Turkey's Deputy PM Says Hezbollah Is 'Party Of Satan': 'What Is The Difference Between What The Pharaoh Did And Assad?' He Asks
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister, Bekir Bozdag, said on Sunday that Hezbollah, or “Party of God” in Arabic, should change its name to “Party of Satan.” Bozdag didn't stop there, comparing Helzbollah ally Bashir Al Assad to the bible's Pharaoh.
He made the remarks at an international symposium in Ankara, titled “Problems of the Islamic World and Solutions,” according to Today's Zaman.
He blames Hezbollah for supporting Assad’s regime in Syria, which has been responsible for killing thousands. Bozdag said, “Those who stand by the Assad regime and kill their own Muslim brothers and indiscriminately kill women and children in the battlefield should not appeal to Islam and the Quran to legitimize their actions."
He compared Assad to Pharaoh, saying, “The pharaoh gave orders for the killing of innocent children and their mothers to maintain power. What is the difference between what the Pharaoh did and Assad is doing?”
Pharaoh is seen as a persecutor in the eyes of Muslim. Moses, which Muslims believed is a predecessor to the Prophet Muhammad, was ordered to be killed by Pharaoh when he was a baby.
The deputy prime minister blamed terrorist organizations, particularly Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, for violent activities that insult Islam.
According to Today’s Zaman, the official said, “What the al-Qaeda is doing is causing huge damage to the Muslim world. Muslims have nothing to share or do with people whose hands are full of blood.”
The senior official also said that racism in the region is the biggest problem, an issue that should be addressed immediately.
“Racism is a sickness that threatens Turkey and other countries in the Middle East. If someone decides to kill a man based on racist feelings, then he rejects the book of God and His orders. Quran and Islam do not absolutely approve of killing of people based on racist feelings. Turkey has been fighting against racist terrorism for the past 30 years."