‘THOUSANDS OF ARMENIANS CONVERTED TO ISLAM’
By Ahmet Dinc

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 26 2006

Abdulilah Firat, grandson of Sheik Sait, asserted that thousands of
Armenians converted to Islam and became Kurds during the Ottoman era.

More than 500 Armenian villages converted to Islam during his
great-grandfather’s lifetime alone, Firat stated and in doing so,
instigated a new debate.

Speaking to Zaman, the former Erzurum deputy recalled that those who
had converted remained ambivalent during the 1915 incidents. Firat
asserted that they chose neither side, but tried hard to prevent
the events.

He further claimed that their offspring supported the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), when the separatist Kurdish movement gained
momentum. Reacting to Hrant Dink’s remarks implying that the genocide
was actually committed by the Kurds, Firat said Armenians first
attacked Muslims.

European countries and Russia have been provoking Armenians since
the eighteenth century, Firat said. "We only protected our lives
and honor. The homeland of Armenians is Palestine. They were exiled
by the Byzantines to Anatolia. Kurds called the Armenians ‘Fille’
in a special reference to Palestine. Those ‘Filles’ were sent back
to their homeland during deportation. The number of Armenians who
died during the armed conflict is not more than a few thousand."

Firat further noted that Armenians and Turks lived in urban residential
areas, while Kurds inhabited rural areas. He asserted that when
Armenians began slaughtering Turks, the Kurds sent armed forces to
the urban areas in an effort to protect their Muslim brethren. Because
they had lived together in urban areas, Armenians mostly killed Turks
rather than Kurds, he said.

Stressing that the incidents were triggered by the Armenians, Firat
also stated that Hamidiye units were founded for the purpose of
protecting Muslims from the Armenians.

His grandfather, Sheik Sait, was an influential figure, Firat said,
and claimed that Sait urged Armenian leaders at the time not to give
in to Western provocations and attack the Muslims.

Firat regretfully noted that Sheik Sait’s efforts were not fruitful and
Armenians initiated a large scale campaign of massacre and slaughter,
and that the Ottoman administration armed Kurds as the European
countries armed Armenian guerrillas.

Firat also added that the majority of Armenian casualties were caused
by famine and illnesses during deportation, and not by direct armed
conflict.

Those who Armed Armenians Also Claim Genocide

Firat claimed that Armenians possess an inherent feeling of resentment
against Kurds. According to Firat, this feeling was first created by
Western countries, which offered the Kurds to a chance separate from
the Ottoman state and form an independent country to be inhabited by
both Kurds and Armenians.

Asserting that Europe has continued this conspiracy, Firat concluded
that those who had provoked and armed the Armenians in the past are
now in a similar fashion attacking Turkey with the genocide laws.