'Santa Claus' targeted by AKP-linked figure

In 2011, the then-Mufti of Keşan, Süleyman Yeniçeri, made a statement that was widely discussed at the time, saying of Santa Claus, "If he were an honest person, he would enter through the door."

At the time, Yeniçeri sparked a long-running debate with his words: "It is not clear whether Santa Claus lived or not. A place is mentioned, and it is claimed that he lived there. But he is a figure created by the Christian world. Santa Claus enters through the chimney and the window. But if he were a decent person, he would enter through the door. We enter through the door. The Quran says, 'Enter houses through their doors.' Why does he enter through the chimney?"

Twelve years after the mufti's statement, journalist Erem Şentürk, known for his proximity to the AKP, claimed in a post on his YouTube channel that Santa Claus was a 'child rapist'.

Şentürk said of Santa Claus, "Who is this so-called Santa Claus? As a character, he is a child molester, a pedophile. He enters houses and comes to rape children. He is a child rapist."