Turkey’s Süleymancı cemaat, one of the country’s numerous non-mainstream, anti-Erdoğan Islamic religious groups known for their influence in swinging Turkish elections through their large groups of followers, was targeted last week with an investigation and over 30 arrests. The Süleymancı cemaat has long been known for its tense relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
By Leo Kendrick • Medyascope
The Süleymancı cemaat previously enjoyed a cordial relationship with the now-Turkish President under previous leader Kemal Kacar, who led the group until his death in 2000. Under the leadership of Kacar’s successor Ahmet Denizolgun, however, the relationship between Erdoğan and the group soured for reasons understood to be largely personal.
Falling out between Erdoğan and the Süleymancı cemaat
The reasons for the enmity between Erdoğan and Ahmet Denizolgun appear to stem from Erdoğan’s endorsement of Ahmet’s brother Mehmet Denizolgun to lead the group following the death of Kacar. The schism between the two brothers led to the departure of numerous cemaat members, many of whom went on to join Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Ahmet Denizolgun ran as a candidate for the Motherland Party in Turkey’s 2002 elections and again for the Democrat Party in 2007 but was unsuccessful in both his campaigns.
Following Ahmet Denizolgun’s death in 2016, Alihan Kuriş took over leadership of the Süleymancı cemaat. Kuriş was among last week’s group of arrests.
Alleged financial crimes
A report from the Ankara Chief Prosecutor listed the group’s alleged implication in financial crimes as the reason for the investigation and arrests. A group of 49 individuals linked to the Süleymancı cemaat were taken into detention last Thursday (August 13). Yesterday (August 16), it was announced that 32 of those detained would be incarcerated, including Kuriş.
The chief prosecutor’s report noted a ‘conspicuous rise in the amount of financial transactions and business dealings’ by the group in the years following 2020.
Alihan Kuriş, the group’s current leader, was captured last week by Turkish Police in a secret compartment of his home after initial attempts to locate him were unsuccessful.
In his statement to the prosecutor, Kuriş denied the charges against him, maintaining that he held no leadership position within the cemaat, instead describing himself as the ‘heir and representative’ of Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, the group’s founder and leader until his death in 1959.
Evaluating the operation against the Süleymancı cemaat, Medyascope Editor-in-Chief Ruşen Çakır said in a recent video analysis “There is a financial element here but this is really an operation against the cemaat itself…Finances are the soft underbelly of all cemaats. If other cemaats do anything that upsets the current government, they could be targeted next through investigations into their financial dealings.”
Anti-Erdoğan Islamic religious group subject to investigation, arrests | by Leo Kendrick | Edited by Medyascope English Newsroom
