Allah (s.w.t.) says in the Quran, “Verily every soul shall have a taste of death.” We are saddened to know of the demise of Ustaaz Hasan Bitmez, (53 years old) a deputy from the Turkish Felicity Party and an elected member of Grand National Assembly of Turkey. There are undoubtedly no words to comfort the family of Ustaaz Hasan Bitmaz and the leadership of Felicity Party while they are going through a lot of emotions. May Allah (s.w.t.) elevate his status as the guided person, comfort him in his grave, make his grave part of Jannatul Firdous and give Sabr to the family! Ameen.
I knew Ustaaz Hasan Bitmaz for the last fifteen years as a gentle, kind and compassionate human being. I met him for the first time near Eyup Sultan mosque in Istanbul along with Ustaaz Temel Karamollaoglu, the President of Felicity Party. We spent more than two hours discussing the issue of Kashmir and the role the Turkish government in general and Felicity Party in particular can play in advancing the cause of Kashmir. Dr. Sheikh Waleed Rasool, Director General at Institute of Multi-Track Dialogue, Development and Diplomatic Studies also joined the meeting.
Ustaaz Bitmaz told us that it is true that the United Nations and the world powers do not articulate the principles of justice and equality into action, be it Kashmir or Palestine, we still need to pursue the diplomatic skills to advance our causes at the global public square. Turkish lawmaker Hasan Bitmez collapses during speech on Israel-Hamas war in Parliament – India Today
When I congratulated him upon his election to the Turkish Parliament on May 14, 2023, his instant response was as I expected, “now Kashmir has a friend in Turkish Grand Assembly”
I have had more than a dozen meetings with Ustaaz Hasan Bitmaz. Last time, it was on February 28, 2022, when Ustaaz Recai Kutan, President of Ankara-based Economic and Social Research Center (ESAM) invited me to speak on the subject of Kashmir. Ustaaz Bitmaz expressed his condolences to the nation of Kashmir on the passing of Syed Ali Gilani. I have never met Sheikh Gilani but undoubtedly, he was the most popular leader of Kashmir, he added. He said that they organized Jannazh prayer in absentia in Turkey when they came to know that the Kashmiri people were not allowed to attend his Janazah in person.
He asked me, isn’t India doing exactly in Kashmir what Israel was doing in Palestine – changing the demography. I told him that the settler colonial project was in operation in both these occupied lands.
While collapsing during his speech in the parliament, he was speaking on the situation in Gaza. That is the testament that he remained steadfast in his beliefs until the last breath of his life. May Allah accept his sincere efforts for the Ummah! Ameen.
Usttaz Temel Karamollaoğlu while paying tribute also represented our sentiments, when he said, “Our deputy chair and Kocaeli MP Hasan Bitmez, whose sincerity, diligence and sacrifice we have always witnessed, has gone to God.”
We honor his life of courage and salute his commitment & dedication to the cause of oppressed peoples, be it Palestine, Rohingya Muslims, Kashmir or else.
[The writer is Chairman of World Forum for Peace & Justice]
views expressed are writer’s own.
