The world has seen a string of dictators and oppressors who have tried in many ways to bring humanity under their sway. They also tried to subdue humanity into worshipping them. Examples of such lunatics are Fir’awn and Nimrūd.

In the not-so-distant past, the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire were subjected to the horrible anti-Islamic policies of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. To this day, pictures of this evil man who tried to destroy Islām are found all over the streets and squares of Turkey. Government buildings, Universities and schools all have busts of him. Muslims and non-Muslims are commanded to venerate and honour him, like some sort of superhuman.

Outwardly, he is portrayed as a great leader, a man who stood up and fought for independence and so on. However, that is not the focus of our discussion. The reality is that he stands as the face of secularism and modernism in Turkey and beyond. Using the garb of nationalism and independence, he made countless attacks upon Islām and the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire, killing people, burning Islamic books, and destroying Masājid in the process.

In this article, we shall concentrate on the attempts he made to destroy Islām and the horrible and ghastly end he faced. By taking a closer look at his dark deeds, we realise and understand that he was an enemy of Islām, an enemy of Allāh Ta’ālā, and an enemy of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

The reason for this topic is quite clear: Islamophobia, with its roots and foundation having been laid by such people, is at its peak in many parts of the world.

The horrible end of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk should stand as an exemplary lesson for leaders and rulers who desire to attack and wipe out Islām. Secondly, those Muslims who have swallowed and embraced Kemalism and have allowed it to take root in their hearts and minds must open their eyes and see the disastrous consequences that have resulted from secularism and its corollaries.

Thirdly, there are leaders and rulers in various parts of the world that are involved in attacking Islām and the Muslims. It seems that history is repeating itself and man hasn’t learnt from the stories of Fir’awn, Nimrūd, and his cronies. Fourthly, it’s about time that Muslims who subscribe to secularism and modernism see it for exactly what it is, a pile of filth.

Why the Ignorance?

One of the main reasons for the widespread ignorance surrounding the reality of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is that it is illegal to speak ill of him or to criticise him. Turkish law 5816 protects the memory and image of Ataturk from being offended by any Turkish citizen. This makes it difficult for Turkish people to understand what the ‘Father’ really did. Likewise, millions of people have been kept in the dark about his reality and will find it shocking to discover his evil nature. We make du’ā’ for this law, and all other oppressive laws against Muslims, to be removed.

Background

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk came from the Donmeh, a group of crypto-Jews who had publicly converted to Islām but retained their beliefs and practices in secret. He hailed from Thessaloniki and was born in 1881.

He rose quickly through the military ranks and offered his support for the Sultan. A large number of people lent their support to him, thinking that he was fighting to protect their religious identity. He preached the idea of unity between Muslim minorities within the Ottoman Empire.

The private life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is a mystery. He did marry, but was soon divorced. A court order banned the publication of his former wife’s diaries and letters, which might have revealed important information about him. These letters are kept by the Turkish History Foundation. Other sources state that he was a homosexual and was also a prominent supporter of homosexuality.

‘Reforms’ of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

(Sources and references can be found below.)

1. He was the person who abolished the Caliphate in 1924. This system was in motion since the time of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr As-Siddīq raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu. After abolishing the Caliphate, he forced the Caliph and his family into exile.
2. The official religion of the Ottoman Empire was Islām. Ataturk removed Islām as the official religion and replaced the laws with Western ones, based on the Italian and Swiss systems.
3. Ataturk banned the position and influence of the Shaykh-ul-Islām.
4. He removed the Islāmic inheritance distribution system.
5. He forbade Nikāḥ done according to Islāmic principles and the ‘Iddah period for women before being able to remarry.
6. He criminalized wearing the ḥijāb.
7. Before Ataturk, oaths in government offices were sworn in the name of Allāh. He changed this, and made government officials swear oaths in the name of Turkey and himself.
8. The regime of Ataturk forbade circumcision for boys. This ban was lifted.
9. Ataturk prohibited the use of Arabic during Jumu’ah and ‘Īd.
10. The Shahādah was removed from military flags.
11. He stopped the Imāms from advising and encouraging soldiers.
12. Lecture halls were shut down so that people would not learn about Islām.
13. During the Ottoman Empire, the Masājid were decorated with Islāmic calligraphy of the names of Allāh Ta’ālā, Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the ṣaḥābah raḍiyallāhu ‘anhum. All of this was removed except from within the Hagia Sophia. This is because the plates were too huge to be taken out via the main entrance.
14. Historical places that had engravings or carvings of the Noble Qur’ān were destroyed.
15. Ataturk removed the Ottoman Turkish alphabet, which resembles the Arabic alphabet, and put the Latin alphabet in its place.
16. Lessons of the Noble Qur’ān were banned. No-one was allowed to recite the Noble Qur’ān in Arabic. ‘Ulamā fled to the mountains, farms, and other deserted areas to teach the Noble Qur’ān.
17. Ataturk changed the Adhān to Turkish. For 18 years, the Adhān was called out in Turkish. Instead of the word ‘Allāh,’ the word ‘Tanri’ was used.
18. It was forbidden to sell or distribute books on Islām.
19. He turned the Hagia Sophia Masjid into a Museum, earning the curses of Sultān Muḥammad Al-Fātiḥ raḥimahullāh. Ṣalāh in it was prohibited until recently, when it was re-opened as a Masjid, Alḥamdulillāh.
20. Ataturk turned the Masājid into stables and sties. Some Masājid were turned into pubs, casinos, and hotels for the military.
21. Ataturk banned the fez/topi and made it compulsory for people to wear western clothes, hats, and suits.
22. ‘Ulamā’ were killed because they refused to wear western clothes.
23. Some ‘Ulamā’ stood up against Ataturk and they were supported by ‘Ulamā’ from other countries too. Many were captured and hung.
24. The regime of Ataturk spoke ill of the ‘Ulamā’ in the newspapers, drew cartoons of them, and portrayed them as villains and traitors.
25. Ḥajj and ‘Umrah were also forbidden, but this was repealed.
26. Ataturk allowed Muslim women to marry non-Muslims.
27. He legalized slander and criticism of Islām in schools.
28. Kemalists portrayed Ataturk as better than Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
29. The newspapers were allowed to curse Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and ridicule Islām.
30. People were encouraged to idolize Ataturk to the degree where they almost worshipped him.
31. Ataturk claimed that the Noble Qur’ān was fabricated by Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and it was not divinely revealed.
32. Every person was forced to embrace and follow Kemalism. The six principles of Kemalism are: Republicanism, Populism, Secularism, Nationalism, Statism, and Revolutionism.
33. The regime of Ataturk opened liquor factories and legalized the sale of pork.
34. The weekly holiday was changed from Friday to Sunday. ‘Īd was removed as an official holiday and it was replaced with Christian holidays.
35. The Hijri calendar was replaced with the Gregorian calendar.
36. Women were encouraged to dress in short skirts and skimpy dresses. Men were told to wear tight-fitting western clothes.
37. Nude swimming was allowed and Ataturk himself would swim in the nude.
38. Ataturk enforced tight controls on all religious learning within the country.

Ataturk died in November 1938, after suffering a horrible disease that doctors could not treat. Some reports reveal that tiny ants were eating his flesh and after his death, his body emitted a horrible stench. After his death, the ground refused to accept his body for burial, despite many attempts made to do so. In the end, he was placed in a marble box to contain the stench and it was kept on a platform above ground level.

May Allāh Ta’ālā grant us the guidance to be able to see the light of Islām, to embrace and to practice it. May Allāh Ta’ālā save us all from following the ideologies of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. May Allāh Ta’ālā guide all the leaders and rulers of the world who apply these kinds of ideologies and systems so rigidly and doggedly to cease their oppression. Āmīn.

Mufti Abdullah

Notes

1. The Turks: From the Unenlightened to the Enlightened, Mufti Abu Lubabah Shah Mansoor, Dar-ul-Ulūm Zakariyya, South Africa