Abdullah Beğik

Abdullah Beğik
Mele Evdilayê Timoqî
Born	1889 Gümüşörgü, Kozluk, Ottoman Empire
Died	February 2, 1992 (aged 102-103) Al-Hasakah, Syria
Burial place	Al-Hasakah, Syria
Nationality	Kurdish
Education	Local madrasahs
Occupation(s)	Imam, Islamic scholar, cleric, and activist
Organization	Kurdistan Workers' Party
Title	Seyda
Children	6 sons, 5 daughters

Abdullah Beğik, better known as Mullah Abdullah Timoqi (Kurdish: Mele Evdilayê Timoqî), was a Kurdish activist, cleric, Islamic scholar, and imam, who became associated with Abdullah Öcalan in the later years of his life. He was and still is titled Seyda (meaning "teacher" or "master" in Kurdish) by his devotees.

Biography

Timoqi was born in 1889 in the village of Gümüşörgü (Kurdish: Timoq). He studied at a madrasah and lived an ordinary life until Turkey was formed in 1923. He was targeted by the Turkish state many times because he repeatedly defied them, and continued to give khutbahs in Kurdish, and refused to include Turkish nationalism in the mosques he served. Because of the 1934 Surname Law, he was legally required to take the surname Beğik, although he refused to identify with that surname. He was arrested and tortured countless times before 1940, and was arrested after each of the 1960, 1971, and 1980 coups. The HRK wing of the PKK later reached the Kozluk region, where Timoqi lived. Despite being at differences with the PKK due to their doctrine and ideology, he praised their efforts for Kurdistan and considered them much better than Turkey, and therefore offered shelter in his house for the militants. The house was raided after a while by Turkish forces, coincidentally when Timoqi was not present. Timoqi immediately crossed the border into Syrian Kurdistan in 1985, and settled there while occasionally visiting Beqaa Valley. He lived in the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy for many days, and was always highly respected by the PKK militants and leaders. He became close with Abdullah Öcalan and became a mentor to him. He also gave Öcalan lessons about Islam. He died at a hospital in Al-Hasakah on February 2, 1992, at the age of 102 or 103 years, and was buried there. He had 6 sons and 5 daughters.

He advocated for an independent Kurdistan, not for better status for Kurds as Turkish citizens, nor for the restoration of the Ottoman Empire. Before his death, he told Abdullah Öcalan that he wanted to "live a little more and see the independent Kurdistan", in which Öcalan assured him that Kurdish independence is imminent. During Timoqi's funeral, Öcalan referred to him as "the pedigree of independence" and urged Kurdish militants to dedicate their future victories to Timoqi, and to remember Timoqi after the establishment of Kurdistan. Öcalan also later stated that "he was a very beautiful person who protected his soul cleanly, did not get involved in the dirt that is the Turkish Republic, and did not get involved in their polluted values of Islam", referring to the addition of Turkish nationalism into Islam, as well as the Turkification of Islam which was done by Diyanet. Öcalan, while speaking about Timoqi, also said "I don't think there is an elder that I love as much as him." Due to Timoqi being frail in his later years, Öcalan would come to his house to lay his prayer rug down for him.

Legacy

The Batman Municipality sparked controversy in Turkey after they had named a 2,500 acre large public park, in the Yeşiltepe neighbourhood of Batman, after Timoqi.