Is the İsmailağa Community a 'Parallel State'?!

Despite the experience with the Fetullah Gülen community, the AKP's affection for various sects and communities, primarily the İsmailağa community, is no secret; it is common knowledge.

When the head of the İsmailağa community, Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu, passed away 2 years ago, Erdoğan attended the funeral ceremony and used expressions such as "our leader, the spiritual architect of the ummah" for Ustaosmanoğlu.

After Ustaosmanoğlu, Hasan Kılıç was brought to the head of the community.

One day before the local elections on March 31, Erdoğan visited Kılıç along with Murat Kurum, the People's Alliance's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate. Kılıç offered prayers for both Erdoğan and Kurum.

Hasan Kılıç passed away exactly one week ago today and was laid to rest on April 23. Erdoğan, who did not attend the ceremony held at Anıtkabir or the special session at the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) on the occasion of April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day, went to Istanbul for Kılıç's funeral ceremony and carried his coffin. The community's new caliph was also announced at the funeral ceremony.

It was not just Erdoğan, some AKP deputies, and the People's Alliance partner BBP Chairman Mustafa Destici who shared the grief of the İsmailağa community.

While TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, and President of Religious Affairs Ali Erbaş published condolence messages, some AKP members, another partner of the People's Alliance, HÜDA PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, and even HAMAS leader Ismail Haniyeh visited the İsmailağa community to offer their condolences.

IF THE COMMUNITY IS PREVENTING THE "SIEGE"

We will draw attention to a topic emphasized by some community members and pro-government writers after the deaths of both Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu and Hasan Kılıç.

For example, Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, known to the public as Cübbeli Ahmet, who was expelled from the İsmailağa community last month, claimed when Ustaosmanoğlu died that there was an attempt to bury him in Beykoz Çavuşbaşı and that this was an "ecumenical project," stating, "FETÖ is finished, but interfaith dialogue and ecumenical projects are not! If we had not intervened, they would have prevented people from coming to Fatih by burying our Efendi hazretleri in Çavuşbaşı."

Following Ustaosmanoğlu, Yusuf Kaplan, one of the writers for the pro-government media outlet Yeni Şafak, explained that "İsmailağa, and therefore Mahmud Efendi, played a key role in protecting Turkey's independence against attempts to besiege Turkey through the Patriarchate" and noted the following:

"By constructing a deep, rooted, supra-political policy full of wisdom, foresight, and discernment that would guarantee Turkey's independence against the Patriarchate, a large and indestructible wall was built to prevent the country's independence from being endangered."

Again, Yeni Şafak writer and former Head of Police Intelligence Bülent Orakoğlu quoted these statements by Yusuf Kaplan and offered his "respect and gratitude on behalf of our country to the İsmailağa community and its leaders, especially Mahmud Ustaosmanoğlu."

Salih Tuna from Sabah, who touched upon the conflicts within the community one day after the funeral ceremony of Hasan Kılıç, who succeeded Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu, also underlined the same issue as follows:

"Against the place held by the Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, which has symbolic authority over Orthodox churches, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of all Orthodox Christians with the title of 'Ecumenical Patriarch', what could be more natural than wanting to divide and fragment the İsmailağa Community, which always stands uncompromisingly by its country and nation in Çarşamba?"

In summary, what we understand from all of this is:

The İsmailağa Community is supposedly preventing our country from being besieged through the Patriarchate, especially the seizure of the Suriçi region!..

It is true, this may be the case; but then shouldn't the following be asked?

According to the Treaty of Lausanne, is the Fener Greek Patriarchate not subordinate to the Fatih District Governorship, and therefore to the Ministry of Interior?

Are they not doing their job, such that "protecting Turkey's independence" has been left to the İsmailağa community?

In other words; is there no state in Istanbul, or is the İsmailağa community a parallel state that it plays such a "key role"?

Another glaring contradiction!..

The İsmailağa community and its leaders are fighting against the "Ecumenical project"; but it is as clear as day that Erdoğan, who is so close to the community, is the one personally opening the way for the Patriarchate.

Even though it is contrary to Lausanne, is Patriarch Bartholomew not now being invited even to the Palace with the title of "ecumenical", exactly as the imperialists desire?

Despite being a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, is it not being overlooked that Bartholomew is hosted like a head of state in many countries around the world, participates in interfaith dialogue meetings, and acts as a spokesperson for Greek-Hellenic politics?

Here is the most recent example we wrote about the other day:

Did Bartholomew not participate in the "Our Ocean Conference" held in Athens on April 16-17, which was protested not only by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defense but also by the AKP, and where Greece declared two new marine parks in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, and give a speech with the title of "Ecumenical Patriarch"?

What do those who praise the struggle of the İsmailağa community say to this trend?!

IF ONLY THEY WOULD OPEN THE "GATE OF HATRED" TOO

Let us finish with one last piece of news from the Patriarchate.

As is known, Greece gained its independence from the Ottomans with the Morea rebellion, which began in 1821 and in which thousands of Turks and Muslims were massacred. The pioneers of this uprising were the church and the priests. Patriarch Gregorius, the head of the Fener Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul, was one of them. Gregorius was tried by the order of Sultan Mahmud II and was executed for treason in front of the middle gate, which is the main entrance of the Patriarchate. That gate has been closed for exactly 203 years since that day. The apparent reason is that Gregorius was buried right in front of the gate and it is kept closed so that his grave is not walked over... According to claims, it is a vow that the gate will not be opened "until one of the Turkish greats is hanged there or Istanbul falls back into the hands of the Greeks." That is why it is called the "gate of hatred"!..

We are coming to this point:

For some time now, the Fener Greek Patriarchate has begun to commemorate that Patriarch as a "martyr" at the gate where he was hanged.

This year's commemoration was also held a few days before Bartholomew attended the "Our Ocean Conference" in Greece. Bartholomew held a ritual at the gate of hatred again, lit candles, placed flowers, and considered Gregorius a "martyr".

In short; since the İsmailağa community is protecting and watching over our independence and Istanbul, I wish they would also lend a hand to this "gate of hatred" business!..