The Grey Wolves is a Turkish far-right organization and movement affiliated with the Nationalist Movement Party. Established by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş in the late 1960s, it rose to prominence during the late 1970s political violence in Turkey. Its most notorious attack, which killed over 100 Alevis, took place in Maraş in December 1978. They are also alleged to have been behind the Taksim Square massacre on May Day, 1977. According to a 2014 estimate, the Grey Wolves are supported by 3. 6% of the Turkish electorate.
About Grey Wolves (organization) in brief
The Grey Wolves is a Turkish far-right organization and movement affiliated with the Nationalist Movement Party. Its members deny its political nature and claim it to be a cultural and educational foundation. Established by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş in the late 1960s, it rose to prominence during the late 1970s political violence in Turkey. Its most notorious attack, which killed over 100 Alevis, took place in Maraş in December 1978. They are also alleged to have been behind the Taksim Square massacre on May Day, 1977. After an unsuccessful attempt to seize power in Azerbaijan in 1995, they were banned in that country. In 2005, Kazakhstan also banned the organization, classifying it as a terrorist group. The organization is also active in the Turkish-controlled portion of Cyprus and has affiliated branches in several Western European countries with significant Turkish communities, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. According to a 2014 estimate, the Grey Wolves are supported by 3. 6% of the Turkish electorate. The Grey Wolves adhere to an extreme form of Turkish nationalism. Their ideology is based on a secular based on the Turkish nation and the Turkish race. The salutation of the Grey wolves is a fist with the little finger and index finger raised, a Turkic hand gesture. In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union and the Left Party proposed banning the salute in October 2018, calling it fascist. The group’s informal name is inspired by the ancient legend of Asena, a she-wolf in the Ergenekon, a myth associated with Turkic ethnic origins in the Central Asian steppes.
It has been characterized as neo-fascist by scholars, mainstream media, and left-wing sources. In the early 1990s, in the post-Soviet states, they extended their area of operation into the Turkic and Muslim populations. They strive for an ‘Sunni-Islamic and mono-ethnic nation, which they define as ‘true’ and’superior’ According to Peters Peters, the only ‘true Turk’ is someone who lives in the territory inhabited by ‘true Turks’ and who feels the Turkish territory is the only territory in which he or she is a ‘trueTurk’ The organization has long been a prominent suspect in investigations into the Turkish ‘deep state’ and is suspected of having had close dealings in the past with the Counter-Guerrilla, the Turkish branch of the NATO Operation Gladio, as well as the Turkish mafia. They also use what scholar Ahmet İnsel describes as ‘fascist slogans imported from America’, such as ‘Love it or leave it’ and ‘Communists to Moscow’ The group has been reformed under Devlet Bahçeli, who assumed the leadership of the MHP and Grey Wolves in 1997, the organization’s members are known as Ülkücüler, literally meaning ‘idealists’ They are the largest right-wing extremist organization in Germany. The organization emphasizes the early history of the early Turkish states and blends it with Islam and Islam.
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