Hüseyin Velioğlu

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Şehîd Rehber
Hüseyin Velioğlu
Born
Hüseyin Durmaz

January 1, 1952
Batman, Turkey
DiedJanuary 17, 2000 (aged 48)
Beykoz, Istanbul, Turkey
Cause of deathShot by Turkish police
EducationFaculty of Political Science, Ankara University
Occupation(s)Islamic bookstore owner, later militant leader
OrganizationKurdish Hezbollah
MovementKurdish nationalism

Hüseyin Velioğlu (born Hüseyin Durmaz; 1 1952 – 17 January 2000) was the leader of the Kurdish Hezbollah, a militant extremist organization in the early 1990s. He was killed in the Beykoz Operation.

Life[edit]

Velioğlu was born in Batman Province on 1 January 1952, to a Kurdish family which spoke Kurmanji.[1][2] He was born to Osman and Fatime Durmaz as the youngest of 5 children.[3] He did not view Durmaz as his legitimate surname, but as an imprint of Turkification during the Turkish Surname Law, and in 1978 he legally changed his surname to Velioğlu (meaning "son of Veli"). His family was known among Kurds as "Mala Welî" ("House of Welî"). Welî was his paternal grandfather.[3]

He grew more nationalistic and began studying Kurdish history as much as he could. He gained much knowledge, especially in geography, and was described as knowing every "mountain, stream, forest, road, village, and historical place" in Kurdistan as well as the Kurdish tribes and where they live.[4] He even studied Kurdish linguistics, and knew much about the various Kurdish dialects, where they are spoken, and their history.[5]

Velioğlu and Abdullah Öcalan were classmates at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Ankara.[2] In 1978, while still a university student, he got married, and he had 7 sons and 4 daughters.[6] While Velioğlu was in university, he joined the Turkish National Student Union (MTTB) in 1978, and left it in 1980.[7][8] The MTTB was a Turkish nationalist organization from its 1946 foundation until 1960, Turkish Islamic nationalist during the 1960s, and fully Islamist from 1970 until its closure after the 1980 coup.[9][10]

Velioğlu claimed that Kurds separating from Turkey was not nationalism, but a justified right as a result of all the oppression and denial they endured, and he also claimed that Turkey is a racist ethnostate which will continue to oppress Kurds, and that the only way Kurds would freely be themself in their land is to separate from Turkey. Velioğlu called for Kurds to not be subordinate to Turks, to not speak in Turkish, to not be loyal to Turkey, and to not believe any Turkish politicians. His outlook was a fully independent Kurdistan, free from Turkification, Turkish influence, and secular-leftist Kurdish groups. He also called for an Islamic revival and the establishment of good relations and cooperation between Kurdistan and all Muslim states.[11][12][13]

During his leadership of the Kurdish Hezbollah, he had attempted various times to form a united front with the PKK against Turkey, although he had failed, mostly due to the reluctance of the PKK.[14][15][16][17]

Velioğlu was the most wanted man in Turkey after the arrest of Abdullah Öcalan.[16][17] Velioğlu was much more nationalist than Öcalan who was more internationalist.[18][19][20] Towards the end of both their careers, the relationship of Velioğlu and Öcalan had begun to improve, according to Turkey.[15] Velioğlu also frequently travelled to Iran.[21][22]

Velioğlu founded the Kurdish Hezbollah in 1987, moving forward with the goal of forming Kurdistan as an independent country.[8][23] Velioğlu emphasised the importance of speaking in Kurdish to his followers, as well as referring to their region as "North Kurdistan" instead of "Southeast Anatolia".[24] Velioğlu spoke Kurmanji Kurdish in his daily life, and would even reply in Kurdish when his comrades spoke Turkish to him.[25][26] Velioğlu was very extreme in achieving his goals, and even banned women from speaking Turkish as a way to raise an entirely Kurdish-speaking generation.[27] The main reason for the conflict between Velioğlu and Öcalan was the dispute over who was the leader of the Kurdish movement in Turkey.[28]

Velioğlu's ties with Iran weakened in 1996, when he got into a debate with Ali Khamenei over religion. Velioğlu claimed that Khamenei was very insistent in trying to get him to convert to Shia Islam, which Velioğlu refused and reiterated that he was a Shafi'i.[29][30] Velioğlu avoided sectarianism between Sunnis and Shias, and stated "we recognise Shias as Muslims and brothers."[31]

In 1998, Velioğlu travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan and received military and political training from Osman Abdulaziz, leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Movement.[2] Velioğlu also travelled to the city of Soran along with 300 Kurdish Hezbollah fighters to receive training from Adham Barzani.[32]

Velioğlu was the target of the January 17 2000 Istanbul raids, in which Turkish police showed up to his house and killed him after a shootout.[33] Edip Gümüş, a close friend of Velioğlu, claimed that Velioğlu, before his death, would often say "God willing, I will not survive the hands of the enemy."[34] Velioğlu was buried in Batman, and his grave often gets visited by his supporters, where they remember him and chant in Kurdish.[35] Supporters of Velioğlu referred to him as "Şehîd Rehber" (Kurdish for "the martyred leader").[36]

Kurdish Hezbollah supporters in 2016 were in an uproar against Cübbeli Ahmet, who allegedly insulted Hüseyin Velioğlu.[37]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Turkey and the War on Terror. For Thirty Years We Fought Alone. Publisher: Routledge, p. 61
  2. ^ a b c "Hüseyin Velioğlu kimdir? - Yeni Akit". m.yeniakit.com.tr. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  3. ^ a b "Velioğlu'nun Özgeçmişi Yayınlandı". hurseda.net. 2024-06-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  4. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu'nun Hayatı ve Mücadelesi - 17". hurseda.net. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  5. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu'nun Hayatı ve Mücadelesi -16". hurseda.net. 2024-06-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  6. ^ "Ölümünün 20'nci yılında Arkadaşları Hüseyin Velioğlu'nu anlattılar". Haber Durus (in Turkish). Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  7. ^ The Kurdish Ḥizbullāh in Turkey. Oxford Islamic Studies Online. By: Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Nader Entessar, Martin Kramer, Joseph A. Kéchichian, Emrullah Uslu. Source: The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World
  8. ^ a b "Hizbullah dosyası 1: Milli Türk Talebe Birliği'nden Hizbullah'a uzanan yol". Archived from the original on March 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Türkiye'deki İslamî Gençliğin Oluşumunda MTTB'nin Yeri". MTTB (in Turkish). 2020-08-30. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  10. ^ Yazıcı, İsmail. The intellectual foundations of the Turkish National Student Union (MTTB), 1965-1980. p. 43.
  11. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu'nun Hayatı ve Mücadelesi - 30". hurseda.net. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  12. ^ Gürbüz, Mustafa (2013). Bilgin, Fevzi; Sarihan, Ali (eds.). Understanding Turkey's Kurdish Question. Lexington Books. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7391-8402-8.
  13. ^ Kürt Sağı'nın Kimlik İnşası: Hizbullah ve Zehra Vakfı Örneği; Ali Murat İrat, pp. 123
  14. ^ "Hizbullah'tan PKK'ya çağrı". Ensonhaber (in Turkish). 2011-01-16. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  15. ^ a b "Implications of Turkey's Anti-Hizbullah Operation | The Washington Institute". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  16. ^ a b "Türk Hizbullahı'nın derin tarihi". Haber7. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Hizbullah cinayetleri". YeniOzgurPolitika.com. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Elitsoy, Aslı (June 2017). The Kurdish Hizbullah and Its Shifting Attitude towards Kurdishness and the Kurdish Issue in Turkey.
  19. ^ Jonathan Frankel (1984). The Soviet Regime and Anti-Zionism: An Analysis. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Soviet and East European Research Centre.
  20. ^ "The New-Old PKK". Archived from the original on March 23, 2024.
  21. ^ The Turkish Counter-Terrorism Experience, Suleyman Ozeren, Organizational and Psychological Aspects of Terrorism, Ed. Centre of Excellence Defence against Terrorism, (IOS Press, 2008), 159
  22. ^ The Kurdish Question and Turkish Foreign Policy, Kemal Kirisci, The future of Turkish foreign policy, Ed. Lenore G. Martin, Dimitris Keridis, (MIT Press, 2004), 295.
  23. ^ Kürt Sağı'nın Kimlik İnşası: Hizbullah ve Zehra Vakfı Örneği; Ali Murat İrat, pp. 123
  24. ^ "Hizbullah'tan 'geri döndük' açıklaması". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2012-01-18. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  25. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu'nun Hayatı Ve Mücadelesi - 25". Çınarın Sesi (in Turkish). 2013-07-09. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  26. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu'nun Hayatı ve Mücadelesi - 17". hurseda.net. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  27. ^ "Mardin-Derik'te Türkçe Yasağı - Hayat Gazetesi Ordu". hayatgazetesiordu.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  28. ^ Gürbüz, Mustafa (2013). Bilgin, Fevzi; Sarihan, Ali (eds.). Understanding Turkey's Kurdish Question. Lexington Books. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7391-8402-8.
  29. ^ "Velioğlu, Hamaney'in kendisine "Bize kardeşim desen bile bizim nezdimizde sen kâfirsin!"". Van Siyaseti (in Turkish). Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  30. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu ile Ali Hamaney arasında geçen diyalog - Gözcü Haber". gozcuhaber.com (in Turkish). 2021-01-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  31. ^ "Hüseyin Velioğlu'nun Hayatı ve Mücadelesi -27". hurseda.net. 2024-06-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  32. ^ "Hizbullah Irak'ta eğitildi". Milliyet (in Turkish). 1999-04-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  33. ^ Aydıntaşbaş, Aslı (June 2000). "Murder on the Bosphorus". Middle East Quarterly. VII (2): 15–22. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  34. ^ "Gümüş, Beykoz'da Yaşananları Anlattı". hurseda.net. 2024-06-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  35. ^ "HİZBULLAH LİDERİ HÜSEYİN VELİOĞLU MEZARI BAŞINDA ANILDI". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2015-01-17. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  36. ^ Habernas (2024-01-16). "Teşkilat, Hareket ve Şehadete adanmış bir ömür: Şehid Rehber Hüseyin Velioğlu". Habernas (in Turkish). Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  37. ^ "Cübbeli Ahmet, Velioğlu'nun gıybetini yaptı". hurseda.net. 2024-03-03. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
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