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Wolf salute

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The wolf salute, as used by the Turkish ultranationalist organizationGrey Wolves

Thewolf salute,thegrey wolf saluteor thegrey wolf gesture(Turkish:Bozkurt işareti), symbolizesTurkish nationalism,Islam,orPan-Turkismin Turkey. It is a political symbol used by theGrey Wolves(Ülkü Ocakları) and theNationalist Movement Party.[1]According toAlparslan Türkeş's first interpretation, it symbolizes Turkishness and Islam. It is considered a controversial gesture. In this context, its usage has been interpreted differently, and due to its use by groups defined as far-right, it has been banned in some countries such as France and Austria.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Usage

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Troops of the Turkish-backedSyrian National Armyin 2019, the member on the left does thewolf salute.

The gesture symbolises a wolf (political) or fox (educational) with closed mouth, with the upright fingers representing ears and the three bunched fingers a closed mouth.[8]While the grey wolf symbol is deeply rooted in Turkic mythology and has been a significant cultural symbol, there is limited historical evidence to support the claim that early Göktürks used a specific hand gesture as a sign of victory. The modern grey wolf hand gesture, known as the 'Bozkurt' sign, is a more recent development that became prominent in the 20th century, particularly popularized by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Turkey. Political usage of the gesture was popularized in the 1990s byAlparslan Türkeş,the founder of thefar-rightNationalist Movement Party(MHP), after which the symbol became associated with extreme nationalism and neo-fascism.[9]: 298 Although the gesture is commonly associated with MHP, theGrey Wolves,it is used by other political factions.[10][11][12]: 96  Republican People's Party(CHP) LeaderKemal Kılıçdaroğluonce greeted his supporters with a grey wolf on his way to a rally inKayserifor the2017 Turkish constitutional referendum.Recep Tayyip Erdoğanreacted to it by saying, "the gray wolf sign made by the CHP leader cannot be erased from my memory", and Kılıçdaroğlu responded with, "we are also nationalists; we are also nationalists."[13]Kılıçdaroğlu made the sign again during an election rally inEskişehir,where he responded with a wolf salute to a supporter who had greeted him with the same gesture.[14]Kılıçdaroğlu once again used the gesture prior to the2023 Turkish presidential electionwhen he was the main opposition candidate against Erdoğan.[15]: 69 Meral Akşener,a former member of the MHP and the first leader of theGood Party,also frequently made the symbol on many occasions.[16][17]

In July 2024, the Good Party began preparing a bill to officially recognise the wolf salute as the “national symbol of the Turks” after the suspension of the national footballerMerih Demiralfor 2 matches byUEFAbecause he made the wolf salute in a match atEuro 2024.[18]

Recep Tayyip Erdoğansparked controversy in 2018 when he briefly made the gesture at a rally inMersin,before changing it to the four-fingeredRabia sign.Many saw it as a deliberate attempt to get votes from Turkish nationalists.[19]OtherJustice and Development Partypoliticians to have flashed the sign are Foreign MinisterMevlüt Çavuşoğlu[6]and former Prime MinisterBinali Yıldırım,[20]who later claimed that he was of Kurdish origin, contradicting the Wolf salute.[21]In 2023, when investigating the Grey Wolves in Germany, theFederal Office for the Protection of the Constitutionconcluded that while the wolf gesture was one of the most famous symbols of the organization, not all users of it may be connected to the Turkish far-right scene in particular.[22]

In sports

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On 2 July 2024, after the match againstAustriain theEuro 2024in Germany, Turkishassociation footballerMerih Demiraldisplayed the salute, which is not banned in the match's host country. At the press conference, he stated that it was an expression of Turkish pride and he intends to do it again when the opportunity arises. In addition to criticism from politicians and journalists,[23]UEFAstarted an investigation for alleged inappropriate behaviour.[24]On 3 and 4 July 2024 Germany and Turkey respectively summoned the other nation'sambassadorto discuss the incident.[25]Merih Demiral was suspended for 2 matches by UEFA. Erdoğan criticized this decision and compared the wolf symbolism toGerman eagleandFrench rooster.[26]

Criticism

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The salute is frequently criticised by Islamists who view nationalism as un-Islamic. It has also been criticised by İbrahim Korkmaz, anAKPpolitician, who described the symbol as "against the spirit of Islam" because "Gagauz Christiansalso use it ".[27][28][29]

In theIslamic Statepropaganda video "Turkey and the Fire of Racism",a militant referred to the wolf salute and any form of wolf symbolism among Turks as"idolatry".[30]

Legality

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Austriabanned the gesture in 2019.[31][3]ManyGerman politiciansfrom both theright-wingandleft-winghave proposed to ban the wolf salute.[32]

In Germany, the usage of thesilent fox signalin education (indicating for students to be quiet) was reported in 2011 as having decreased due to it being the same gesture as the wolf salute. The same is true for Austrian legality.[33]

References

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  1. ^Bildirici, Faruk (8 July 2024)."'Bozkurt' kurmacasına gazetecilik katkısı ".birgun.net(in Turkish).BirGün.Retrieved19 July2024....as citizens, we did not make the "Grey Wolf salute" every morning and evening. This gesture is a political symbol that represents and is associated with the MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) and Ülkü Ocakları. Naturally, it is also recognized as the symbol of the Ülkü Ocakları in European countries.
  2. ^"ERHAN AFYONCU - Kurt başlı tuğlar hâkimiyet alametiydi".Sabah(in Turkish).Retrieved7 July2024.
  3. ^abKeddie, Patrick."France has banned the 'Grey Wolves' – but who are they?".Al Jazeera.Archivedfrom the original on 1 June 2021.Retrieved28 January2023.
  4. ^"Germany seeks to ban Turkish far-right symbols – DW – 10/09/2018".dw.com.Retrieved5 May2023.
  5. ^Göbel, Phil (10 October 2018)."Wolfsgruß: Dieses Zeichen wollen einige Politiker verbieten. Was bedeutet er?".Der Spiegel(in German).ISSN2195-1349.Retrieved19 May2023.
  6. ^ab"Plötzliche Empörung über faschistischen Wolfsgruß".www.fr.de(in German). 10 October 2018.Retrieved19 May2023.
  7. ^Jacinto, Leela (24 April 2017)."Can the 'She-Wolf' Who Rejected the Harem Take On Sultan Erdogan?".Foreign Policy.Retrieved19 May2023.
  8. ^Connolly, Kate (14 July 2024)."German city bans 'silent fox' gesture in schools over similarity to far-right sign".The Observer.
  9. ^Ölçekçi, Haluk (2018)."Siyasal iletişim bağlamında Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi'nin inşası ve Alparslan Türkeş'in iletişim stratejisi".Uluslararası Medeniyet Çalışmaları Dergisi(in Turkish).3(1): 282–302.doi:10.26899/inciss.89.ISSN2548-0146.Archivedfrom the original on 4 July 2024.Retrieved4 July2024.
  10. ^"Bozkurt İşareti Tarihçesi: Kökeni ve Anlamı | Bozkurt işareti ne anlama gelir? Bozkurt işareti hangi parti?".gdh.digital(in Turkish).Retrieved7 July2024.
  11. ^"CHP'de buluşma: Ümit Özdağ 'bozkurt' işareti yaptı, Özgür Özel Deniz Naki'yi hatırlattı".soL(in Turkish). 4 July 2024.Retrieved4 July2024.
  12. ^Sarıkaya, Yalçın (2021)."İran'ın İkici Karabağ Savaşı tutumu: takke düştü kel göründü".Giresun Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi(in Turkish).7(1).Giresun University:84–103.doi:10.46849/guiibd.872423.ISSN2149-3391.Archivedfrom the original on 4 July 2024.Retrieved4 July2024.
  13. ^"Bozkurt işaretinin anlamı nedir? İlk kim yaptı? - Gündem Haberleri".posta.com.tr.9 April 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2023.Retrieved28 January2023.
  14. ^"Kılıçdaroğlu'ndan bozkurt selamı"(in Turkish). 25 April 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 6 May 2023.Retrieved3 May2023.
  15. ^Turan, Abdullah (2024)."Türk Siyasi Hayatında Kılıçdaroğlu Dönemi ve CHP'nin İdeolojik Yönelişi: Millet İttifakı'na Çıkan Yol".Iğdır Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi(in Turkish).13(36).Iğdır University:48–73.doi:10.54600/igdirsosbilder.1388990.eISSN2147-6152.Archivedfrom the original on 4 July 2024.Retrieved4 July2024.
  16. ^"'Bozkurt' işareti yapan İYİ Parti Genel Başkanı Meral Akşener: 'Partimizi çok zor kurduk ama kalıcı kıldık'".yerelingundemi.com(in Turkish).Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2023.Retrieved28 January2023.
  17. ^"Meral Akşener Bozkurt İşareti yaptı! Önce kendisi yazdı sonra kendisi bozdu".Son Havadis(in Turkish). 31 August 2022. Archived fromthe originalon 28 January 2023.Retrieved28 January2023.
  18. ^Saya, Bapak (9 July 2024)."Grey wolf salute spurs fears of rising fascism, say academics".Medya News.Retrieved9 July2024.
  19. ^"Erdoğan'dan Mersin'de bozkurt selamı".Takvim(in Turkish).Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2023.Retrieved28 January2023.
  20. ^"Başbakan Binali Yıldırım Bozkurt İşareti Yaptı".Bianet.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2017.Retrieved3 July2024.
  21. ^"Başbakan Binali Yıldırım: Benim de geçmişim Kürt".Archivedfrom the original on 12 November 2021.Retrieved3 July2024.
  22. ^"Türkischer Rechtsextremismus - Die" Grauen Wölfe "in Deutschland".Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution(in German). September 2023.Retrieved4 July2024.
  23. ^"Uefa ermittelt gegen Demiral wegen des 'Wolfsgrußes'"[Uefa investigation against Demiral because of "Wolf salute" ].Süddeutsche Zeitung(in German). Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding. 3 July 2024.Retrieved3 July2024.
  24. ^"UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector appointed".UEFA.3 July 2024.Retrieved3 July2024.
  25. ^"Wegen Demirals" Wolfsgruß ": Bundesregierung bestellt türkischen Botschafter ein".Tagesspiegel.4 July 2024.Retrieved4 July2024.
  26. ^"Erdogan says wolf gesture row prompted him to attend Turkey quarter-final, media report".Reuters.5 July 2024.
  27. ^"'Bozkurt işareti İslam'a aykırı' diyen eski AK Partili vekil ülkücüleri kızdırdı ".gazeteduvar.com.tr.Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2023.Retrieved5 May2023.
  28. ^"AKP'li vekil," Bozkurt işaretini Hristiyan Gagavuzlar kullanıyor "demişti; Ülkü Ocakları tepki gösterdi".T24(in Turkish).Archivedfrom the original on 8 February 2018.Retrieved5 May2023.
  29. ^"AKP'li eski vekil: Bozkurt işareti İslam'ın ruhuna aykırı".birgun.net.Archivedfrom the original on 7 May 2023.Retrieved5 May2023.
  30. ^"IŞİD'in yeni Türkçe videosunda yok yok: Atatürk, Erdoğan, Öcalan, ülkücüler…".Diken(in Turkish). 21 November 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2018.Retrieved9 January2024.
  31. ^"Austria: Ban on Turkish nationalist salute in practice".aa.com.tr.Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2023.Retrieved28 January2023.
  32. ^"Germany Seeks to Ban Turkish 'Gray Wolves' Far-Right Symbols".Wolf Song of Alaska.Archivedfrom the original on 28 January 2023.Retrieved28 January2023.
  33. ^"Grundschulen:" Frau Herber, du, guck mal "".Frankfurter Rundschau.22 January 2019.
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