Republican Individuals’s Social gathering (CHP) chief Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu discovered himself in scorching water when a picture of him stepping on a Muslim prayer rug along with his sneakers incurred the wrath of conservative voters he hoped to garner votes in Might 14 elections.
Social media was awash with criticism of the presidential candidate when the picture (taken on the sidelines of an iftar dinner, which marks the tip of day by day Muslim fasting) emerged over the weekend. Although the place he posed at was not a mosque, stepping on the rug with soiled sneakers was insulting for Muslim voters enraged at gaffe-prone Kılıçdaroğlu.
The CHP chief defended himself, saying he was unaware he was stepping on a prayer rug, positioned on a equally coloured carpet, as he was too busy posing for photographs with folks desirous to pose with him. He burdened that it was not a deliberate act to offend Muslims.
A photograph displaying Kılıçdaroğlu (C) and CHP Istanbul director Canan Kaftancıoğlu (L), in Istanbul, Türkiye, Mar. 31, 2023.
However his opponents have been fast so as to add it to the record of gaffes by Kılıçdaroğlu, whose blunders most frequently embody doctored photographs or photographs he shared with misinterpretation on social media in a bid to assault President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his rival in upcoming elections.
One consumer identified that Kılıçdaroğlu’s “helalleşme” (reconciliation with voters CHP alienated through the years, primarily conservative ones) failed. An official from the ruling Justice and Improvement Social gathering (AK Social gathering) stated that Kılıçdaroğlu ought to have caught with “publicity photographs of iftar dinners” he joined with different CHP officers.
Previously, the CHP has advocated a staunchly secular ideology and defended the headband ban for Muslim girls. Nonetheless, the election marketing campaign introduced out non secular sensitivity because the get together pursued extra votes, together with claims that Kılıçdaroğlu was among the many descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
However the newest picture blunder could backfire, because it solely added to the chagrin of undecided conservative voters inclining for Kılıçdaroğlu. In any case, within the picture, Kılıçdaroğlu was standing subsequent to Canan Kaftancıoğlu, head of the CHP’s Istanbul department. Kaftancıoğlu is understood for her social media posts praising pork, the consumption of which is forbidden in Islam.
Leyla Şahin Usta, deputy chair of the AK Social gathering, stated she was “anxious” about folks praying on such prayer rugs and nonetheless supporting “this man.” Ramazan Can, one other AK Social gathering lawmaker, stated he couldn’t imagine Kılıçdaroğlu was “so stranger” to the “values of the society.”
Though the CHP chief acknowledged his mistake, his supporters rapidly dismissed the incident, claiming the prayer rug was not “sacred.”
