A recording has revealed a teacher who works at a Turkish government-funded religious school in Albania speaking with a student about how Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants seek to “provide protection to the Muslim people of Syria, Palestine and Egypt.”
During his 35-second video, a student says he does not understand if ISIL militants are Muslim or not. In her answer, the teacher says ISIL seeks to protect Muslims and that therefore they are good people.
The controversial teacher works at an imam-hatip school established by the state-run Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), which has largely been funded by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government since 2002.
The Turkish government’s education projects in foreign countries are for the most part managed by TİKA.
Here is how the teacher answers the questions regarding ISIL:
Pupil: Teacher, can I ask you a question? I heard yesterday about the issue of ISIS. I don’t understand because … Are they Muslim or what are they?
Teacher: What ISIS? A Muslim organization that seeks to provide protection to the Muslim people of Syria, for example. Or the people of Palestine, or Egypt. They are fighting for this country.
Pupil: So they are good?
Teacher: Well, they are good, but the state wants to fight them.
Pupil: Meaning, the news says they are bad, but in fact they are good?
Teacher: Right.
Pupil: But in reality are they good?
Teacher: Yes, normal. Do we trust the news?
Pupil: Teacher, killing people, are they good?
Teacher: Why [teacher] how many have they killed?
Pupil: It means they are good because they kill people?
Teacher: Well! Did they give that beautiful news that – Oh man we killed bin Laden.
Pupil: So now bin Laden was a good man?
Teacher: How many officers were killed to kill bin Laden?
Pupil: OK teacher, bin Laden…
Teacher: Out of 28 people participating in his murder, 26 were killed. 26, Italian [TV] has provided this news. This is the most realistic news.
(Turkey Purge)