The most important agenda item of recent days has no doubt been the hostility of HDP municipalities towards the sanctity of Islam.
They first planned to demolish mosques under construction and then targeted Iyaz Bin Ghanem, the Islamic commander of Diyarbakır's Conqueror.
These steps of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality have brought up to the agenda again the attacks of PKK and its political extensions on the sanctity of Islam in the past years.
The political extensions of the PKK, which has exposed religious hostility with its attacks on Islamic values, especially against mosques, have also blocked the construction of mosques and Qur'an courses by using the facilities of the municipalities.
The PKK, which has committed many mosque massacres, mainly in Başbağlar and Susa, has not concealed its hostility towards Islamic values throughout its history. Its political extension has appeared at peace with the values of the people but has not backed away from its hostility to mosques and madrasahs.
The PKK targeted mosques and mosque-goers with weapons and bombs, while its political extensions either did not include places of worship in the zoning plans or prevented the construction of mosques and Qur'an courses that were being built.
In Diyarbakır, the same mindset that used to repair churches with the money of the taxpayers and make overtures to the West tried every way to prevent mosque, madrasahs and Qur'an courses when it comes to Islamic values.
In contrary to PKK, this mentality [the PKK's political extensions] carried out hostility against the values of the people's faith and against Islam under different images because in need of people's vote.
The PKK, which has not held back from committing many massacres as well as mosque attacks throughout its history, carried out bomb attacks on many mosques in the 90s and targeted mosques and madrasahs in the events of 6-8 October.
The PKK also continued attacks on mosques during the pit events, has destroyed mosques and used mosques as drug stores.
The PKK's hostility to mosques transcends the geography of Kurdistan and Turkey, has recently targeted mosques in Europe, rendering some mosques unusable, while hideous slogans targeting Islam were scrawled on mosque walls.
Susa Mosque massacre
The PKK, which has no tolerance against Islamic values and Islamic work, signed off on one of its most brutal massacres in June 1992, revealing that it does not recognize any value of people.
PKK attackers stormed the mosque in the village of Susa (Yolaç) in Diyarbakır's Silvan district, first vomit their hatred against Islam and then shot and killed the mosque community.
The mosque of Başbağlar was set on fire by PKK
3 days after the events in Sivas, the PKK stormed the village of Başbağlar in the Kemaliye District of Erzincan, first the organization made propaganda and revealed its hostility of Islam, then shot and killed villages, including the village Imam, set the village mosque on fire.
For many years, the PKK has denied the Basşbağlar massacre, while its political extensions have issued messages of condemnation.
However, during his trial, Ocalan admitted the PKK's role in the attack, explaining that one of the local officials of the organization codenamed "Doctor Baran" carried out the Başbağlar massacre.
PKK bombs mosques in city centers
The PKK, which does not hide its hostility to mosques and madrassas in secluded rural areas as well as in urban centers, bombed mosques in the 90s, specifically targeting mosques teaching Quran education.
While many attacks were not heard at the time, many of them were not reacted to as required by the circumstances of the time.
If an example is given of these attacks, the Great Mosque, which is the largest mosque in Diyarbakır and the fifth harem of the Islamic world, is the most notable one.
On 7 August 1993, PKK attackers targeted the Grand Mosque in Diyarbakır and carried out a bomb attack on the mosque community who were talking outside of the mosque after the Isha prayer.
One person from the mosque community was killed in the attack and several others were injured.
On January 22, 2016, a bomb placed near the mosque by the PKK targeting the Grand Mosque in Diyarbakır was spotted at the last moment. Dozens of people who left the mosque that day could have died if the PKK bomb had not unnoticed.
At the same time, the PKK targeted the Ferit Köşk mosque in the Fiskaya neighborhood and, did not wait for the mosque community to leave the mosque this time, threw its bomb on the community that had been performing the Isha prayer.
Pit events and destroyed mosques
The PKK, which came to agenda in the pit events with its damages to mosques, had actually destroyed many mosques in the countryside, closed them to worship and began to use them as shelters and drug stores by violating mosque respect.
While the hostility to mosques and the Qur'an in the countryside has not been heard much, it has also manifested itself in city centers with pit events beginning in 2015.
Organization members dug streets in some cities and district centers in this process, such as in Silvan, Şırnak, Cizre, Silopi, Nusaybin and especially in Diyarbakır, innocent people were taken hostages and temples were occupied.
Many historic mosques that have been made the center of conflicts by the PKK have been destroyed and rendered unusable. The most notable of these mosques was the historical Four-Legged Minaret and Kurşunlu mosque in Diyarbakır.
In the historical Kurşunlu Mosque, which was made a shelter by violating its respect in the clashes, the Qur'an was torn and scattered, the mihrab and pulpit were destroyed, and the mosque was rendered unusable due to the explosives and bullets that were detonated.
While many mosques in Diyarbakır became unusable due to pit events, the Haci Hamid mosque in the Savaş neighborhood, which was used as a base by the PKK, was completely destroyed.
The names of some mosques destroyed in the clashes in the center Diyarbakır Sur, Silvan, Şırnak, Silopi, Mardin Nusaybin, Derik, Dargeçit and Van are given below:
In Sur, a central district of Diyarbakır:
1-Hasırlı Mosque- in Hasırlı Quarter (Demolished)
2-Haji Hamid Mosque-Savaş Quarter (Demolished)
3-Hocaoglu Mosque (Demolished)
4-Arapsheyh mosque-Fatihpaşa quarter (largely destroyed)
5-Kurşunlu mosque-Fatihpaşa quarter (largely destroyed)
6-Hüsrev Pasha Mosque-Mardin gate (damaged)
7-Four-Legged Minaret-Savaş quarter (partly damaged)
8-Ibrahim Bey Mosque - (partly destroyed)
In Silvan, district of Diyarbakır:
1-Kaniya Zazo mosque-Konak quarter (largely destroyed)
2-Ramazaniye mosque-Tekel quarter (largely destroyed)
3-Tekel mosque-Tekel quarter (largely destroyed)
Central of Şırnak province:
1-Geylani Mosque - Yeni Neighborhood- (Demolished)
2-Hazreti Bilal Mosque - Bahçelievler Quarter- (Demolished)
3-Tufan Mosque - Bahçelievler Quarter- (Demolished)
4-Hastane Mosque-Dicle Quarter- (Demolished)
5-Sefine Mosque-Cumhuriyet Neighborhood (destroyed by the PKK by placing a bomb under it)
6-Şırnak Grand Mosque - Ismet Pasha Quarter- (Demolished)
7-Healing Mosque-Ismetpaşa Quarter - (Demolished)
8-Municipal Mosque-Aydınlıkevler Quarter- (Demolished)
9-Cudi Mosque-Aydınlıkevler Quarter - (Demolished)
10-Hadrat Nuh Mosque - Gazipaşa Quarter - (Demolished)
11-Yeni Mosque-Gazi Pasha Quarter- (Demolished)
12-Selimiye Mosque-Omar Kabak Square- (Demolished)
13-Yeşilyurt Mosque-Yeşilyurt Quarter- (Demolished)
In Silopi – district of Şırnak province
1-Hadrat Bilal Habeshi mosque- Sehit Harun Boy Neighborhood - (largely destroyed)
2 - Kevser mosque-Cudi Neighborhood - (largely destroyed)
3-Medine Mosque- Sehit Harun Boy Neighborhood- (largely destroyed)
4-Mezarlık Mosque-Yeşiltepe Neighborhood - (largely destroyed)
5-Fazilet Mosque - Sehit Harun Boy Neighborhood- (largely destroyed)
6- Hadrat Hamza Mosque - Sehit Harun Boy Neighborhood- (largely destroyed)
7- Hadrat Ömer Mosque – Barbaros Neighborhood – (largely destroyed)
8- Firdevs Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood - (largely destroyed)
9- Fatih Mosque - Barbaros Neighborhood – (largely destroyed)
In Cizre – District of Şırnak
1-Hacı Abdurrahman Mosque – Nur Neighborhood (Destroyed)
2- Haci Ali Mosque – Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
3- Şehit Ahmet Demir Mosque – Yafes Neighborhood (Destroyed)
4- Hadrat Ali Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
5- Aziziye Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
6- Sheikh Abdurrahman Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
7- Kerenk Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
8- Haji Ramadan Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
9- Nur Mosque – Nur Neighborhood (Destroyed)
10- Abdulkerim Yavuz Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (Destroyed)
11-Ebuliz mosque-Cudi Neighborhood (decided to be demolished after largely damaged)
12- Köprü Başı Mosque - Cudi Neighborhood (decided to be demolished after largely damaged)
13- Hacı Halil Mosque - Sur Neighborhood (decided to be demolished after largely damaged)
14- Haci Seyfeddin Mosque - Nur Neighborhood (decided to be demolished after largely damaged)
Mosques and the Qur'an courses are given to the tender in Cizre for the destruction caused by pit politics are as follows:
15- Seyit Suleyman Mosque
16- Haci Abdullah Mosque
17- Sheikh Sirac Mosque
18- Hayir Severler Mosque
19- Sheikh Salim Mosque
20- Sheikh Zeki Atak Mosque
21- Sefine Mosque
22- Abdulkarim Yavuz Mosque
23- Behzat Mosque
24- Negizi Mosque
25- Sheikh Feyzullah Mosque
26- Nabi Yunus Mosque
27- Sheikh Abdulkadir Mosque
28- Hacı Feyzullah Mosque
29- Hacı Zeki Cazım Mosque
30- Ipek Yolu Mosque
31- Alkemer Mosque
32- Hacı Osman Mosque
33- Meydan Mosque
34- Hacı Arab Mosque
35- Haci Ismail Mosque
36- Zera Mosque
37- Seyiddan Mosque
38- Sheikh Seyda Mosque
39- Ibn Esir Mosque
40- Haci Hayrettin Mosque
41- Hacı Zakir Mosque
42- Vustani Mosque
43- Yafes Mosque
44- Hacı Yahya Mosque
45- Terminal Mosque
46- Bağlar Mosque
47- Hacı Sadık Diri Mosque
48-Hacı Çağlı Mosque
49- Seyyid Muhammed Qur'an Course
50- Boarding Girls Qur'an Course
51- Hacı Mahmut Bilen Qur'an Course
52- Köprübaşı Qur'an Course
In Nusaybin – District of Mardin
1-Seyit Feyzullah Mosque- Fırat Neighborhood, Mercan Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
2- Hadrat Ali Mosque - Fırat Neighborhood, Başyurt Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
3- Mullah Osman Mosque - Fırat Neighborhood, Dilek Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
4- Sheikh Muhammed Mosque - Fırat Neighborhood, Tugba Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
5- Sheikh Muhammed Nurullah Mosque- Abdulkadir Neighborhood, Shirin Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
6- Haci Shemseddin Mosque - Abdulkadir Neighborhood, Bucak Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
7- Demirkopru Mosque - Abdulkadir Neighborhood, Kartopu Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
8- Seref Mosque - Abdulkadir Neighborhood, Nusaybin, Mardin
9- Sheikh Bahaddin - Abdulkadir Neighborhood, Saray Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
10- Seyitler Mosque- Abdulkadir Neighborhood, Kartopu Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
11- Islam Mosque - Yenişehir Neighborhood, Yavuz Selim Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
12- Sheikh Izzettin Cami - Yenişehir Neighborhood, Reyhan Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
13- Kanika Mosque- Zeynelabidin Neighborhood, Deniz Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
14- Mullah Musa mosque- Zeynelabidin Neighborhood, Petek Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
15- Salam-I Pak Mosque - Zeynelabidin Neighborhood, Lozan Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
16- Pasa Mosque- Kısla Neighborhood, Palamut Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
17- Mullah Sait Zan Mosque- Dicle Neighborhood, Ipek Yolu Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
18- Haci Huseyin Mullah Mosque- Barış Neighborhood, Midyat Street, Nusaybin, Mardin
In Derik – District of Mardin
1-Necipoglu Mosque – Dag Neighborhood [Largely Destroyed]
2-Hafız Ahmet Mosque – Küçük Pınar Neighborhood [Largely Destroyed]
3- Merkez [Central] Mosque – Kale Neighborhood [Largely Destroyed]
In Dargeçit – District of Mardin
1-Safa Mosque- Dargeçit, Mardin [Largely Destroyed]
Van Province
1-Sabir Qur'an Course – Istasyon Neighborhood – Set on Fire by PKK elements
2- Kevenli TOKI Qur'an Course – Burned along with 600 copies of Qur'an by PKK elements
3- Attack on Quran course under construction in Şerefiye neighborhood, a watchdog of the construction killed by PKK elements
Songs played from the minarets
In addition to the ones mentioned here, many mosques were destroyed along with the madrasah. Qur'an was torn down and cut into pieces in these mosques and other mosques. Bomb traps were set up among the copies of the Qur'an in some mosques.
Songs, anthems, and speeches that made PKK propaganda that included insults against Islam were played in the minarets or loudspeakers of some mosques. The sanctities of Islam was violated.
The PKK has continuously attacked people's religious values while its political extensions have displayed its hostility to Islam and Islamic values through the powers it has wielded.
The political extension of the PKK, claiming that they defend the rights of the Kurdish People, has attempted to demolish some mosques with the pretexts of making road or park while the new zoning plans in many places do not include places of worship.
In addition to these, it has reflected on reports that the so-called "clergy", who were led by the PKK and its political extensions, went to mosques as imams, made propaganda and gathered supporters for the organization and its political extensions.
On the other hand, the people were tried to be removed from mosques with so-called called "civil Friday" and scandalous slogans were yelled in favor of Ocalan in these actions.
Officials of their political extension went so far as to explicitly pronounce that they would make the adhan and worship in Kurdish, while the origin is Arabic.
For many years, the mindset of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, as well as many municipalities, has limited the number of places of worship in the zoning plans made during this time, as well as hindered some mosques that were intended to be built by the public.
In 2009, the mentality that prevented the mosque, which was intended to be built near Tesisler Junction in Kayapınar District Huzurevleri Neighborhood, did not tolerate the tent established by the people to meet the worship of people.
The municipality, which initially blocked the construction of the mosque which was built by the people, removed the tent which was established by the people for prayer and which served as a mosque for a long time, on the grounds that the place will be a park. (ILKHA)