Turkey: Alleged protest of call to prayer slammed

By Muhammed Boztepe, Mehmet Tosun and Gunay Nuh

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s president, politicians and a religious union on Monday slammed a group’s alleged protest of the Muslim call for prayer (azan) during Women’s Day observances in Istanbul last week.

“It’s our honor to be against the enemy of the nation, the enemy of the azan, the enemy of the land, and the enemy of the state,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a campaign rally in the southeastern Adana province.

“They directly attack our independence and our future, disrespecting our flag and our prayer,” he said, adding that no one who does that will get his respect.

Marchers marking International Women's Day in Istanbul on Friday allegedly protested the evening call to prayer with whistles and slogans.

Devlet Bahceli, leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), called the protesters’ whistles “rude” and “immoral.”

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) spokesman Faik Oztrak said the noise during the protests was against police intervention, not the call to prayer, adding that “no one has any problem” with the azan.

In a press release, members of Diyanet-Sen (Religion Union) called the protesters’ actions “disrespectful and unacceptable.”

Erol Ayar, head of the union in the northwestern Edirne province, said: “In a country that has been the bearer of Islam for more than a thousand years, it is injustice to the Turkish people and Muslims all over the world to show the temerity to protest the azan.”

*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur