Wolf salute

The wolf salute, the grey wolf salute or the grey wolf gesture (Turkish: Bozkurt işareti) is a Turkish nationalist and Pan-Turkic hand symbol. It is used by nationalists and groups regardless of political views and it is not just used by the Grey Wolves.

The wolf salute

Usage

Although it is commonly associated with the MHP and Grey Wolves, it is actually used by Turkish nationalists and groups from all political views. CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu once greeted his supporters with a gray wolf sign while he was going to a rally in Kayseri on April 16. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reacted to it by saying "The gray wolf sign made by the CHP leader cannot be erased from my memory", and Kılıçdaroğlu responded back with "We are also nationalists, we are also nationalists."[1] Kılıçdaroğlu made the sign again during an election rally in Eskişehir, where he responded with a wolf salute to a supporter who was greeting him with a wolf salute.[2]

Meral Akşener, leader of the Good Party, also frequently makes the symbol on many occasions.[3][4]

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once sparked controversy when he made the gesture at a rally in Mersin before changing it with the Rabia sign almost instantly. Many saw it as a trick he used to get votes from Turkish nationalists.[5]

Criticism

It is frequently criticised by Islamists who view nationalism as un-Islamic. It was also criticised by İbrahim Korkmaz, an AKP politician, who stated that the symbol is "against the spirit of Islam" because "Gagauz Christians also use it".[6][7][8]

Many others call it a fascist symbol and compare it to the Nazi salute.[9]

Legality

In Austria and France, it is banned.[10][11] Many German politicians from both the right-wing and left-wing proposed to ban the wolf salute.[12]

Online use

The "sign of the horns" emoji (U+1F918 🤘) is mostly used to represent the wolf salute on social media and the internet.

References
  1. "Bozkurt işaretinin anlamı nedir? İlk kim yaptı? - Gündem Haberleri". www.posta.com.tr. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  2. "Kılıçdaroğlu'ndan bozkurt selamı" (in Turkish). 25 April 2023.
  3. "'Bozkurt' işareti yapan İYİ Parti Genel Başkanı Meral Akşener: 'Partimizi çok zor kurduk ama kalıcı kıldık'". www.yerelingundemi.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  4. "Meral Akşener Bozkurt İşareti yaptı! Önce kendisi yazdı sonra kendisi bozdu". Son Havadis (in Turkish). 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  5. "Erdoğan'dan Mersin'de bozkurt selamı". Takvim (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  6. "'Bozkurt işareti İslam'a aykırı' diyen eski AK Partili vekil ülkücüleri kızdırdı". www.gazeteduvar.com.tr. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  7. "AKP'li vekil, "Bozkurt işaretini Hristiyan Gagavuzlar kullanıyor" demişti; Ülkü Ocakları tepki gösterdi". T24 (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  8. "AKP'li eski vekil: Bozkurt işareti İslam'ın ruhuna aykırı". birgun.net. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  9. "Germany seeks to ban Turkish far-right symbols – DW – 10/09/2018". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  10. "Austria: Ban on Turkish nationalist salute in practice". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  11. Keddie, Patrick. "France has banned the 'Grey Wolves' – but who are they?". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  12. "Germany Seeks to Ban Turkish 'Gray Wolves' Far-Right Symbols | Wolf Song of Alaska". wolfsongalaska.org. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
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