A man in Turkey hammers Atatürk's statue, yelling 'no place for idolatry in Islam'

A street vendor in Turkey’s Siverek district of southeastern province of Urfa attacked a statue of Atatürk on Cumhuriyet Square.

Trying to damage the statue with the brush hook in his hand, the man who claimed his name to be Mehmet Malboro was caught on tape as he hit the figure while at the same time saying ‘there is no idolatry in our religion (Islam)’.

The soldiers that came out from the genderma HQs nearby intervened and later handed him over to the police officers.

In the video, he is seen as saying ‘I’ll first ask you all something. Tell me, are those who embrace idolatry among the descendents of our prophet?’

He also says, ‘Mr. President (Erdoğan), I left a note for you but you have not responded to me’ and continues referring to the crowd by saying, ‘Why do you have the soldiers pay respect to this (statue)? Hadn’t our prophet abolished idolatry?’

The man was taken to police department, reports said.

Cases of insults to Atatürk, the founding president of the secular Republic of Turkey, and his legacy by conservative Islamists, as well as, by officials or supporters of the ruling AKP, have become frequent in Turkey especially within the past few years.

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/siverek-te-ataturk-bustune-saldiri-172277.html