armies with the strength we drew from our faith and the power we gained from our unity and solidarity. We shielded our bodies against every kind of shameless assault. We protected our honor and dignity, and we took ownership of our independence and future, thank God.

Valuable Muslims!

The spirit that leads us from victory to victory is our heartfelt belief in our Supreme Religion, Islam. At the foundation of this spirit lies our devotion to Allah, our love for our Beloved Prophet (pbuh), our performance of righteous deeds, and our embrace of good character. When we upheld this spirit, we established civilizations that opened and closed eras. We brought goodness, peace, and tranquility to every corner of the world. Responding to the verse, 'Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise...', we ran toward martyrdom and veteran status as if running to paradise without looking back, for the sake of our religion, homeland, and sacred values, so that the calls to prayer, whose testimonies are the foundation of the religion, would echo over our land forever. When we transferred this spirit to every area of our lives, we preserved our faith and culture. We strove to fulfill the duty of commanding good and forbidding evil on earth at the cost of our lives. We became examples and leaders for all humanity in science and knowledge, culture and art.

Dear Muslims!

What falls to us today is to keep this spirit alive, which makes us who we are and makes us a nation; to bring the values that Islam commands and that our Prophet (pbuh) transferred to his life to our children and youth. It is to protect the cherished memory of our ancestors and the sublime values for which our martyrs sacrificed their lives. It is to fulfill our responsibilities for the integrity of our state, the survival of our homeland, and the safety of our nation. It is to be vigilant against those who want to sow seeds of discord and corruption among us, and to never compromise our brotherhood.

On this occasion, I commemorate with mercy, gratitude, and appreciation our dear martyrs, our heroic veterans who have passed into the afterlife, and our state leaders who sacrificed their lives for a homeland where we can live freely with the love of 'i'lây-i kelimetullah' (exalting the word of Allah), from Badr to Malazgirt; from Çanakkale to the August 30 Battle of the Commander-in-Chief; and from July 15 to the present day.

I end my sermon with this line from our National Anthem, which heralds eternal independence to our dear nation:

Freedom is the right of my flag that has lived free;

Independence is the right of my nation that worships God!"