Secular party embraces religious order into fold
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 12, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - A senior member of the Kadiri religious order joined the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, in Istanbul late Tuesday, announcing he was bringing 30,000 votes with him. At a ceremony held at the CHP Sultanbeyli branch office, a party badge was pinned on Abdül Hafız Aydın by the mayoral candidate of the party for Sultanbeyli, Osman Nuri Bedir.
Bedir described Aydın as an opinion leader, and noted that he was the former True Path Party, or DYP, deputy, Siirt Abdülrezzak Ceylan’s nephew, who was shot and killed in Parliament in 1989 during an altercation with another deputy.
Bedir, a former imam of the historical Sultanahmet Mosque, said Aydın had an electorate of 9,000 in Sultanbeyli alone, adding the CHP was a party that welcomed people of all beliefs and culture. "Our opinion leader friend chose us because of our theological background," Bedir said.
On the issue of CHP’s headscarf and Koran course initiatives, Bedir said he was opposed to labeling such acts.
He also said no one should misunderstand why Aydın was joining the CHP, adding they would be opening the election bureau of the CHP in Sultanbeyli this Sunday and there would be many more people who would sign up then. Aydın, speaking at the ceremony, said: "I am joining the CHP with the 30,000 votes I have in Istanbul. I believe the CHP will serve us better."
He said he was a Kadiri religious order member and he wanted to represent them. "We have huge potential in both Sultanbeyli and in Istanbul. Our people in Sultanbeyli were victimized by the Justice and Development Party, [or AKP]," he said.
Kadiri is a Sufi religious order founded by the Abdülkadir Geylani who lived between 1077 and 1166 and he has many followers in Iraq, Egypt and Turkey.
He also said he had not met CHP Leader Deniz Baykal yet but would like to do so.
Bedir, a former imam of the historical Sultanahmet Mosque, said Aydın had an electorate of 9,000 in Sultanbeyli alone, adding the CHP was a party that welcomed people of all beliefs and culture. "Our opinion leader friend chose us because of our theological background," Bedir said.
On the issue of CHP’s headscarf and Koran course initiatives, Bedir said he was opposed to labeling such acts.
He also said no one should misunderstand why Aydın was joining the CHP, adding they would be opening the election bureau of the CHP in Sultanbeyli this Sunday and there would be many more people who would sign up then. Aydın, speaking at the ceremony, said: "I am joining the CHP with the 30,000 votes I have in Istanbul. I believe the CHP will serve us better."
He said he was a Kadiri religious order member and he wanted to represent them. "We have huge potential in both Sultanbeyli and in Istanbul. Our people in Sultanbeyli were victimized by the Justice and Development Party, [or AKP]," he said.
Kadiri is a Sufi religious order founded by the Abdülkadir Geylani who lived between 1077 and 1166 and he has many followers in Iraq, Egypt and Turkey.
He also said he had not met CHP Leader Deniz Baykal yet but would like to do so.