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Turkey
New info board at the entrance of the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir includes Kurdish language. Date: May 5, 2022. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish authorities on Thursday added both Kurmanji and Zazaki dialects of Kurdish language to a recently-prepared information board at the entrance of the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir (Amed) in northeast Turkey (Northern Kurdistan) after they were widely criticized for initially excluding Kurdish language.
The board, prepared by the country's department of religious affairs in early April, informs the visitors about the rules of the mosque in English, Turkish, Russian and Arabic languages while the majority of the population is Kurdish. This angered many Kurds who doubted any Russian tourists ever visited the mosque.
Omer Esen, head of the department’s branch in Amed and a speaker of Zazaki, told Rudaw’s Mashallah Dakak on Thursday that the religious authorities “may have thought that there would be no need for our own language to be included but this was something wrong.”
“After we were told by some people that the board lacked something, we took this into consideration and fixed it - both Zazaki and Kurmanji dialects of Kurdish language were added. We are as happy as you are,” he added.
Rudaw’s Dakak said that many Kurdish visitors of the mosque were delighted to see their language on the board.
What made many Kurds angry was not only the absence of Kurdish language but the inclusion of Russian language as a few Russian tourists visit the Kurdish-majority province.
The mosque is open to tourists and other people and entry is free of charge. It is said to be the oldest and most significant one in Mesopotamia.
Responding to the criticism, a leadership member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said at the time it was a “fair criticism,” adding that he would speak with the head of religious affairs and “resolve this issue.”
Kurdish language had been banned in formal settings in Turkey since the establishment of the state until the AKP’s government slightly removed the ban a decade ago, allowing Kurds to speak their language in informal settings and granted them the right to attend Kurdish elective courses at school and continue their studies in their mother tongue language at college.
The board, prepared by the country's department of religious affairs in early April, informs the visitors about the rules of the mosque in English, Turkish, Russian and Arabic languages while the majority of the population is Kurdish. This angered many Kurds who doubted any Russian tourists ever visited the mosque.
Omer Esen, head of the department’s branch in Amed and a speaker of Zazaki, told Rudaw’s Mashallah Dakak on Thursday that the religious authorities “may have thought that there would be no need for our own language to be included but this was something wrong.”
“After we were told by some people that the board lacked something, we took this into consideration and fixed it - both Zazaki and Kurmanji dialects of Kurdish language were added. We are as happy as you are,” he added.
Rudaw’s Dakak said that many Kurdish visitors of the mosque were delighted to see their language on the board.
What made many Kurds angry was not only the absence of Kurdish language but the inclusion of Russian language as a few Russian tourists visit the Kurdish-majority province.
The mosque is open to tourists and other people and entry is free of charge. It is said to be the oldest and most significant one in Mesopotamia.
Responding to the criticism, a leadership member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said at the time it was a “fair criticism,” adding that he would speak with the head of religious affairs and “resolve this issue.”
Kurdish language had been banned in formal settings in Turkey since the establishment of the state until the AKP’s government slightly removed the ban a decade ago, allowing Kurds to speak their language in informal settings and granted them the right to attend Kurdish elective courses at school and continue their studies in their mother tongue language at college.
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