Home > Current Affairs News > Konakcı targets July 15: He said 'Hatay is an Arab city', demanded the caliphate, and insulted a Diyanet official

Konakcı targets July 15: He said 'Hatay is an Arab city', demanded the caliphate, and insulted a Diyanet official

Imam Halil Konakcı, who has called for the caliphate and targeted secularism, women, and artists, and who was previously investigated—only for the case to be dropped—after stating that "Hatay is an Arab city," has now set his sights on the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.

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Halil Konakcı is an imam and a civil servant affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet).

Acting as if the Diyanet did not exist and he was not employed by it, he stated, "In this country, the definitions of Muslim and infidel must be made immediately."

Halil Konakcı, who has never ceased his opposition to the Republic and Atatürk, declared, "We want the office of the Caliphate back, and we will work for this."

It is not just Atatürk and the Republic; Halil Konakcı has had issues with almost the entire society.

He claimed that anyone who listens to the jokes of famous comedian Cem Yılmaz loses their faith.

He stated that singers Orhan Gencebay, İbrahim Tatlıses, Ferhat Göçer, and Muazzez Abacı have apostatized from Islam, and that those who listen to their songs have also left the faith.

Following the massive earthquake that struck 11 provinces, he said, "This will be an atonement for us collectively. This earthquake, these pains, these losses, these unbearable deprivations will be an atonement for our sins and will lead us more quickly to the victory of Islam."

And he made such a remark that the Presidency of Religious Affairs was forced to launch an investigation. Those words, which stirred up Turkey, were as follows: "The majority of Hatay is Arab. We have Kurdish and Arab brothers there. It was like that then, and it is still like that. It was under French occupation until 1938. There were debates about whether it should remain within the border or outside. The ban on the call to prayer (ezan) came in 1932. The French did not ban the call to prayer in the Muslim villages and mosques in Hatay. Even in the center of Hatay and its villages, which were under French occupation, the call to prayer was recited as 'Allahu Akbar' until 1938. When Hatay joined Turkish territory in 1938, the first thing done was to ban the call to prayer. In other words, they committed a cruelty in these lands that the French did not."

A criminal complaint was filed against Halil Konakcı, and an investigation was opened. However, the case was closed with a decision of "non-prosecution."

Naturally, nothing came of the Diyanet's own investigation either.

Why?

To understand why, one must recall his words calling the Vice President of Religious Affairs, Burhan İşliyen, a "foolish man."

Burhan İşliyen had shared a post on social media criticizing Halil Konakcı: "We can discuss disagreements. We can even make harsh criticisms and accusations against each other on issues where we do not think alike and increase our followers. But; have you ever encountered anyone who was influenced by arguments and reached guidance? Or; have you ever seen beautiful people who appeal to hearts arguing?"

Konakcı responded: "The foolish man tweeted the other day, they are going to die from being too polite, the Prophet is being insulted, the other one is insulting the Diyanet from there, and this one wrote saying, we can clash with people we disagree with, we can speak harshly and gather followers, the guy's problem is followers, but he loses sleep counting my followers because he doesn't have any... I don't have such a problem, is it possible for people to reach guidance by being rude and harsh? Come and look, man, what the people here do, all of them came from the street, not from Mecca."

Insults were directed at the Vice President of Religious Affairs, Burhan İşliyen, and the Diyanet resolved it internally! The dirty laundry was washed in private; in other words, a Diyanet official was subjected to insults, and not a single sanction was applied. And this person was a Diyanet civil servant. His superior was left exposed by the remarks made in public.

LUXURY OFFICIAL VEHICLE AND BODYGUARDS

Yes, Halil Konakcı was a civil servant of the state, an imam affiliated with the Diyanet, but he used a luxury official vehicle and his bodyguards were noteworthy.

Konakcı, who gives speeches at programs organized by associations close to the AKP, would arrive at these events in a luxury official vehicle. He would be escorted into the hall by bodyguards at the door.

Here is that footage:

Halil Konakcı, who never falls off the agenda with his scandals, has this time targeted the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.

Calling on the AKP, Konakcı demanded that the name of the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day be changed and the word "democracy" be removed. Konakcı said, "May our glorious July 15 Epic of Heroism, National Unity and Solidarity Day be auspicious, blessed, and holy, not democracy."

Here is that speech: