The 13 March 2009 report, prepared by Turkish General Staff Intelligence Unit Head, Lieutenant General Hakkı Pekin, reveals the Tahşiyeciler group’s ideology strongly aligned with al-Qaeda, viewing its leader Osama Bin Laden as Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam.
Members of the Tahşiyeciler group were arrested following a 2010 police operation which found hand grenades and guns along with pro-al-Qaeda propaganda.
On claims that the group suffered from defamation, raids were conducted in mid-December 2014 against the Zaman daily. The newspaper’s Chief Editor Ekrem Dumanlı was detained and Samanyolu Broadcast Group President Hidayet Karaca was arrested on dubious charges which were based entirely on a fictional TV show and a few press articles.
Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen was also subjected to a red notice over a 6 April 2009 sermon where he condemned the group. Charging the press, pro-government police has audaciously claimed that Gülen’s sermon was behind the operation against the group.
The recently discovered report proves that this scenario as implausible. The Turkish General Staff report dates from 13 March 2009, before Mr. Gülen’s 6 April 2009 sermon. Furthermore the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MİT) had also been tracking the group some years before.
Intricacies of the report
Group leader Mehmet Doğan and two prominent figures Mustafa Doğan and Mehmet Nuri Turan are all outlined for their sympathies with al-Qaeda.
The report states the following. “M. Doğan declares those who do not support al-Qaeda Munafiq" Munafiq is a term in Islam coined to describe those who outwardly practice Islam while actually not believing. The status is viewed as a significant sin in the religion.
“Mehmet Doğan and group members have full support Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda” for “fighting against the infidels.”
The report also indicates that the Tahşiyeciler group views the Turkish state as “an infidel” which “will only be saved by a fight against it alongside al-Qaeda.”
Key group member Mehmet Nuri Turan is noted to have warm relations with other terrorist group’s such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kongra-Gel and groups engaged in drug smuggling across Turkey.
Toxic phone recordings
The phone taps on the organization also underlines the severity of their ideology.
“The holy jihad goes through placing your index finger on the trigger of an automatic rifle; that’s the real jihad,” says suspect Faris Mağin speaking to another member.
And in a phone conversation on November 23, 2009 the group leader Mehmet Doğan preached “The religion without shedding blood and jihad is a falsified religion”.
Published on BGNNews, 09 January 2015, Friday
Related
- Gov’t tries to frame Hizmet with secret statements from shady sources
- Questions and answers in Tahşiye group debate
- Behind the scenes of Tahşiyeciler setup as pretext for clampdown on free press
- Summary of proceedings reveals plot against media
- Police kept crucial documents from court to support plot against media
- Turkish intelligence and national police all investigated ‘Tahşiyeciler'
