Levent Kenez/Stockholm
Mehmet Sait Yaz, a deputy from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) representing Diyarbakır, made a speech on October 2 in parliament in which he recited verses from the Quran. Yaz called for Muslim countries to make a unified decision to confront the “criminal and thieving” Israel, emphasizing that this is a religious obligation.
Ending his speech by quoting the Quran verse, “Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands,” Yaz said that Israel, using the latest technology provided by the United States and the West, is bombing Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria indiscriminately, targeting mosques, hospitals and marketplaces. “Thousands of women, children and defenseless Muslims are being brutally murdered,” he added.
Yaz further argued that while the West stands united in supporting Israel, kings, shahs and sultans empowered by the US remain silent, thus becoming complicit in this oppression. “No organization tasked with defending the right to life is effective; prayers do not reach the oppressed, and curses do not topple the oppressor,” he said.
Yaz, a former imam and preacher at the historic Diyarbakır Ulu Mosque, was elected a member of parliament in the May 14, 2023 general election. During the election campaign he said in an interview, “I did not run for office on my own initiative. The candidacy offer came directly from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”
This is not Yaz’s first time addressing the subject of Israel in parliament. On April 18, after Iran launched 300 missiles and drones towards Israel, marking the first instance of Iran firing missiles directly into Israeli territory, on April 13, Yaz delivered a speech congratulating Iran.
“Yes, Iran has struck Israel. The so-called untouchable Israel and America, which no one dares to confront, were hit by Iranian missiles. For this reason, I congratulate Iran and the Iranian people for throwing stones and launching missiles at Israel, the Great Satan,” he said.
Again on April 18, in a special broadcast praising Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 on Rehber TV, a Turkish-language religious network funded by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force operatives, Yaz delivered a passionate speech in support of Iran.
“Iran is not fighting with a Muslim state. Iran is fighting against a Jewish state. It is obligatory for all Muslims to stand with Iran,” Yaz said. He criticized certain commentators for opposing Iran, saying they are supported by Western countries and speaking on their behalf. “Unfortunately, such heartless comments are also made on our national television channels. It’s unclear who is on which side. Are you for Israel, or for Iran? Are you for the Muslims of Gaza, or for the Jews?” he added.
In the program, where he also recited verses from the Quran, Yaz stated that the “infidels were left speechless,” claiming that the world has been silenced and intimidated by Iran’s defiance against Israel and Western imperialism. “This fear alone is enough for them. They have gone underground,” he said.
Yaz served for 30 years at the Ulu Mosque, the most popular mosque in Diyarbakır, where he was known for his pro-government propaganda during sermons. Following a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016, which many believe was a false flag operation orchestrated by Erdogan’s government, the event enabled the purging of tens of thousands of civil servants and military officers from the state, facilitating Erdogan’s consolidation of power. During those years, he called on his congregation to support him. After retiring in 2017, he established the Qur’an Studies Foundation, where he taught theology students in Dİyarbakır.
Yaz first entered politics in 2018, although the AKP did not nominate him as a parliamentary candidate at that time.
Yaz argues that the Kurdish issue, which refers to the Kurdish population’s quest for equal rights, cultural recognition and political representation in Turkey, can only be resolved on an Islamic basis. In 2023 he claimed that there were no Kurdish candidates on the lists of the pro-Kurdish, secular Green Left Party (YSP) in elections.
He pointed out that the lists were entirely composed of Turks, defining the candidates as neither Kurdish nor Muslim. Additionally, Yaz characterized the secular, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as anti-Kurdish, asserting that the collaboration between the YSP and the CHP in the 2023 presidential election, held at the same time as parliamentary elections, was facilitated by the United States.
Yaz currently serves on the Human Rights Investigation Committee in parliament.
