08.11.2025 11:37
The Kocaeli Mufti's Office announced that on November 10th, in commemoration of the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, a prayer (mevlit) will be recited in all mosques across the province. The decision of the Mufti's Office disturbed Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uysal, a faculty member at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Political Sciences. Uysal claimed that "Atatürk tried to uproot Islam from these lands." The academic, whose post drew reactions, later deleted it.
The Kocaeli Mufti's Office announced that on November 10, the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, prayers will be held in all mosques across the province. This decision by the Mufti's Office was met with criticism from Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uysal, a faculty member at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Political Sciences.
"TO PLEASE WHOM?"
Uysal shared the announcement of the Kocaeli Mufti's Office on his social media account, stating, "While Atatürk was trying to uproot Islam from these lands and was against such religious ceremonies, who are we trying to please by holding a prayer for Atatürk?"
Uysal suggested that the prayer might be held not "for the sake of Allah's pleasure," but "due to a sense of inferiority."
DELETED HIS POST
The academic's words quickly drew significant backlash on social media. Following the criticism, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uysal deleted the post he shared from his account.
WHO IS AHMET UYSAL?
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uysal graduated from the Department of Sociology at Middle East Technical University. He obtained his master's and doctoral degrees from Southern Illinois University in the United States. Uysal, a faculty member at Istanbul University, has published two books titled "The Image of Turkey in Egypt Before and After the Revolution" and "Sociology of Social Movements."
Uysal, who served as the founding president of the Iranian Studies Center (IRAM), currently holds the presidency of the Middle East Strategic Research Center (ORSAM) and speaks English, Arabic, and French.