Islamist cult leader targets AKP female politicians for defending law protecting women

Islamist cult leader Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, also known as Cübbeli Ahmet Hoca, has targeted two AKP female politicians for defending the Law No. 6284 to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women. Referring to AKP group deputy chair Özlem Zengin and Family Minister Derya Yanık with the slur of “gavur” (infidel), Ünlü said: “Can there be such a thing as ‘Woman’s statement is what is essential’?”

Thursday April 13 2023 03:20 pm

Duvar English

Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, a popular preacher from the İsmailağa order of Naqshbandi Sufis, has targeted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) group deputy chair Özlem Zengin and Family Minister Derya Yanık, without explicitly giving their names, over their support for the Law No. 6284 to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women.

Ünlü referred to Zengin and Yanık with the slur of “gavur” (infidel), a pejorative designation for non-Muslims, to criticize them.

“God bless that Mr. (President Recep) Tayyip (Erdoğan) has annulled Istanbul Agreement, but women within the party have stood up. Are you Muslim or infidel (gavur), what are you? Can there be such a thing as ‘Woman’s statement is what is essential’?” Ünlü said.

“Where did this come from that it is the ‘woman’s statement which is what is essential’? Can women not lie and slander? Men slander and so do women. Is there such a thing in Islam? The truth’s statement is what is essential,” Ünlü said on his YouTube account on April 12.

The Islamist New Welfare Party, which joined the ruling AKP’s coalition, is demanding that the government annul the Law No. 6284 to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women, which they say is being used by women to “slander men” and “push away their husbands from home.”

In the face of this discussion, AKP group deputy chair Zengin has staunchly defended the law by saying "It is our red line.” In return, Zengin has become the target of Islamists. Family Minister Yanık has thrown her support behind Zengin saying that the law carries utmost importance and will continue to exist.

The law to protect family and prevent violence against women was accepted in Turkey on March 8, 2012. The purpose of the law is to protect women, children, family members and victims of stalking who have been subject to violence or are at risk of violence.