Martyr Cihan Aslanalp and Muhammed Korkut, who were only 19 years old and living in the Dicle district of Diyarbakır, were brutally murdered in November 1992 in a treacherous ambush when their Islamic activities irritated and disturbed the enemies of Islam.

Ömer Kılıçoğlu and Ahmet Aküzüm, witnesses of the period and comrades of the martyrs, told about the Islamic activities and good morals of both young martyrs in the district at that time and recounted the events that took place before and after the massacre.

Stating that his friendships with Martyr Cihan started from their childhood, Ömer Kılıçoğlu said: “Martyr Cihan was one of the young people who devoted himself to Allah and the Islamic cause during the troubled and difficult period of the 1990s. He was kidnapped by the PKK in 1992 and his body was found two or three days later in the back of the cemetery.”

“His diligence in Islamic activities did not please the oppressors”

Kılıçoğlu said: “Martyr Cihan was martyred at the age of 19, he did not experience a period of ignorance, that is, he was a pure person. He would be old with an old, child with a child. When we went to a place with a martyr, he would open the Qur'an and read it to us and talk about life in the hereafter and the transience of the world. Whoever went to him, his speech was always about martyrdom and martyrdom.”

Pointing out that Martyr Cihan, who was self-sacrificing despite his young age, kept the spirit of life alive, Kılıçoğlu said: “If a friend didn't have a coat on, he would take off what he was wearing and give it to him. After his martyrdom, we saw that he gave gifts to his friends from wristwatches, cassette players, and books.”

“He was very compassionate and humble towards his family, friends, and acquaintances”

Underlining that the martyr was a lover of martyrdom, Kılıçoğlu said: “He was very compassionate and humble towards his family, friends, and acquaintances. It was as if all the good qualities were gathered in him. He was short but had a really kind face. People wanted to stay with him, they couldn't leave. He used to tell a story so well that you wanted to listen to it all the time. When he told about an accident he had, he said, 'I thought I would become a martyr. I opened my eyes maybe I would see the houris (the virgin companions of the faithful in the Muslim Paradise). But I only saw the ambulance and heard radio sounds... It means that martyrdom was not granted me this time, I thought.’”

Kılıçoğlu said: “One day, as he was walking on the road at the bottom of the cemetery while leaving he talked about martyrdom and being a martyr again. Thinking of the Prophet's prayer during the Battle of Badr, ‘O Lord, if this handful of Muslims is martyred, there will be no one left to worship you during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), I told him, ‘If we were all martyrs, who would take charge of this cause, who would do all this work?’ Waving his hand from side to side, he said, 'The blood of martyrs is blessing, blessing'. This had been the last time I saw him. May Allah bless his martyrdom and grant us his intercession on the Day of Judgment."

“His relatives said, 'If you are here, PKK might kill you'“

Ahmet Aküzüm, one of the martyrs' friends, said: “Martyr Cihan always prayed in the mosque and lived an Islamic life even starting from his primary school days. He met the Islamic Jamaah in the 90s. He was diligent in telling people about Islam, Allah, and the Prophet. If he had memorized a verse or a hadith in the mosque, he would have come and told us immediately."

Touching upon the atmosphere created as a result of the pressure exerted by the PKK on Cihan’s family, Aküzüm said: “His relatives gathered one day and offered some money to the martyr Cihan. Martyr Cihan said, ‘Why are you giving these money to me?’  When his relatives said to him, ‘You leave the Dicle, live in the city, go to entertainment venues, we will pay you every month. If you are here, you will both disturb us and it will be a shame for you.’ Martyr Cihan said to them, ‘Your money is yours and my life is mine. When the day comes when we will be profitable, I will be more profitable than you.’ “

“He was smiling when I saw his dead body”

Speaking about the abduction of the martyrs, Aküzüm said: “While Martyr Cihan and Muhammed were sitting together, a few members of the apostate organization (PKK) called them and said, ‘Let’s walk towards the cemetery and tell us about your cause.’ While Martyr Cihan and Muhammed were telling them about Islam, the armed member of the organization that lurked at the end of the cemetery road attacked them and detained them.”

Aküzüm said: “They starved him for days, tied him to a tree and tortured him. They crushed Martyr Cihan's head with stones, burned his cheeks with fire embers, and broke his hands, arms, and elbows with stones. They strangled him with a rope and put a bullet to his head. When I saw his corpse, he was smiling, it was obvious that he was a martyr. While the Imam was washing and shrouding the Martyr Cihan, his finger of martyrdom remained upright.”

“Until now, I have never met a self-controlled person like Martyr Muhammed”

Saying that he was childhood and neighborhood friends with both Martyr Cihan and Martyr Muhammed, Aküzüm said: “We spent a lot of time together. If I were asked about the Companions, I would show Martyr Muhammed as a person who lived the life of the Companions. While the martyr was walking on the road, he never looked at the haram, was humble, did not eat haram, and did not lie, and no bad words were heard from his mouth until his martyrdom. He always wore old clothes, but his clothes were clean. When we asked about this style of clothing, he said ‘if I wear high-quality, luxurious clothes, my soul will be spoiled’.  So far, I have not known a person who has atrophied his soul like Martyr Muhammed.”

Explaining the importance Martyr Muhammed gave to cleanliness and his understanding of social responsibility, Aküzüm said: “Martyr Muhammed had an accident and was taken to Dicle University Hospitals as a result of his injury. Realizing that cleaning services were not provided in the hospital where he was treated, Martyr, as he stood up, washed the toilets and sinks of the hospital despite his walking stick; It was appreciated by the patients, patient relatives, and administrative staff.”

“At the time of death of both martyrs, they had raised index fingers”

Stating that the martyr was fond of his worship and equipped with Islamic knowledge since his childhood, Aküzüm said that he attached great importance to Islamic life and that he devoted himself to Islamic knowledge and helped everyone in the neighborhood.  He said that he did not charge anyone for his help and despite the poverty and hardship he suffered, he had no interest in anyone’s property.

Expressing that the PKK is uncomfortable with his Islamic life, Aküzüm mentioned the reasons for this and said:

“Because the people around him loved him very much and listened to his words very carefully. The young people who participated in his conversation were influenced by him and they went and told their families. The organization, disturbed by this situation, took a decision for Martyr Muhammed and said, ‘We will definitely exterminate him. ’We saw Martyr Cihan’s body in the field near the cemetery, and Martyr Muhammed’s body down the Tigris in the area we call Alindok.  When I went towards the body, I saw that he was martyred by inhuman torture.  His throat was strangled with a cable, and his body was set on fire after his death.  While they were torturing in this way, they thought that they were harming the Martyr Mohammed. However, he did not feel any pain while staring at heaven.  They tortured Martyr Cihan in the same way, breaking his arms and ribs, and smashing his head with stones.  At the time of their deaths, both martyrs had raised index fingers that signify the Tawhīd, which denotes the indivisible oneness of God, and is used to express the unity of God.” (ILKHA)