ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Mustafa Muslim, the older brother of the former leader of Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Rojava, Salih Muslim, called on Kurdish population in Turkey to support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s re-election.
“He is a believer and a Muslim. When a believer promises, they fulfill them … I say that they [Kurds] — all should support Erdogan in this stage,” Muslim told reporters during an Iftar arranged by AKP in Diyarbakir on Sunday attended by Erdogan.
He was often seen on Turkish media during the country’s offensive on the Kurdish city of Afrin and when PYD’s armed wing People’s Protection Units (YPG) was resisting Kurdish city of Kobane against ISIS where the professor spoke against the activities and policies of his younger brother’s party.
The older Muslim was born in Kobane in 1940 and has studied Islamic studies in Syria. He has taught in Syria, Kurdistan Region, and Turkey.
He praised Erdogan’s rule, claiming that no previous Turkish governments granted Kurds the things the AKP party has over it’s the past 16 years.
“Before 20-30 years, no one dared to say: ‘I am a Kurd’ or work in the market. Thanks be to Allah, Kurds have their own income and TVs. Other things are being added step by step,” said Muslim
He claimed that the people of Afrin have been “misled in the 50-60 years by communism,” calling on Muslims to go to the city to “awaken them … by shaking and slapping them.”
On the same day he said these remarks, Erdogan promised to turn the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir into a touristic destination through new projects.
He has a program on state-owned TRT where he interprets the Quran in Kurdish.
Salih Muslim is in charge of PYD's foreign affairs now and spends most of his time in Europe, seeking foreign support for his party.
“He is a believer and a Muslim. When a believer promises, they fulfill them … I say that they [Kurds] — all should support Erdogan in this stage,” Muslim told reporters during an Iftar arranged by AKP in Diyarbakir on Sunday attended by Erdogan.
He was often seen on Turkish media during the country’s offensive on the Kurdish city of Afrin and when PYD’s armed wing People’s Protection Units (YPG) was resisting Kurdish city of Kobane against ISIS where the professor spoke against the activities and policies of his younger brother’s party.
The older Muslim was born in Kobane in 1940 and has studied Islamic studies in Syria. He has taught in Syria, Kurdistan Region, and Turkey.
He praised Erdogan’s rule, claiming that no previous Turkish governments granted Kurds the things the AKP party has over it’s the past 16 years.
“Before 20-30 years, no one dared to say: ‘I am a Kurd’ or work in the market. Thanks be to Allah, Kurds have their own income and TVs. Other things are being added step by step,” said Muslim
He claimed that the people of Afrin have been “misled in the 50-60 years by communism,” calling on Muslims to go to the city to “awaken them … by shaking and slapping them.”
On the same day he said these remarks, Erdogan promised to turn the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir into a touristic destination through new projects.
He has a program on state-owned TRT where he interprets the Quran in Kurdish.
Salih Muslim is in charge of PYD's foreign affairs now and spends most of his time in Europe, seeking foreign support for his party.
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