Support for Atatürk enemy comes from Bayancuk, known as Ebu Hanzala

Ercan KÜÇÜK - 12punto.com.tr

A prison sentence of up to 7 years, 9 months, and 15 days was requested for Ahmet Bostancı, who left a mosque during Friday prayers on the anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's death after reacting to prayers being said for Atatürk, and who insulted Atatürk and the imam who prayed for him in a social media post. The court decided to release Ahmet Bostancı, taking into account the time he spent in detention and the fact that evidence had been collected.

Following Bostancı's release, slogans of “Long live Sharia” were chanted accompanied by takbirs at the Istanbul Anatolian Courthouse, where the hearing was held.

Bostancı continues to post content praising religious orders on his social media accounts. In recent days, Bostancı had been having arguments with Salafi groups on social media. Emphasizing that he received backlash from Salafi groups because he defended religious orders, Bostancı stated that when he was arrested, Halis Bayancuk, who uses the alias Ebu Hanzala, supported him by sending lawyers.

BAYANCUK SENT LAWYERS

Quoting a tweet in which he was criticized, Bostancı wrote the following regarding the support provided by Bayancuk:

“He sent his lawyer to me twice. In the first lawyer meeting, I told him that I love religious orders and Sufism and that I consider their work legitimate. Our paths completely diverged there anyway. He never pressed the issue. They said, ‘We came to help. We came to ask if there is anything we can do financially or morally.’ I rejected this with courtesy and good manners. I thanked them. They came sincerely and left sincerely.

Later, this lawyer came to see me again one day before the court hearing where I was released. Even though I said during the meeting, ‘Look, I am a follower of a religious order, we do not think the same way, we do not see things the same way,’ he actually proved this when he came for the second time. They renewed their offer, saying, ‘We sincerely want to support you. Do you have approval or permission for us to organize a tag campaign? We came to ask how you are and to help you as much as we can.’ I had said, ‘Muslims are supporting me more or less, you can do it together with them.’

I never told the Salafis ‘come and help me,’ they came themselves.”

Halis Bayancuk, who supports Ahmet Bostancı, draws attention with his views and activities. Bayancuk, who leads the Salafi Tawhid Group, had been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for “establishing and managing an armed terrorist organization.” The release decision regarding Bayancuk was announced on the group's publication organ, the website ‘Tevhid Gündemi’, with the headline “11 years of lawlessness have come to an end.” The article on the site claimed that Bayancuk was released on the grounds that there was “no suspicion of flight.”

ALSO INCLUDED IN THE DIYANET REPORT

Bayancuk was also included in the Report on Religious Orders and Communities prepared by the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) after the July 15 coup attempt. HÜDA PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu had served as the lawyer for Bayancuk's father, Hacı Bayancuk, who was a Shura member of Hezbollah. The report states that Bayancuk has been detained many times for being a member of and recruiting for terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and has been tried with a life sentence.

The report notes that among Bayancuk's prominent views are that he treats the religion-state relationship as a matter of faith, advocates for the caliphate, and views other forms of government as taghut (idolatry) and shirk (polytheism). Bayancuk's activities include opening mosques and children's schools to recruit for the group, and conducting propaganda on the internet and in magazines.

In the evaluation regarding Bayancuk in the report, it was written that Bayancuk is in the Salafi-Takfiri line, advocates for a religious-Sharia administration, and considers other forms of government as disbelief.