Fistfight breaks out in Turkish Parliament over 'prophet' comment

A war of words centering on the Turkish prime minister's wife turned into a full-fledged fistfight between the deputies of the ruling and opposition parties in Parliament on Tuesday.
                     
Fighting broke out Tuesday among the deputies of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, when MHP deputy Osman Durmuş sarcastically said, “How do you [the hospital] not let the wife of a prime minister who is regarded as prophet come into the hospital?”

At the root of the fight were Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks in a televised interview Sunday that his wife had been denied entry to Gülhane Military Medical Academy, or GATA, a military hospital, earlier when she tried to visit actor Nejat Uygur because she was wearing a headscarf.

Erdoğan said his wife Emine had wanted to visit Uygur in the hospital, and Uygur’s wife had said they would be honored by her visit. Uygur’s wife then informed the hospital officials of the visit, but hospital officials said GATA could not allow Erdoğan’s wife to enter because she wore a headscarf.

During the parliamentary session late Tuesday, MHP deputy Durmuş said, in a sarcastic tone: “It is the [nasty] white collar doctors [who didn’t allow her to come to the hospital]. How do you not let the wife of a prime minister who is regarded as prophet to come into the hospital?”

Durmuş’s words drew a fierce reaction from AKP deputies, including Erdoğan, leading to a fistfight between the AKP and MHP deputies.

On the floor, Erdoğan said, “First of all, our friends don’t know that the chain of prophecy ended with our last prophet [Mohammed].”

“Nobody who attributes such an adjective to me can keep their place in our party," he said. "You cannot insult my wife. This is crude and immoral."

The dispute led acting Parliamentary Speaker Güldal Mumcu to call for a 10-minute break. Media reports Wednesday said Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç went to Mumcu’s room during the break and criticized her for the session’s management.

In the new session, Mumcu complained about the situation and said the executive power had no right to put pressure on the legislative power.

“I represent the legislative power," Mumcu said. "One minister came to my room and tried to give me instructions on how to manage the session. I harshly condemn this situation."

/Hurriyet Daily News/