Tension over oath in Antalya Menzil lodge case: Title deed and rent dispute grows

The long-standing inheritance and property disputes between brothers Saki, Mübarek, and Fettah Elhüseyni have intensified, particularly regarding the lodge building in the Etiler neighborhood of Muratpaşa, Antalya, in addition to many other lodges of the Menzil community across Turkey.

The title deed for the building has been registered under Mübarek Elhüseyni since 2016. In 2022, when followers were required to provide a notarized lease agreement to the municipality and the electricity administration to install a solar energy system on the building, they signed a contract with Mübarek Elhüseyni for a monthly rent of 15 thousand TL through a company named "Vera Kırtasiye, Hayvancılık, Organizasyon Turizm, Gıda, Özel Eğitim Sanayi".

During this process, shortly before the death of the community's former leader Abdulbaki Elhüseyni, E.A., a follower loyal to Mübarek Elhüseyni, signed an official commitment document on behalf of the relevant company stating that the building would be vacated in July 2024, without any prior warning. Subsequently, E.A. made a second lease agreement using the building's address with a newly established company called "Nakkaş Ltd. Şti.".

According to the report by Cumhuriyet, the second contract was deemed invalid due to the existing agreement with the first company. Following this, in July 2024, Mübarek Elhüseyni transferred the title deed of the building to the Semerkand Foundation, managed by his brother Fettah Elhüseyni, through a donation. Faced with these developments, the lodge's followers were forced to pay 4 million TL to Mübarek Elhüseyni for the renovation of an illegal madrasa and 457 thousand 668 TL in back rent to the foundation to avoid being evicted from the building.

COURT DEMANDS OATH

The parties resorted to the judiciary due to their disagreement. While the followers argued that the building was purchased with donations and is the "property of the ummah," Mübarek Elhüseyni maintained his claim of personal ownership. In an interim decision on February 24, 2026, the court imposed a condition on Mübarek to take an oath in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure to verify the truth of his claims.

On March 9, the followers applied to the court and submitted the text of the oath that Mübarek Elhüseyni is required to read in court as follows:

"I swear on my honor, my dignity, my children, and all the beliefs and values I hold sacred that I will answer truthfully within the scope of the entire case file regarding the fact that the lease agreement dated November 1, 2022, which we concluded with the defendant for the rental of the subject property, and the eviction commitment were not made/signed at the same time; that the date and text in the eviction commitment were not filled in by me and/or by others under my instruction without the defendant's will by taking advantage of the defendant's signature; that I did not make any additions, corrections, and/or alterations on the subject eviction commitment; that I met with the defendant in the province of Antalya on June 1, 2023, which is the preparation date of the eviction commitment; that the defendant promised of his own free will and signed that he would vacate the property on July 15, 2024, as stated in the eviction commitment; and that the subject property was not purchased with charitable funds; and that I will not hide anything."

OATH HAS NOT YET BEEN TAKEN

However, according to the latest information obtained, it has been learned that Mübarek Elhüseyni has not yet read this oath before the court. While the legal struggle between the parties is shaped around the title deed, eviction, and the oath, it will become clear in the coming days whether the followers in the lodge can remain in the building and how the case will conclude.