I read in a news article published in our newspaper that Ergün Yıldırım, a writer for the pro-AKP Star newspaper, claimed that the district is being turned into Kadıköy and Taksim. He described the concerts and waltz events as "symbolic acts of attempting to conquer Üsküdar with a Western entertainment game."

He seems to have seen the "big game"! The historic district of Üsküdar will supposedly be conquered with waltzes. By whom? According to him, by the "republican modernists"! He says, "They are already doing this in Izmir. They are commemorating Atatürk and celebrating the Republic by waltzing in the streets. The waltz is a symbol of a new world rural modernity’s challenge to the national."

'A Threat to Religious Identity'

Abdurrahman Uzun, who shares the same concern, said on his YouTube channel, "Üsküdar, which has been associated for years with Mihrimah Sultan, Valide-i Cedid, Karacaahmet, Valide Atik, Aziz Mahmut Hüdayi Hazretleri, and many saints, will now be associated with the waltz. Üsküdar has been greatly wronged."

If you are wondering why there is such panic just four months after AKP’s Hilmi Türkmen handed over the municipality to CHP’s Sinem Dedetaş, it’s not about the disappearance of old symbols. All historical monuments in the district are intact, and the stories of historical figures remain in people's memories.

The real reason for the panic among AKP supporters is the end of the privileges granted to sects and communities during the AKP era. Thirty buildings belonging to the Üsküdar Municipality, previously allocated "for free" to foundations and associations, and buildings rented from private individuals at an annual cost of 6 million TL from the municipality's budget, have been taken back from sects and supporters. This cancellation of unlawful allocations was approved by a majority vote in the municipal council in June, despite the "no" votes from the AKP and MHP groups.

This is what AKP supporters mean by "a threat to the district's religious identity."

Which Foundations and Associations Had Unlawful Allocations?

Let me list a few:

• TÜRGEV, managed by Bilal Erdoğan and Esra Albayrak
• Ensar Foundation, which came under the spotlight in 2018 due to a child sexual abuse scandal
• Aziz Mahmut Hüdayi Foundation, affiliated with the Erenköy Community
• Darülhadis Science, Culture, Research, and Solidarity Association, affiliated with the Erenköy Community
• Yedi Hilal Association, close to the ruling party
• Ferşad Foundation, associated with the Naqshbandi Order
• Calligraphy Science and Culture Association, chaired by Fuat Sağıroğlu, who also defended the perpetrators of the Madımak massacre
• Nil Education and Solidarity Association, co-founded by former AKP deputies Ravza Kavakcı and Mihrimah Belma Satır
• Kalyon Foundation, affiliated with Kalyon Holding, one of the companies receiving the most public tenders
• Safa Education, Solidarity and Assistance Foundation, close to the Naqshbandi Order
• Social Development Center Education and Social Solidarity Association (TOGEMDER), with AKP President Erdoğan’s wife Emine Erdoğan as honorary president
• Classical Turkish Arts Foundation, founded by and with a board of trustees including former Üsküdar Mayor AKP’s Hilmi Türkmen

This is the real reason behind the attempt to provoke the faithful by labeling a dance form like the waltz as a "symbol of a challenge to the national." The mask should be stripped from those who present sects and communities fundamentally opposed to democracy and secularism as "civil society organizations." How they have infiltrated all state institutions and exploited public resources should be exposed.

As the relationship between reactionaries disturbed by the waltz and classical music and their financial gains is revealed, the truth behind the "national" rhetoric will become apparent, masks will fall, and the rider will no longer be able to cross Üsküdar!