Islamic Party of Kurdistan

Islamic Party of Kurdistan ( _ku. Partiya İslamiya Kurdistan) is a Kurdish (Sunni) Islamic organisation established in 1979 and led-by Muhammad Salih Mustafa. Other prominent names of the organisation include Hamit Turgut (deceased), Osman Caner and Sukuti Evcim. The organisation which is targeting mainly Turkey is active in Iraq, USA and Europe [Türkiyede Terör Örgütleri 1: http://birlesikturkdevletleri.azbuz.com/readArticle.jsp?objectID=5000000006380765] .

The organisation is not listed among the 12 active terrorist organisation in Turkey as of 2007 according to Counter-Terrorism and Operations Department of Directorate General for Security (Turkish police) [TÜRKİYE'DE HALEN FAALİYETLERİNE DEVAM EDEN BAŞLICA TERÖR ÖRGÜTLERİ: http://www.egm.gov.tr/temuh/terorgrup1.html] .

Doctrine

The Kurdish Islamic Party’s main target is to establish an Islamic government. The members of the organisation see this target as a holy mission. The first activities of the organisation were community meetings as Islamic ideological and nationalistic propaganda. However, to establish the Islamic state, the members began to be armed. Their strategy is, through creating a chaotic condition in Turkey, to destabilise the governmental institutions and to start a nation-wide revolt.

The 22 point statute of the Islamic Party of Kurdistan states that the organisation is a part of the international Islamic movement established in order to defend and advance the rights of the Kurdish people and make Kurdistan an Islamic land by finally establishing an Islamic Government of Kurdistan. The statute emphasizes values such as family, equality of men and women, liberty, justice and science ("ilim" in Turkish), however all in a fundamentalist manner [Kürdistan İslam Partisi Tüzüğü. http://www.mnyekta.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1040] .

Co-operation

Islamic Party of Kurdistan co-operates with other organisations that share similar aims. In 1999 it formed the National Platform of North Kurdistan along with the Socialist Party of Kurdistan, the Communist Party of Kurdistan, the Liberation Party of Kurdistan, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) [GlobalSecurity.org. "SIX KURDISH PARTIES LAUNCH 'NATIONAL PLATFORM'". Iraq Report 5 February 1999, Volume 2, Number 5: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/1999/5-050299.html] . The Platform issued a statement titled "Urgent Demands For A Peaceful Solution To The Kurdish Problem" on the 10th of January 1999 [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/51/156.html. The text of the statement states that the Platform consists of only five parties, not including PUK.] . According to a bill of indictment prepared by Diyarbakır Chief Attorney of Republic in Turkey PKK is currently co-operating with the Islamic Party of Kurdistan among other organisations in order to use religion to re-gain influence in southeastern Turkey [Milliyet. 13.06.2008. "PKK-Kürdistan İslam Partisi işbirliği": http://www.milliyet.com.tr/default.aspx?aType=HaberDetay&ArticleID=875950.] .

ee also

*(Turkish) Kurdish-Hizbullah
*Hereketa İslamiya Kurdistan
*List of illegal political parties in Turkey

References