:Grey Wolves (organization)

{{Short description|Turkish ultra-nationalist political organization}}

{{about|the Turkish militant organization|other uses|Grey Wolf (disambiguation)|another Turkish ultra-nationalist organization which uses similar symbolism|Atsız Youth}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Use Oxford spelling|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox militant organization

| name = Idealist Hearths Educational
and Cultural Foundation

| logo = Grey Wolves Logo.svg

| caption = Logo

| native_name = Ülkü Ocakları Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı

| native_name_lang = tr

| dates = {{start date|1968}}–present

| leader = Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım{{cite news |title=Ülkü Ocakları'na yeni başkan atandı |url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/siyaset/ulku-ocaklarina-yeni-baskan-atandi-6253215 |work=Milliyet |date=7 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728203139/https://www.milliyet.com.tr/siyaset/ulku-ocaklarina-yeni-baskan-atandi-6253215 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |language=tr}}

| area = Turkey,{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Augustus |last2=Prager |first2=Fynnwin |year=2019 |chapter=Part II: The Terrorists – Violent Ideologies: Terrorism From the Left and Right |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8p-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA302 |title=Terrorism: An International Perspective |location=Thousand Oaks, California |publisher=SAGE Publications |page=302 |isbn=9781526459954 |lccn=2018948259 |quote=The Grey Wolves – The most prominent organization of the violent right wing in Turkey is the Grey Wolves. The Grey Wolves are named for a mythical she-wolf who led ancient Turks to freedom. Its wolf's-head symbol is displayed by MHP members and other nationalists. The Grey Wolves have been implicated in many attacks against leftists, Kurds and student organizations. They have also been implicated in attacks supporting the Turkish occupation of Cyprus. Mehmet Ali Ağca, who was convicted of shooting Pope John Paul II, was a known former Grey Wolf. |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184247/https://books.google.com/books?id=f8p-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA302 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Sánchez Amor |first=N. |date=25 May 2022 |title=Document A9-0149/2022: Report on the 2021 Commission Report on Turkey |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0149_EN.html |url-status=live |location=Bruxelles |publisher=European Parliament |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827013558/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0149_EN.html |archive-date=27 August 2022 }} Northern Cyprus, Western Europe, Syria, Central Asia, China (Xinjiang), Azerbaijan, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

| ideology = {{Collapsible list

| title = List:

| Turkish ultranationalism{{cite book |last=Taspinar |first=Omer |year=2005 |chapter=The Kurdish Question in Turkish Politics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RSCBJwBgfDIC&pg=PA92 |title=Kurdish Nationalism and Political Islam in Turkey: Kemalist Identity in Transition |location=New York and London |publisher=Routledge |series=Middle East Studies: History, Politics & Law |pages=92–94 |doi=10.4324/9780203327036 |isbn=9780415512848 |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184249/https://books.google.com/books?id=RSCBJwBgfDIC&pg=PA92 |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |author= |editor-link=Gerry Gable |date=1999 |title=The Grey Wolves |journal=ITNetwork: International Network on Holocaust and Genocide |publisher=Centre for Comparative Genocide Studies, Macquarie University |volume=14–15 |issue=2 |page=31 |location=Sydney |issn=1441-8916 |quote=The Grey Wolves (Ulku Ocagi in Turkish) are a group of ultra-right-wing Turkish nationalists whose agenda is rabidly anti-Hellenic, anti-Armenian, anti-Kurdish and anti-Semitic.}}

| Islamokemalism{{cite web | url=https://www.muglagazetesi.com.tr/ulku-ocaklari-ataturk-icin-caldi | title=Ülkü Ocakları Atatürk için çaldı | date=10 November 2020 }}

| Turkish Islamonationalism

| Turkic supremacism{{refn|{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/11/24/france-has-banned-the-grey-wolves-but-who-are-they|title=France has banned the 'Grey Wolves' – but who are they?|access-date=12 November 2021|archive-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112230718/https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2020/11/24/france-has-banned-the-grey-wolves-but-who-are-they|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/grey-wolves|title=Grey Wolves|website=Counter Extremism Project|access-date=12 November 2021|archive-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112230721/https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/grey-wolves|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://trendsresearch.org/insight/the-grey-wolves-erdogans-extremist-arm-in-europe/ |title=TRENDS Research and Advisory - The Grey Wolves: Erdoğan's extremist arm in Europe |publisher=Trendsresearch.org |date= |accessdate=2022-03-08 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112232225/https://trendsresearch.org/insight/the-grey-wolves-erdogans-extremist-arm-in-europe/ |url-status=live }}}}

| Neo-fascism

| Pan-Turkism
Turanism

| Anti-LGBT sentiment{{cite web | url=https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/ulku-ocaklari-trafodaki-gokkusagina-sprey-sikti-haber-1536134 | title=Ülkü Ocakları, trafodaki gökkuşağına sprey sıktı | date=24 September 2021 | access-date=4 June 2022 | archive-date=24 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924090445/https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/ulku-ocaklari-trafodaki-gokkusagina-sprey-sikti-haber-1536134 | url-status=live }}

| Xenophobia

| Anti-Alevism{{cite book|last1=Rabasa|first1=Angel|last2=Larrabee|first2=F. Stephen|title=The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey|year=2008|publisher=RAND Corporation|location=Santa Monica|isbn=9780833044570|quote=In the 1978 Kahramanmaraş incident, rightwing "Grey Wolves" killed about 100 left-wing activists.}}{{cite news|author=Orhan Kemal Cengiz|author-link=Orhan Kemal Cengiz|title=Why was the commemoration for the Maraş massacre banned? |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-kemal-cengiz/why-was-the-commemoration-for-the-maras-massacre-banned_302207.html |work=Today's Zaman |date=25 December 2012 |quote=This was the beginning of the massacre; later on, angry mobs led by grey wolves scattered into the city, killing and raping hundreds of Alevis. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007145955/http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-kemal-cengiz/why-was-the-commemoration-for-the-maras-massacre-banned_302207.html |archive-date=7 October 2015 }}

| Anti-Arab sentiment{{cite news|title=Hundreds march against Syrian refugees|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundreds-march-against-syrian-refugees.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69122&NewsCatID=341|work=Hürriyet Daily News|publisher=via Doğan News Agency|date=14 July 2014|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019083251/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundreds-march-against-syrian-refugees.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69122&NewsCatID=341|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Yalçın|first1=Zübeyde|title=Anti-Syrian protests sign of growing tensions in southern Turkey|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/07/22/antisyrian-protests-sign-of-growing-tensions-in-southern-turkey|work=Daily Sabah|issue=21 July 2014|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062815/http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/07/22/antisyrian-protests-sign-of-growing-tensions-in-southern-turkey|url-status=live}}

| Anti-Armenian sentiment

| Anti-Assyrian sentiment

| Anti-Chinese sentiment{{cite news|last1=Girit|first1=Selin|title=China-Turkey relationship strained over Uighurs|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-33440998|agency=BBC News|date=9 July 2015|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=7 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107112243/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-33440998|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Erdemir|first1=Aykan|last2=Tahiroglu|first2=Merve|title=Turkish Grey Wolves target 'Chinese'|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/|work=Politico|date=30 July 2015|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=18 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218050735/https://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/|url-status=live}}

| Anti-Christian sentiment{{cite web|title=Murder in Anatolia: Christian missionaries and Turkish ultranationalism|url=http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/esi_document_id_124.pdf|publisher=European Stability Initiative|location=Berlin|pages=1–2|date=12 January 2011|quote=Both in Malatya and in Istanbul the local branches of the ultranationalist Grey Wolf youth organisation (Ulku Ocaklari) had also organised demonstrations against Christians.|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=9 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809153341/http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/esi_document_id_124.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Turkey's ruling coalition now targets Christians with 'Grey Wolves' terror group|url=https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/turkey-s-ruling-coalition-now-targets-christians-with-grey-wolves-terror-group-119151.html|date=5 October 2021|publisher=India Narrative|access-date=20 January 2022|archive-date=5 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005055338/https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/turkey-s-ruling-coalition-now-targets-christians-with-grey-wolves-terror-group-119151.html|url-status=live}}

| Anti-Greek sentiment

| Anti-Iranian sentiment

| Anti-Kurdish sentiment

| Antisemitism{{cite web|last1=Vermaat|first1=Emerson|title=Resurgence of Anti-Semitism in Turkey and Amsterdam|url=http://www.investigativeproject.org/2075/resurgence-of-anti-semitism-in-turkey#|publisher=Investigative Project on Terrorism|date=19 July 2010 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20141025041637/http://www.investigativeproject.org/2075/resurgence-of-anti-semitism-in-turkey%23 |archivedate=25 October 2014}}

| Anti-communism{{refn|{{cite book |last=Naylor |first=R. T. |year=2006 |chapter=Striking Out! – Al-Qaida Cells in the Global Petrie Dish |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XnrvAIB4PzkC&pg=PA296 |title=Satanic Purses: Money, Myth, and Misinformation in the War on Terror |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill–Queen's University Press |page=296 |isbn=9780773531505 |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184247/https://books.google.com/books?id=XnrvAIB4PzkC&pg=PA296 |url-status=live }}}}}}

| position = Far-right

| crimes = Massacres, assassinations, bombings

| attacks = {{Collapsible list

| title = List:

| 1 May 1977: Taksim Square massacre (alleged)

| 16 March 1978: Beyazıt massacre

| 9 October 1978: Bahçelievler massacre

| December 1978: Maraş massacre

| 1 February 1979: Assassination of Abdi İpekçi

| 23 February 1979: Assassination of Metin Yüksel

| May 1980: Çorum massacre

| 13 May 1981: Attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II

| 18 June 1988: Assassination attempt on Prime Minister Turgut Özal

| 12–15 March 1995: Gazi Quarter riots (involvement)

| 13–17 March 1995: Coup d'état attempt in Azerbaijan

| 17 August 2015: 2015 Bangkok bombing (suspected){{cite news|title=Thai police look into Turkish connection in Bangkok blast|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-blast-idUSKCN0QW0MY20150827|work=Reuters|date=27 August 2015|quote=...the most likely perpetrators were members of an ultra-nationalist Turkish organization called the Grey Wolves...|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328155034/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-blast-idUSKCN0QW0MY20150827|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Sherwell|first1=Philip|title=Bangkok bombing: Was it the Grey Wolves of Turkey?|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11832701/Bangkok-bombing-Was-it-the-Grey-Wolves-of-Turkey.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=29 August 2015|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=5 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605205301/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11832701/Bangkok-bombing-Was-it-the-Grey-Wolves-of-Turkey.html|url-status=live}}}}

| status = Active; the Grey Wolves have been banned from Azerbaijan in 1995 and France in 2020.{{cite news |author= |date=4 November 2020 |title=France bans Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves |url=https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469 |url-status=live |work=Deutsche Welle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612021852/https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469 |archive-date=12 June 2023 |access-date=28 June 2023}}

| size = {{plainlist|

  • Turkey: 3.6% of the electorate are supporters (2014) ≈ 1.9 million{{efn|3.6 per cent amounts to around 1,904,188 individuals if the number of registered voters (52,894,115) for the 2014 presidential election is taken into account.}}
  • Germany: 7,000 (2015) to 18,000+ (2017){{cite web |title=Graue Wölfe – die größte rechtsextreme Organisation in Deutschland |url=https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/260333/graue-woelfe-die-groesste-rechtsextreme-organisation-in-deutschland |publisher=Federal Agency for Civic Education |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722040831/https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/260333/graue-woelfe-die-groesste-rechtsextreme-organisation-in-deutschland |archive-date=22 July 2020 |language=de |date=24 November 2017}}

}}

| financing = Arms trafficking, illegal drug trade, extortion, human trafficking{{cite book|last1=Naylor|first1=R. T.|title=Economic Warfare: Sanctions, Embargo Busting, and Their Human Cost|date=1999|publisher=Northeastern University Press|location=Boston|isbn=978-1-55553-499-8|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fkcGKb8jLXMC&dq=grey+wolves+Extortion&pg=PA76 76]|quote=For the next decade [after the 1980 coup] most operations were conducted from Germany. There, sheltering among the large emigre Turkish community, the Grey Wolves raised money from extortion, alien smuggling and heroin trafficking while attacking left-wing and pro-Soviet targets.}}

| allies = Alperen Hearths
{{flag|United States}} (in the Cold War)

| opponents = {{flagicon image|Islamic State flag.svg}} Islamic State
{{flagicon image|Flag of Kurdistan Workers' Party.svg}} Kurdistan Workers' Party
{{flagicon image|Kurdish Hezbollah Flag Red.png}} Kurdish Hezbollah
{{flagicon image|Green Shahada.png}} Raiders Organization

| designated_as_terror_group_by = {{flagicon image|Flag of Kazakhstan.svg}} Kazakhstan

}}

{{neo-fascism |expanded=movements}}

The Grey Wolves ({{langx|tr|Bozkurtlar}}), officially known by the short name Idealist Hearths ({{langx|tr|Ülkü Ocakları}},{{cite journal |last1=Benam |first1=Cigdem |title=An Intellectual History of Turkish Nationalism: Between Turkish Ethnicity and Islamic Identity by Umut Uzer (review) |journal=The Middle East Journal |date=Winter 2017 |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=165–166 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/647587/summary |quote=...a group called the Idealist Hearths (Ülkü Ocakları), widely known as the Grey Wolves (Bozkurtlar).}} {{IPA|tr|ylcy odʒakɫaɾɯ|}}), is a Turkish far-right political movement and the youth wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).{{refn|{{cite news|title=Video shows Turkish police singing Grey Wolf march|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=elite-police-force-sings-grey-wolf-marches-2011-04-25|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=25 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019081819/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=elite-police-force-sings-grey-wolf-marches-2011-04-25|archive-date=19 October 2017|quote=The Grey Wolves, also commonly referred to as the Ülkü Ocakları (Idealist Hearths), are a youth organization with close links to the MHP.}} [https://newsturkish.com/elite-police-force-sings-grey-wolf-marches-2011-04-25.html Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801134527/https://newsturkish.com/elite-police-force-sings-grey-wolf-marches-2011-04-25.html |date=1 August 2020 }}}} Commonly described as ultranationalist, neo-fascist, Islamo-nationalist{{cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/08/turkey-erdogan-tries-to-expand-alliance-with-nationalists.html|title=Why Erdogan must expand his ultranationalist alliances|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=19 August 2020|access-date=2 November 2020|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102050229/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/08/turkey-erdogan-tries-to-expand-alliance-with-nationalists.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://mena-studies.org/the-grey-wolves-conquering-europe/|title=The Grey Wolves conquering Europe|publisher=MENA Research & Study Center|date=30 June 2020|access-date=2 November 2020|archive-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718144205/https://mena-studies.org/the-grey-wolves-conquering-europe/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title='Our bodies are Turkish, our souls Islamic!' The rise of Turkey's ultra-nationalists|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/our-bodies-are-turkish-our-souls-islamic-rise-turkeys-ultra-nationalists|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Middle East Eye|language=en|archive-date=12 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212213001/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/our-bodies-are-turkish-our-souls-islamic-rise-turkeys-ultra-nationalists|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Screws tighten on Gray Wolves, Erdogan's European guard - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/11/turkey-french-ban-grey-wolves-political-islam-nationalists.html|access-date=2021-09-30|website=www.al-monitor.com|date=12 November 2020 |language=en|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930212413/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/11/turkey-french-ban-grey-wolves-political-islam-nationalists.html|url-status=live}} (sometimes secular),{{cite web |last1=Bale |first1=Jeffrey M. |title=Definition of Terrorism |url=http://www.miis.edu/academics/researchcenters/terrorism/about/Terrorism_Definition |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107103419/http://www.miis.edu/academics/researchcenters/terrorism/about/Terrorism_Definition |archive-date=7 January 2013 |website=Monterey Terrorism & Research Education Program |publisher=Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey |location=Middlebury, Vermont}} and racist,{{cite web |last1=Bozay |first1=Kemal |title=Graue Wölfe – die größte rechtsextreme Organisation in Deutschland |trans-title=Grey Wolves - the largest right-wing extremist organisation in Germany |url=https://www.bpb.de/themen/rechtsextremismus/dossier-rechtsextremismus/260333/graue-woelfe-die-groesste-rechtsextreme-organisation-in-deutschland/ |access-date=19 January 2024 |website=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |date=24 November 2017 |language=German}} the Grey Wolves have been described by some scholars, journalists, and governments as a death squad and a terrorist organization.{{cite book|last=Slomp|first=Hans|title=Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics, Volume 1|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=978-0-313-39181-1|page=744|quote=Grey Wolves Turkish terrorist group (Bozkurtlar in Turkish), the youth organization of an extreme right party...}}{{cite web|title=The national list of banned terrorist organizations in Kazakhstan|url=https://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/religion/zaprewennye_ordanizacii|website=egov.kz|quote=II.|access-date=2024-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331231111/https://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/religion/zaprewennye_ordanizacii|archive-date=2023-03-31|url-status=live}} Its members deny its political nature and claim it to be a cultural and educational foundation,{{cite news|title=Siirt Ülkü Ocakları Başkanı Yeşilkök|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/siirt_haber/siirt_ulku_ocaklari_baskani_yesilkok-1223490|work=Radikal|date=2 November 2011|language=tr|quote=Siirt Ülkü Ocakları Başkanı Abidin Yeşilkök, "Ülkü Ocakları olarak siyasal bir kuruluş değiliz. Ülkü Ocakları Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfıyız" dedi.|access-date=10 November 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924142211/http://www.radikal.com.tr/siirt_haber/siirt_ulku_ocaklari_baskani_yesilkok-1223490|url-status=live}} citing its full official name: Idealist Hearths Educational and Cultural Foundation ({{langx|tr|Ülkü Ocakları Eğitim ve Kültür Vakfı}}).

Established by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş in the late 1960s, the Grey Wolves rose to prominence during the late 1970s political violence in Turkey when its members engaged in urban guerrilla warfare with left-wing militants and activists. Scholars hold it responsible for most of the violence and killings in this period, including the Maraş massacre in December 1978, which killed over 100 Alevis. They are also alleged to have been behind the Taksim Square massacre in May 1977, and to have played a role in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict from 1978 onwards. The attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981 by Grey Wolves member Mehmet Ali Ağca was never formally linked to Grey Wolves leaders, and the organization's role remains unclear.

The organization has long been a prominent suspect in investigations into the deep state in Turkey, and is suspected of having close dealings in the past with the Counter-Guerrilla, the Turkish branch of the NATO Operation Gladio, as well as the Turkish mafia.{{cite news |last1=Goksedef |first1=Ece |title=The ultra-nationalist Turkish mob boss Erdogan can't touch |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ultra-nationalist-turkish-mob-boss-erdogan-cant-touch |agency=Middle East Eye |date=15 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626100941/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ultra-nationalist-turkish-mob-boss-erdogan-cant-touch |archive-date=26 June 2020}} Among the Grey Wolves' prime targets are non-Turkish ethnic minorities such as Kurds, Greeks, and Armenians,{{cite book |last1=Mani |first1=B. Venkat |title=On the Question, "what is Turkish-German?" Minority Literatures and the Dialectics of Exclusion |date=2002 |publisher=Stanford University |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_YgAQAAIAAJ |quote=while the Grey Wolves target their vendetta against the communists, Greeks, and the Armenians. |access-date=3 November 2020 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184300/https://www.google.com/books/edition/On_the_Question_what_is_Turkish_German_M/4_YgAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }} and leftist activists.

A staunchly pan-Turkist organization, in the early 1990s the Grey Wolves extended their area of operation into the post-Soviet states with Turkic and Muslim populations. Up to thousands of its members fought in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War on the Azerbaijani side, and the First and Second Chechen–Russian Wars on the Chechen side. After an unsuccessful attempt to seize power in Azerbaijan in 1995, they were banned in that country. In 2005, Kazakhstan also banned the organization, classifying it as a terrorist group.

The organization is also active in Northern Cyprus, and has affiliated branches in Western European nations with a significant Turkish diaspora such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. They are the largest right-wing extremist organization in Germany. The Grey Wolves were banned in France in November 2020 for hate speech and political violence, and calls for similar actions are made elsewhere. In May 2021, the European Parliament also called on member states of the European Union to designate it as a terrorist group.

While it was characterized as the MHP's paramilitary or militant wing during the 1976-1980 political violence in Turkey,{{refn|}} under Devlet Bahçeli, who assumed the leadership of the MHP and Grey Wolves after Türkeş's death in 1997, the organization claims to have reformed. According to a 2021 poll, the Grey Wolves are supported by 3.2% of the Turkish electorate.

Name and symbolism

The organization's members are known as Ülkücüler, which literally means "idealists". Its informal name is inspired by the ancient legend of Asena, a she-wolf in the Ergenekon,{{cite web|author1=H. Akin Ünver|title=Turkey's "Deep-State" and the Ergenekon Conundrum|url=http://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Unver.pdf|publisher=Middle East Institute|page=2|date=April 2009|quote=The "grey wolf " sign, as well as the unique hand gesture used by Turkish nationalist groups, refers to the she-wolf depicted in the Ergenekon legend.|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328104312/https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Unver.pdf|url-status=live}} a Tengrist ancient myth associated with Turkic ethnic origins in the Central Asian steppes. In Turkey, the wolf also symbolizes honour. The Grey Wolves have a "strong emphasis on leadership and hierarchical, military-like organisation."

According to scholar Ahmet İnsel, the Grey wolves also use "fascist slogans imported from America", such as "Love it or leave it" (Ya Sev Ya Terk Et!) and "Communists to Moscow" (Komünistler Moskova'ya).{{cite news|last1=İnsel|first1=Ahmet|author-link1=:tr:Ahmet İnsel|title=Amerika'dan ithal faşist slogan|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/ek_haber.php?ek=r2&haberno=7532|work=Radikal|date=7 October 2007|language=tr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021146/http://www.radikal.com.tr/ek_haber.php?ek=r2&haberno=7532|archive-date=29 November 2014}}

=Grey Wolves Salute=

The salutation of the Grey Wolves is "a fist with the little finger and index finger raised" Turkic hand gesture, described by founder Alparslan Türkes, as: “The little finger symbolises the Turks, the index finger symbolises Islam, the ring – or snout – symbolises the world. The point where the remaining three fingers [sic.] join is a stamp. It means: we will put the Turkish-Islamic stamp on the world."{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/04/germany-summons-turkish-ambassador-wolf-goal-celebration | title=Germany summons Turkish ambassador over 'wolf' goal celebration | newspaper=The Guardian | last1=Connolly | first1=Kate }}

It was banned in Austria in February 2019.{{cite news |title=Turkey condemns Austria's ban on 'Grey Wolves' salute |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-condemns-austrias-ban-on-grey-wolves-salute-141230 |work=Hurriyet Daily News |date=14 February 2019 |access-date=15 February 2019 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227110831/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-condemns-austrias-ban-on-grey-wolves-salute-141230 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Turkey condemns Austria's ban on 'Grey Wolves' salute |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-condemns-austria-s-ban-on-grey-wolves-salute/1392217 |agency=Anadolu Agency |date=14 February 2019 |access-date=15 February 2019 |archive-date=18 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218015625/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-condemns-austria-s-ban-on-grey-wolves-salute/1392217 |url-status=live }} In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Left Party proposed banning the salute in October 2018, calling it fascist.{{cite news |title=Germany seeks to ban Turkish 'Gray Wolves' far-right symbols |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-seeks-to-ban-turkish-gray-wolves-far-right-symbols/a-45809792 |agency=Deutsche Welle |date=9 October 2018 |access-date=15 February 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215213212/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-seeks-to-ban-turkish-gray-wolves-far-right-symbols/a-45809792 |url-status=live }}

File:Wolfsgruß Graue Woelfe.jpg, used by the Grey Wolves.]]

In the 2024 European Football Cup, Turkish player Merih Demiral displayed the ‘wolf salute’ after scoring in Turkey’s round of 16 match against Austria. Nancy Faeser, Germany’s interior minister, condemned use of the gesture, saying: "To use the football championships as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable," and the Turkish ambassador was summoned to explain. Demiral was banned for two games by UEFA for this reason, prompting protests denouncing the suspension by the Turkish Football Federation and Turkish government officials. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan changed plans to visit Azerbaijan to attend the following match after Demiral's suspension to show his support. He had defended the player, saying that he merely expressed his “excitement” after scoring.

A large group of Turkish supporters making their way to the European Championship quarterfinal against the Netherlands made the same nationalistic hand gesture that got Demiral banned from the match, and were dispersed by the police.{{Cite web |date=7 July 2024 |title=Euro 2024: Türkiye fans make controversial gesture on way to stadium |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/07/07/euro-2024-turkiye-fans-make-controversial-gesture-on-way-to-stadium/}} German authorities believe the group has around 12,100 members in the country. It is monitored by Germany’s federal domestic agency. The group has been banned in France, while Austria has banned the use of the Gray Wolf salute.

Ideology

The Grey Wolves adhere to an extreme form of Turkish nationalism. It has been characterized as an ultra-nationalist and neo-fascist paramilitary organization by political scholars,{{cite journal|last1=Karasapan|first1=Omer|title=Turkey and US Strategy in the Age of Glasnost|journal=Middle East Report|volume=17|year=1989|issue=160|pages=587–606|doi=10.2307/3013440|jstor=260523|quote=The US also established contacts with the neofascist Nationalist Movement Party and its militants, the Grey Wolves.}} the mainstream media,{{cite news|last1=Starr|first1=Stephen|title=Turkey protective of ethnic Turkmens in Syria|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/turkey-protective-of-ethnic-turkmens-in-syria-1.2535691|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=15 February 2016|quote=...the Grey Wolves, a neo-fascist, militant youth group...|access-date=15 December 2016|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225002620/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/turkey-protective-of-ethnic-turkmens-in-syria-1.2535691|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Erdemir |first1=Aykan |last2=Tahiroglu |first2=Merve |title=Turkish Grey Wolves target 'Chinese' |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/ |work=Politico Europe |date=30 July 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200820105709/https://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/ |archive-date=20 August 2020 |access-date=22 April 2018 |url-status=live }} and left-wing sources.{{cite journal|last1=Dixon|first1=Norm|title=Kurds defy repression with strong vote for HADEP|journal=Green Left Weekly|date=28 April 1999|url=https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/kurds-defy-repression-strong-vote-hadep |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228191630/https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/kurds-defy-repression-strong-vote-hadep |archive-date=28 February 2020 }}{{cite news|last1=Maass|first1=Alan|last2=Gagné|first2=Tom|title=The coup that followed the coup in Turkey|url=https://socialistworker.org/2016/08/11/the-coup-that-followed-the-coup|work=socialistworker.org (Socialist Worker)|date=11 August 2016|quote=...the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), with its openly fascist "Grey Wolves" youth organization...|access-date=15 December 2016|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108135022/https://socialistworker.org/2016/08/11/the-coup-that-followed-the-coup|url-status=live}} R. W. Apple Jr., writing in The New York Times in 1981, described MHP and its satellite groups as a "xenophobic, fanatically nationalist, neofascist network steeped in violence." The organization's ideology emphasizes the early history of the Turkic peoples in Central Asia and blends it with Islamic culture and beliefs; their synthesis of Turkish identity, political ideology, and Islamic beliefs is referred to as "Turkish Islamonationalism", and is widely prevalent in their rhetoric and activities. One of their mottos is: "Your doctor will be a Turk and your medicine will be Islam." Other sources have described it as secular.{{cite web|last1=Bale|first1=Jeffrey M.|title=Definition of Terrorism|url=http://www.miis.edu/academics/researchcenters/terrorism/about/Terrorism_Definition|website=Monterey Terrorism & Research Education Program|location=Middlebury, Vermont|publisher=Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107103419/http://www.miis.edu/academics/researchcenters/terrorism/about/Terrorism_Definition|archive-date=7 January 2013}}

Their ideology is based on a "superiority" of the Turkish "race" and the Turkish nation. According to Peters, they strive for an "ideal" Turkish nation, which they define as "Sunni-Islamic and mono-ethnic: only inhabited by 'true' Turks."{{cite web|last1=Peters|first1=L.S.|title=The big world experiment: the mobilization of social capital in migrant communities|url=http://dare.uva.nl/document/2/77487|publisher=FMG: Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)|page=152|year=2010|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208232607/http://dare.uva.nl/document/2/77487|url-status=live}} A Turk is defined as someone who lives in the Turkish territory, feels Turkish and calls themselves Turkish. In their ideology and activities, they are hostile to virtually all non-Turkish or non-Sunni elements within Turkey, including Kurds,{{cite news|last1=Humer|first1=Stephan|title=Turkish elections: Turkey's Kurd-hating Grey Wolves spreading neo-nazi poison across Europe|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkish-elections-turkeys-kurd-hating-grey-wolves-spreading-neo-nazi-poison-across-europe-1504725|work=International Business Times|date=5 June 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20151128070050/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkish-elections-turkeys-kurd-hating-grey-wolves-spreading-neo-nazi-poison-across-europe-1504725|archive-date=28 November 2015|access-date=20 August 2020|url-status=live}} Alevis,{{cite news|last1=Jégo|first1=Marie|title=Turquie: les différents masques du loup|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/04/30/turquie-les-differents-masques-du-loup_3555472_1819218.html|work=Le Monde|date=30 April 1999|language=fr|quote=Pour la minorité religieuse alévie – ces « protestants » de l'islam, près de quinze millions de personnes, et parmi elles nombre de Kurdes –, marquée par les terribles massacres perpétrés en particulier par les « Loups gris » à Maras (1978) ou à Sivas (1979, 1993), le retour du MHP n'est pas une bonne nouvelle.|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108230544/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/04/30/turquie-les-differents-masques-du-loup_3555472_1819218.html|url-status=live}} Arabs, Armenians, Greeks, Christians, and Jews. They embrace anti-Semitic conspiracy theories such as those put forward by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and have distributed the Turkish translation of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

File:Turkic language map-present range.png. This map shows parts of Eurasia inhabited by Turkic-speaking peoples.]]

The Grey Wolves are Pan-Turkist and seek to unite the Turkic peoples in one state stretching from the Balkans to Central Asia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Grey Wolves called for "a revived Turkish empire embracing newly independent Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union." They have proposed "a pan-Turkish extension of the Turkish nation-state."{{cite journal|last=Tunander|first=Ola|author-link=Ola Tunander|title=A New Ottoman Empire? The Choice for Turkey: Euro-Asian Centre vs National Fortress|journal=Security Dialogue|date=1995|volume=26|issue=4|pages=413–427|quote=Turkey is not preparing for military competition with Russia in the former Soviet republics, nor for a pan-Turkish extension of the Turkish nation-state, as has been proposed by the right-wing extremists, the 'Grey Wolves'.|doi=10.1177/0967010695026004007|s2cid=143697855}} Due to their pan-Turkic agenda they are hostile towards China,{{cite news|last1=Erdemir|first1=Aykan|last2=Tahiroglu|first2=Merve|title=Turkish Grey Wolves target 'Chinese'|url=http://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/|work=Politico|date=30 July 2015|language=en|quote=Their solidarity with the distant Uighurs may seem odd, but many Turkish ultranationalists view the Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia — the region from which the nomads who would settle Anatolia originally came — as their brethren.|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=18 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218050735/https://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/|url-status=live}} Iran,{{cite book|last1=Hunter|first1=Shireen T.|author-link1=Shireen Hunter|title=Iran's Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era: Resisting the New International Order|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=978-0-313-38194-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wLtA_J3VUt4C&dq=%22Grey+Wolves%22+bozkurt&pg=PA158 158]|quote=For different reasons, two groups in Turkey have a hostile view of Iran: [...] (2) the ultranationalists with pan-Turkist aspirations, exemplified by groups such as the Grey Wolves (Bozkurt).}} and Russia.{{cite news|last1=Nuriyev|first1=Bulat|title=Так будет ли у Т. Эрдогана достойный конкурент? [Will Erdogan have a worthy competitor?]|url=http://echo.msk.ru/blog/ozgur/947392-echo/|agency=Echo of Moscow|date=3 November 2012|language=ru|quote=И, в-третьих, это националисты, или «серые волки», далеко недружелюбно посматривающие в сторону Москвы.|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108135025/https://echo.msk.ru/blog/ozgur/947392-echo/|url-status=live}}

The Grey Wolves are staunchly anti-communist and have a history of violence toward leftists.{{cite web| url=http://www.dw.com/en/erdogans-plans-for-power-hinge-on-turkish-nationalist-feud/a-19259604| title=Erdogan's plans for power hinge on Turkish nationalist feud | DW | 15.05.2016| website=Deutsche Welle| access-date=22 February 2018| archive-date=8 January 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108140138/https://www.dw.com/en/erdogans-plans-for-power-hinge-on-turkish-nationalist-feud/a-19259604| url-status=live}}

Base

According to sociologist {{Interlanguage link multi|Doğu Ergil|tr}}, the Grey Wolves—"the militant youth wing of the Turkish ethnic nationalists that are dissatisfied with the inertia of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) camp"—are supported by 3.6% of the Turkish electorate as of 2014. A 2021 poll by Kadir Has University found that a similar percentage, 3.2% of respondents identify as Ülkücü, or supporters of the Grey Wolves.{{cite web |title=Kadir Has Üniversitesi'nin siyasi eğilim araştırması [Political tendency research of Kadir Has University] |url=http://habercalar.com/kadir-has-universitesinin-siyasi-egilim-arastirmasi/ |website=habercalar.com |language=tr |date=6 January 2022 |quote=Ülkücü =3.2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119020249/http://habercalar.com/kadir-has-universitesinin-siyasi-egilim-arastirmasi/ |archive-date=19 January 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Aydın |first1=Mustafa |title=Türkiye Eğilimleri – 2021 |url=https://www.khas.edu.tr/sites/khas.edu.tr/files/inline-files/turkiye-egilimleri-web-basin.pdf |website=khas.edu.tr |publisher=Kadir Has University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106113354/https://www.khas.edu.tr/sites/khas.edu.tr/files/inline-files/turkiye-egilimleri-web-basin.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2022 |page=14 |date=4 January 2022 |quote=Türk Halkının Siyasi Yelpazedeki Yeri: Kendinizi siyasi görüşünüz açıdan nasıl tanımlarsınız?}}

According to analyst Ankarali Jan, the Grey Wolves have a largely unofficial presence in Turkey's major universities, but their "real power is on the streets, among disaffected poor people in predominantly Turkish Sunni neighbourhoods." Norm Dixon wrote in the Green Left Weekly in 1999 that the MHP and Grey Wolves "retain strong support within the military." In 2018, Tom Stevenson described it as a "street movement."

Links to the Turkish government and NATO

{{See also|Deep state in Turkey}}

In the late 1970s, former military prosecutor and Turkish Supreme Court Justice Emin Değer documented collaboration between the Grey Wolves, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Counter-Guerrilla, the Turkish stay-behind anti-communist organization organized under NATO's Operation Gladio, a plan for guerrilla warfare in case of a communist takeover. Martin Lee writes that the Counter-Guerrilla supplied weapons to the Grey Wolves, while according to Tim Jacoby, the CIA transferred guns and explosives to Grey Wolves units through an agent in the 1970s.

During the 1996 Susurluk scandal, the Grey Wolves were accused of being members of the Counter-Guerrilla.{{cite news|last1=Pacal|first1=Jan|title=The Short and Bloody History of Ulkucus|url=http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-500825|work=Turkish Daily News|issue=222|publisher=Hürriyet|date=4 April 1997|archive-date=19 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019035337/http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-500825|quote=Ulkucus, the ultranationalists, were the lead players of the Turkish Gladio that was revealed with the Susurluk Accident. Abdullah Catli, a convicted criminal whose name was mentioned very often and who was accused of many cases, was mentioned as the head of the Gladio. There were many Ulkucu Special Team officers, ministers, deputies who were accused of being the member of the Gladio.}} Abdullah Çatlı, second-in-command of the Grey Wolves leadership, was killed during the Susurluk car crash, which sparked the scandal. The April 1997 report of the Turkish National Assembly's investigative committee "offered considerable evidence of close ties between state authorities and criminal gangs, including the use of the Grey Wolves to carry out illegal activities."{{cite journal|last1=Park|first1=Bill|volume=153|issue=5|title=Turkey's Deep State: Ergenekon and the Threat to Democratisation in the Republic|url=https://www.rusi.org/downloads/assets/200810_Park_Turkeys_Deep_State.pdf|publisher=Royal United Services Institute|page=54|doi=10.1080/03071840802521937|date=October 2008|s2cid=154033736|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025055237/https://www.rusi.org/downloads/assets/200810_Park_Turkeys_Deep_State.pdf|archive-date=2014-10-25|doi-access=free}}

In 2008 the Ergenekon trials, a court document revealed that the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) armed and funded Grey Wolves members to carry out political murders. They mostly targeted members of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA),{{cite news|title=Machete attacks raise fears over widespread violence |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-240183-on-%3Cb%3Ecrucifixes%3C/_machete-attacks-raise-fears-over-widespread-violence_320660.html |work=Today's Zaman |date=14 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025065709/http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-240183-on-%3Cb%3Ecrucifixes%3C/_machete-attacks-raise-fears-over-widespread-violence_320660.html |archive-date=2014-10-25 }} which attacked Turkish embassies abroad in retaliation for the Turkish state's continued denial of the Armenian genocide. The Turkish intelligence services also made use of the Grey Wolves in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, by offering them amnesty for their crimes in exchange.{{cite book|first=Martin A.|last=Lee|author-link=Martin A. Lee|title=The Beast Reawakens: Fascism's resurgence from Hitler's Spymasters to Today's Neo-Nazi Groups and Right Wing Extremists|publisher=Routledge|year=2000|location=New York|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DRDeAAAAQBAJ&dq=Grey+Wolves+neo-fascist&pg=PA202 202]|quote=The paramilitary wing of the Grey Wolves have been utilized by the Turkish intelligence services to assassinate PKK leaders.}}

In 2018, the AK Party formed an alliance with the MHP{{cite news |last1=Uras |first1=Umut |title=Why Erdogan is entering key elections with a far-right ally |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/6/18/why-erdogan-is-entering-key-elections-with-a-far-right-ally |access-date=26 August 2022 |agency=Al Jazeera |date=18 June 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826105142/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/6/18/why-erdogan-is-entering-key-elections-with-a-far-right-ally |url-status=live }} which succeeded in re-electing President Erdoğan.{{cite news |title=Turkey election: Erdogan wins re-election as president |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44596072 |access-date=26 August 2022 |agency=BBC |date=25 June 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826105142/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44596072 |url-status=live }} In 2022, concerns around the close connections between the Turkish government and the Grey Wolves caused the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament to recommend that the Grey Wolves be banned in the European Union.{{cite web |author1=European Parliament |title=European Parliament resolution of 7 June 2022 on the 2021 Commission Report on Turkey |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0149_EN.html |access-date=26 August 2022 |date=7 June 2022 |quote=is concerned by the attempts by the Turkish Government to influence members of the Turkish diaspora in the EU, such as through the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), which could interfere with democratic processes in some Member States; remains worried that the racist right-wing extremist movement Ülkü Ocakları, also known as the Grey Wolves, which is closely linked to the ruling coalition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is spreading not only in Turkey but also in EU Member States; calls for the EU and its Member States to examine the possibility of banning their associations in EU countries; calls on the Member States to closely monitor the racist activities of this organisation and to fight back to curtail its influence; |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826105142/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0149_EN.html |url-status=live }}

History

According to Ruben Safrastyan, because the Grey Wolves are subtle and often formally operate as cultural and sports organizations, information about them is scarce.{{cite news|last1=Krikorian|first1=Krikor A.|script-title=hy:Փանթուրանական Երազանք կամ «Գորշ Գայլեր»|url=http://hairenikweekly.com/2014/10/03/%D6%83%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A9%D5%B8%D6%82%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A6%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%84-%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B4-%D5%A3%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%B7-%D5%A3%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AC%D5%A5/|work=Hairenik Weekly|date=3 October 2014|language=hy|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109083532/http://hairenikweekly.com/2014/10/03/%D6%83%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A9%D5%B8%D6%82%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A6%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%84-%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B4-%D5%A3%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%B7-%D5%A3%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AC%D5%A5/|url-status=live}}

=Early history=

The Grey Wolves organization was formed by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş in the late 1960s as the paramilitary wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). In 1968, over a hundred camps for ideological and paramilitary training were founded by Türkeş across Turkey. Canefe and Bora describe it as a grassroots fascist network, which had an active role in the economy, education, and neighbourhoods. Nasuh Uslu characterized it as a well-disciplined paramilitary organization,{{cite book|last=Uslu|first=Nasuh|title=The Turkish-American Relationship Between 1947 and 2003: The History of a Distinctive Alliance|date=2003|publisher=Nova Science|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59033-832-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6sgzChQ-0FMC&dq=wolves+(in+turkish+bozkurtlar)&pg=PA49 49]}} while Joshua D. Hendrick compared its organization to the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS).{{cite book|last1=Hendrick|first1=Joshua D.|title=Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World|date=2013|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8147-7098-6|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1XcaGnpAKmYC&dq=mhp+formed+youth+organization%2C+the+bozkurtlar+grey+wolves&pg=PA44 44]}} Young male students and economic migrants from rural areas who have settled in Istanbul and Ankara made up the majority of its members. In 1973 Israeli orientalist Jacob M. Landau wrote that the importance of the Grey Wolves "is attested to by the fact that Türkeş himself assumed responsibility for the formation of these youth groups and assigned the supervision of their training to two of his close associates".{{cite book|last1=Landau|first1=Jacob M.|author-link1=:de:Jacob M. Landau|title=Middle Eastern Themes: Papers in History and Politics|date=1973|publisher=Frank Cass|location=London|isbn=978-0-7146-2969-8|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DSFmAgAAQBAJ&dq=importance+of+the+bozkurtlar+for+rpnp-nap+is+attested+to&pg=PA281 281]}}

=1970s violence and 1980 coup=

By the late 1970s the organizations had tens of thousands of members, and according to Amberin Zaman, the Turkish authorities had lost control over it. During the political violence between 1976 and 1980, members of the Grey Wolves were involved in numerous assassinations of left-wing and liberal activists, intellectuals, labour organizers, Kurds, officials, and journalists. The organization became a death squad engaged in "street killings and gunbattles". According to authorities, 220 of its members carried out 694 murders of left-wing and liberal activists and intellectuals. In total, some 5,000 to 6,000 people were killed in the violence, with the Grey Wolves responsible for most of the killings.{{cite news|title=Turkey" Nation and tribe the winners|url=http://www.economist.com/node/201182|newspaper=The Economist|date=22 April 1999|quote=Young zealots on the far left did their share of killing. But the MHP's paramilitary wing, known as the "Grey Wolves", committed the worst excesses. Some 6,000 Turks died in the violence.|access-date=15 December 2016|archive-date=12 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612035751/http://www.economist.com/node/201182|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=de Bellaigue|first1=Christopher|author-link1=Christopher de Bellaigue|title=Obituary: Alpaslan Turkes|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-alpaslan-turkes-1266076.html|work=The Independent|date=9 April 1997|quote=...the political violence towards the end of the decade which thrust his Grey Wolves – as MHP activists came to be known – into the limelight. This violence, which pitted left against right, cost the lives of around 5000 Turks. Much of it was perpetrated by the Grey Wolves.|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=11 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211222354/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-alpaslan-turkes-1266076.html|url-status=live}}

Their most significant attack of this period was the Maraş massacre in December 1978, when over 100 Alevis were killed.{{cite book|last=Marcus|first=Aliza|title=Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence|url=https://archive.org/details/bloodbeliefpkkku00marc|url-access=limited|date=2007|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=978-0-8147-9611-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/bloodbeliefpkkku00marc/page/n62 50]|quote=...attacks on minority Alawite communities by the Grey Wolves, including the Kahramanmaras massacre in 1978...}}{{cite news|author=Orhan Kemal Cengiz |title=Why was the commemoration for the Maraş massacre banned? |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-kemal-cengiz/why-was-the-commemoration-for-the-maras-massacre-banned_302207.html |work=Today's Zaman |date=25 December 2012 |quote=This was the beginning of the massacre; later on, angry mobs led by grey wolves scattered into the city, killing and raping hundreds of Alevis. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007145955/http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/orhan-kemal-cengiz/why-was-the-commemoration-for-the-maras-massacre-banned_302207.html |archive-date=2015-10-07 }}{{cite book|last1=Rabasa|first1=Angel|last2=Larrabee|first2=F. Stephen|title=The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey|date=2008|publisher=RAND Corporation|location=Santa Monica|isbn=978-0-8330-4457-0|quote=In the 1978 Kahramanmaraş incident, rightwing "Grey Wolves" killed about 100 left-wing Alevi activists.}}{{cite web|last1=Rabasa |first1=Angel |last2=Larrabee |first2=F. Stephen |title=The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a482594.pdf |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center |page=21 |date=2008 |quote=In the 1978 Kahramanmaraş incident, right-wing "Grey Wolves" killed about 100 left-wing Alevi activists. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109070241/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a482594.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2014 }} They are also accused of being behind the Taksim Square massacre on 1 May 1977. The Grey Wolves became a "state-approved force" and used attacks on left-wing groups to "cause chaos and demoralization and inflame a climate in which a regime promising law and order would be welcomed by the masses."{{cite journal|last1=Alver|first1=Ahmet|title=Postmodern Responses to the September 12th 1980 Military Coup D'Etat in Turkish Literature Search within citing articles|journal=Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Dergisi|date=2013|page=6|url=http://journals.istanbul.edu.tr/iutded/article/viewFile/1023022368/1023020903|publisher=Istanbul University|access-date=6 October 2015|archive-date=7 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007022606/http://journals.istanbul.edu.tr/iutded/article/viewFile/1023022368/1023020903|url-status=live}}

During this violent period, Grey Wolves operated with the encouragement and the protection of the Turkish Army's Special Warfare Department.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The conflict between left-wing and right-wing groups eventually resulted in a military intervention in September 1980 when General Kenan Evren led a coup d'état. According to Daniele Ganser, at the time of the coup, there were some 1,700 Grey Wolves branches, with about 200,000 registered members and a million sympathizers.{{cite book|last1=Ganser|first1=Daniele|author-link1=Daniele Ganser|title=NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-76785-3|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=n0uRAgAAQBAJ&dq=694+murders+grey+wolves&pg=PA240 240]}} Following the 1980 coup, the Grey Wolves and MHP were banned and their activity was diminished.{{cite book|editor1-last=Heper|editor1-first=Metin|editor2-last=Sayari|editor2-first=Sabri|title=Political Leaders and Democracy in Turkey|date=2001|publisher=Lexington|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-0-7391-0352-4|page=154|quote=The activism of the Grey Wolves diminished after the 1980 military intervention, which banned such organizations.}} Turkish nationalists and others assert that the Grey Wolves were "used and then discarded" by the deep state in Turkey.{{cite journal|last=Ünver |first=H. Akin |title=Turkey's "Deep-State" and the Ergenekon Conundrum |journal=Policy Brief |date=April 2009 |page=13 |url=http://edoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/HALCoRe_derivate_00003605/turkey-deep-state-ergenekonconundrum.pdf |publisher=Middle East Institute |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109071517/http://edoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/HALCoRe_derivate_00003605/turkey-deep-state-ergenekonconundrum.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2014 }}

=Post-1980=

After the 1980 coup, the Grey Wolves reorganized. They began to direct their efforts against Kurds in Turkey, as well as lobbying for aggressive denial of the Armenian genocide and support of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus.{{cite news|last=Çelikkan|first=Murat|title=Ülkü Ocakları|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=99252|work=Radikal|date=18 December 2003|language=tr|quote=12 Eylül sonrasında yeniden kurulan Ülkü Ocakları'nı ise kâh Apo konusunda eylemlerde, kâh Ermeni soykırımı iddialarını protesto ederken, kâh Kıbrıs'ta statükoyu desteklemek için...|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021143/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=99252|archive-date=29 November 2014}}

==Anti-Kurdish violence and activism==

===1990s===

In the 1990s, the Grey Wolves turned their focus on the Kurds and participated in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in Turkish Kurdistan. In 1999, Hürriyet Daily News described the organization as "the staunchest opponent to the Kurdish cause in Turkey."{{cite news|title=Grey Wolves in charge for Ocalan|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/grey-wolves-in-charge-for-ocalan.aspx?pageID=438&n=grey-wolves-in-charge-for-ocalan-1999-01-30|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=30 January 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109075705/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/grey-wolves-in-charge-for-ocalan.aspx?pageID=438&n=grey-wolves-in-charge-for-ocalan-1999-01-30 |archive-date=9 November 2014}}

In May 1998, the Grey Wolves were involved in two murders. On 3 May, a group of Grey Wolves attacked two students in Bolu who were passing by the organization's building. Kenan Mak, one of the students, was killed. On 5 May, a worker named Bilal Vural was killed in Istanbul's Şişli district, allegedly by the Grey Wolves. His family claimed that he was "brought several times to the Ülkü Ocakları building where ultranationalists forced him to become a member." They said that he was killed because he was a member of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP). As a result of these murders, Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Sinan Yerlikaya and the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) requested that the Grey Wolves be banned by the authorities.

During the 1999 general election, the Grey Wolves attacked members of the HADEP, allegedly with impunity.

===2000s===

In August 2002, the Grey Wolves burnt Masoud Barzani's effigy in a protest in Ankara after he claimed the partly Turkmen-inhabited Iraqi governorates of Kirkuk and Mosul as part of Iraqi Kurdistan.{{cite news|title=Ülkü Ocakları'ndan Barzani protestosu|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=47516|work=Radikal|date=23 August 2002|language=tr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021141/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=47516|archive-date=29 November 2014}}

===2010s===

On 9 November 2010, Hasan Şimşek, a Grey Wolves member and a student, was killed at the Kütahya Dumlupınar University during an apparent fight between Kurdish nationalist and Turkish nationalist student groups. At his funeral, MHP leader Bahçeli stated that "We expect every kind of measure to be taken to prevent the expansion of the PKK mob, who have a tendency to grow in the universities."{{cite news|title=MHP leader visits slain student's grave|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=mhp-leader-visits-slain-students-grave-2010-11-14|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=14 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129014826/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=mhp-leader-visits-slain-students-grave-2010-11-14 |archive-date=29 November 2014}} Violence between Turkish and Kurdish students also broke out in Marmara University in Istanbul on 12 November.{{cite news|title=Nationalist violence spreads to Istanbul's Marmara University|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=tension-spread-to-marmara-university-2010-11-12|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=12 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129014828/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=tension-spread-to-marmara-university-2010-11-12 |archive-date=29 November 2014}}

In September 2011, the Ankara Police Department raided 40 locations across Ankara belonging to the Grey Wolves. They took 36 people into custody and seized numerous guns and knives. According to police, the Grey Wolves were planning an attack on the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (BDP).{{cite news|title=Ankara police detain 36 in MHP youth branch raid |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/national_ankara-police-detain-36-in-mhp-youth-branch-raid_256514.html |work=Today's Zaman |date=12 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117110048/http://www.todayszaman.com/national_ankara-police-detain-36-in-mhp-youth-branch-raid_256514.html |archive-date=2014-11-17 }}

In October 2013, the Grey Wolves demonstrated across Turkey against the Kurdish–Turkish peace process.{{cite news|title=Nationalists stage protests against package across Turkey|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nationalists-stage-protests-against-package-across-turkey-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=55559|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025082459/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nationalists-stage-protests-against-package-across-turkey-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=55559 |archive-date=25 October 2014}}

In October 2014, the Grey Wolves were involved in deadly clashes during the 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey against the government's perceived collaboration with the Islamic State during the Siege of Kobanî.{{cite news|title=10 people, including two police officers, killed in two Turkish provinces|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/10-people-including-three-police-officers-killed-in-two-turkish-provinces.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72767&NewsCatID=509|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=9 October 2014|quote=Pictures from the incident showed large groups of protesters carrying knives and sticks while making the sign of the grey wolf, a far-right symbol associated with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110141332/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/10-people-including-three-police-officers-killed-in-two-turkish-provinces.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72767&NewsCatID=509 |archive-date=10 November 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Dettmer|first1=Jamie|title=Kobani is Falling to ISIS in Syria. Kurd Protests Explode in Turkey.|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/10/kobani-is-falling-to-isis-in-syria-kurd-protests-explode-in-turkey.html|work=The Daily Beast|date=10 October 2014|quote=The involvement of Huda-Par and the Grey Wolves in the violence rocking the southeast augurs badly.|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025082319/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/10/kobani-is-falling-to-isis-in-syria-kurd-protests-explode-in-turkey.html|url-status=live}} A group of Grey Wolves in Sancaktepe, Istanbul, attempted to lynch a young man.{{cite news|title=Üç büyük kent de karıştı|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/uc-buyuk-kent-de-karisti-gundem-1951452/|work=Milliyet|date=8 October 2014|language=tr|quote=Sarıgazi’de ülkücü grup protestocu bir genci linç etmek istedi.|access-date=11 November 2014|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208160122/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/uc-buyuk-kent-de-karisti-gundem-1951452/|url-status=live}}

On 20 February 2015, Fırat Yılmaz Çakıroğlu, leader of the Grey Wolves organization in Ege University, was stabbed to death by left-wing and according to some reports, Kurdish nationalist students.{{cite news|title=Death of nationalist student stirs politics in Turkey|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/death-of-nationalist-student-stirs-politics-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=517&nID=78659&NewsCatID=509|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=20 February 2015|access-date=22 February 2015|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222230219/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/death-of-nationalist-student-stirs-politics-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=517&nID=78659&NewsCatID=509|url-status=live}}

On 7–8 September 2015, Turkish nationalists, including Grey Wolves members, attacked 128 offices of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) across Turkey in an apparent retaliation for anti-government attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).{{cite news|last1=MacDonald|first1=Alex|title=Far-right activists attack HDP offices across Turkey after anti-PKK demos|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/thousands-across-turkey-protests-against-pkk-666574588|agency=Middle East Eye|date=8 September 2015|quote=Many of the attacks were reportedly initiated by supporters of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and members of the Grey Wolves (Ülkücü Ocakları), an ultra-nationalist organisation which has close links to the party...|access-date=10 September 2015|archive-date=9 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909175203/http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/thousands-across-turkey-protests-against-pkk-666574588|url-status=live}} Some have alleged that some of the attacks were carried out by AK Party members "masquerading as Grey Wolves"{{cite news|last1=Ellis|first1=Robert|title=Comment: Is President Erdogan behaving more like Bashar al-Assad?|url=http://famagusta-gazette.com/comment-is-president-erdogan-behaving-more-like-bashar-alassad-p29779-69.htm|work=Famagusta Gazette|date=21 September 2015|access-date=13 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011155703/http://famagusta-gazette.com/comment-is-president-erdogan-behaving-more-like-bashar-alassad-p29779-69.htm|archive-date=11 October 2015|url-status=dead}} or that the Grey Wolves cooperated with AK Party members in attacks on HDP offices and left-wingers suspected of sympathy for the Kurds.{{cite news|last1=Cross|first1=Tony|title=Tensions running high in Turkey as elections loom|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/general/20151026-tensions-running-high-turkey-elections-loom|agency=Radio France Internationale|date=26 October 2015|access-date=1 November 2015|archive-date=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030021212/http://www.english.rfi.fr/general/20151026-tensions-running-high-turkey-elections-loom|url-status=live}}

==Anti-Armenian violence and activism==

In January 2004, the Grey Wolves prevented the screening of Ararat, a film about the Armenian genocide, in Turkey.{{cite news|title=Turkish Extremists Scuttle the Screening of "Ararat"|url=http://asbarez.com/49408/turkish-extremists-scuttle-the-screening-of-ararat/|work=Asbarez|date=7 January 2004|access-date=10 November 2014|archive-date=10 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110223453/http://asbarez.com/49408/turkish-extremists-scuttle-the-screening-of-ararat/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title='Ararat'ın ertelenmesine Egoyan'dan tepki|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=101631|work=Radikal|date=7 January 2004|language=tr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110233653/http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=101631|archive-date=10 November 2014}}

On 24 April 2011, the murder of Sevag Balıkçı, a soldier of Armenian descent in the Turkish Army, was committed by Kıvanç Ağaoglu, who sympathized with Abdullah Çatlı, the late leader of the Grey Wolves.{{cite news|last1=Türker|first1=Yıldırım|title=Asker Sevag'a ne oldu?|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/yildirim_turker/asker_sevaga_ne_oldu-1048713|work=Radikal|date=9 May 2011|language=tr|quote=Yoğun şekilde milliyetçi temalarla karşılaştık. Mesela Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu’nun videoları ve Abdullah Çatlı’nın resimleri geniş yer tutuyordu.|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109083215/http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/yildirim_turker/asker_sevaga_ne_oldu-1048713|url-status=live}} According to Ruben Melkonyan, an Armenian expert on Turkish studies, Ağaoglu was a member of the Grey Wolves.{{cite news|title=Ethnic Armenian soldier in Turkey killed by Bozkurtlar member|url=http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/70221/|agency=PanARMENIAN.Net|date=18 May 2011|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924081235/http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/70221/|url-status=live}}

On 24 April 2012, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, nationalist groups, including the Grey Wolves, protested against the commemoration of the genocide in Istanbul's Taksim Square.{{cite news|last1=Moral|first1=Efe|title=April 24th|url=http://www.theglobetimes.com/2012/04/25/april-24th/|work=The Globe Times|date=25 April 2012|access-date=6 November 2014|archive-date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106090332/http://www.theglobetimes.com/2012/04/25/april-24th/|url-status=live}}; Translated from the original {{cite news|last=Perrier|first=Guillaume|title=24 avril|url=http://istanbul.blog.lemonde.fr/2012/04/25/24-avril/|work=istanbul.blog.lemonde.fr|date=25 April 2012|language=fr|access-date=6 November 2014|archive-date=18 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518143218/http://istanbul.blog.lemonde.fr/2012/04/25/24-avril/|url-status=dead}}

In June 2015, during a visit to the medieval Armenian city of Ani in Kars Province by the Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan, the local leader of the Grey Wolves suggested that his followers should "go on an Armenian hunt."{{cite news|title=Ülkücü başkandan tehdit: 'Sokaklarda Ermeni avına mı çıkalım' ! |url=http://www.taraf.com.tr/guncel-haber/ulkucu-baskandan-tehdit-sokaklarda-ermeni-avina-mi-cikalim/ |work=Taraf |date=24 June 2015 |language=tr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807092051/http://www.taraf.com.tr/guncel-haber/ulkucu-baskandan-tehdit-sokaklarda-ermeni-avina-mi-cikalim/ |archive-date=2015-08-07 }}{{cite news|title=Turkish Radical Threatens to 'Hunt for Armenians' In Streets of Kars|url=http://asbarez.com/137259/turkish-radical-threatens-to-hunt-for-armenians-in-streets-of-kars/|work=Asbarez|date=25 June 2015|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=23 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723171657/http://asbarez.com/137259/turkish-radical-threatens-to-hunt-for-armenians-in-streets-of-kars/|url-status=live}}

== Other acts of violence ==

According to Zürcher and Linden, when Sunni radicals attacked Alevis in Istanbul in March 1995, the police in the Gazi quarter were "heavily infiltrated by Grey Wolves" and it was not until the police were replaced by military units that peace was restored.{{sfn|Zürcher|Linden|2004|p=130|ps=: "...in March 1995, Sunni radicals opened fire on several coffee houses in the Alevi district of Gazi in Istanbul. This led to massive protests throughout the country, in which some thirty people died. Peace was only restored when the Gazi police, who were heavily infiltrated by Grey Wolves, were replaced by military units."}}

In December 1996, the Grey Wolves attacked left-wing students and teachers at Istanbul University, with the alleged approval of the police.{{cite news|first1=Zeki|last1=Ayik|first2=Zafer F.|last2=Yoruk|url=http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-502244|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130418160045/http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-502244|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 April 2013|title=Istanbul University: Alleged Police-Ulkucu Collaboration Escalates Tensions|work=Turkish Daily News|publisher=Hürriyet|date=13 December 1996|issue=208}}

In late November 2006 the Grey Wolves staged protests against Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey.{{cite news|last1=Wilkinson|first1=Tracy|title=A tense time for a papal visit|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-25-fg-pope25-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=25 November 2006|quote=A nationalist gang called the Gray Wolves is staging regular demonstrations protesting the pontiff's arrival.|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=20 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220201527/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/nov/25/world/fg-pope25|url-status=live}} On 22 November, tens of protesters symbolically occupied Haghia Sophia in Istanbul to perform Muslim prayers.{{cite news|title=A chance to get friendlier: The pope's controversial trip to Turkey|url=http://www.economist.com/node/8343700|newspaper=The Economist|date=27 November 2006|quote=Within the past week, members of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves have carried out a symbolic "occupation" of the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul (alleging that the pope might try to turn it back into a church)...|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109080050/http://www.economist.com/node/8343700|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Pope reaches out to Islamic world|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/28/20061128-102232-9294r/?page=all|work=The Washington Times|date=28 November 2006|quote=Nevertheless, followers of the Gray Wolves far-right Turkish group occupied the historic Haghia Sophia monument last week in protest at the visit.|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=18 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118225434/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/28/20061128-102232-9294r/?page=all|url-status=live}} They chanted slogans against the Pope, such as "Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience". Reuters reported that the event was organized by Alperen Ocakları, considered an offshoot of the Grey Wolves.{{cite news|last1=Butler|first1=Daren|title=Police detain Turks protesting Pope at Aya Sofya|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-pope-protest-idUSL2282777220061122|work=Reuters|date=22 November 2006|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=21 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321114345/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-pope-protest-idUSL2282777220061122|url-status=live}} Police arrested around 40 protesters for violating the ban on prayers in the former mosque, which had been a museum since the 1930s.{{cite news|title=Turkish nationalists protest pope, Vatican remains calm|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-nationalists-protest-pope-vatican-remains-calm.aspx?pageID=438&n=turkish-nationalists-protest-pope-vatican-remains-calm-2006-11-24|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=24 November 2006|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109073243/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-nationalists-protest-pope-vatican-remains-calm.aspx?pageID=438&n=turkish-nationalists-protest-pope-vatican-remains-calm-2006-11-24|url-status=live}}

In July 2014 around a thousand people demonstrated in Kahramanmaraş against the presence of Syrian refugees who fled the Syrian Civil War. Many protesters made the sign of the Grey Wolves, blocked roads in the city and removed Arabic-language signs from stores. AKP lawyer Mahir Ünal commented: "This doesn't make them idealists [i.e. members of the Grey Wolves] but it is certain some people's attempt to show it like something the idealists did."

In July 2015 the Grey Wolves staged protests across Turkey, burnt flags of the People's Republic of China, attacked Chinese restaurants and "tourists who were mistaken for being Chinese" in response to the Chinese government's ban on Muslim Turkic Uyghurs fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Korean tourists were attacked by Grey Wolves.{{cite news|title=Chinese tourists in Turkey told to avoid anti-Beijing protests after attacks|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1833256/chinese-tourists-turkey-told-avoid-ant-beijing-protests|work=South China Morning Post|date=6 July 2015|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=12 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712093314/http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1833256/chinese-tourists-turkey-told-avoid-ant-beijing-protests|url-status=live}} An Uighur worked at the Turkish run Chinese restaurant which was assaulted.{{cite news|title=Turks protesting against China attack Koreans 'by mistake'|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/turks-protesting-against-china-attack-koreans-mistake-193516278.html?ref=gs|newspaper=AFP|date=4 July 2015|access-date=30 August 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920200831/https://www.yahoo.com/news/turks-protesting-against-china-attack-koreans-mistake-193516278.html?ref=gs|url-status=live}} Members of the Grey Wolves displayed a banner in multiple locations that read, "We crave Chinese blood."{{cite news|last1=Tremblay|first1=Pinar|title=Attacks on Chinese escalate in Turkey|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/07/turkey-china-random-violence-become-norm-in-lgbt.html|agency=Al-Monitor|date=20 July 2015|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=10 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810095243/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/07/turkey-china-random-violence-become-norm-in-lgbt.html|url-status=live}} Grey Wolves members attacked the Thai consulate in Istanbul in apparent retaliation for the deportation of hundreds of Uyghurs by Thailand.{{cite news|last1=Broadhurst|first1=Clea|title=Uighur deportation sparks anger in Turkey|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20150709-uighur-deportation-sparks-anger-turkey|agency=Radio France Internationale|date=9 July 2015|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=23 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823032350/http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20150709-uighur-deportation-sparks-anger-turkey|url-status=live}} MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli stated that "Our nationalist youth is sensitive to injustices in China",{{cite news|last1=Tasch|first1=Barbara|title=Anti-China sentiment is sweeping over Turkey|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/china-turkey-uighurs-2015-7|work=Business Insider|date=22 July 2015|access-date=8 August 2015|archive-date=7 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807211935/http://www.businessinsider.com.au/china-turkey-uighurs-2015-7|url-status=live}} and that the attacks by MHP-affiliated youth on South Korean tourists was "understandable", adding "What feature differentiates a Korean from a Chinese? They see that they both have slanted eyes. How can they tell the difference?"{{cite news |last1=Lefevre |first1=Amy Sawitta |last2=Dikmen |first2=Yesim |date=9 Jul 2015 |title=Thai PM defends decision to send Uighurs back to China |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-uighurs-turkey-idUSKCN0PJ18620150709 |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=5 July 2021 |archive-date=26 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126152448/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/09/us-thailand-uighurs-turkey-idUSKCN0PJ18620150709 |url-status=live }}

In November 2015, the Grey Wolves protested Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War near Istanbul's Russian consulate, Ankara, and Adana, accusing Russia of slaughtering Syrian Turkmens.{{cite news|last1=Aydin |first1=Armagan |title=Ülkü Ocakları ve Alperen Ocakları'ndan 'Türkmen Dağı' protestosu |url=http://www.zaman.com.tr/gundem_ulku-ocaklari-ve-alperen-ocaklarindan-turkmen-dagi-protestosu_2328628.html |work=Zaman |date=21 November 2015 |language=tr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129084000/http://www.zaman.com.tr/gundem_ulku-ocaklari-ve-alperen-ocaklarindan-turkmen-dagi-protestosu_2328628.html |archive-date=29 November 2015 }}{{cite news|title=Ülkücüler Türkmenler için sokaktaydı|url=http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2015/gundem/ulkuculer-turkmenler-icin-sokaktaydi-991514/|work=Sözcü|date=21 November 2015|language=tr|access-date=2 December 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208061810/http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2015/gundem/ulkuculer-turkmenler-icin-sokaktaydi-991514/|url-status=live}}

Presence in Eurasia

=Azerbaijan=

File:İsgəndər Həmidov mitinqdə.jpg founded and led the Azerbaijani Grey Wolves in 1993–1995]]

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–94), Grey Wolves members fought on the Azerbaijani side against Armenians, but many reportedly returned to Turkey in late 1992.{{cite book|last1=Chorbajian|first1=Levon|last2=Mutafian|first2=Claude|last3=Donabedian|first3=Patrick|author-link1=Levon Chorbajian|author-link2=Claude Mutafian|title=The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabagh|date=1994|location=Zed Books|isbn=978-1-85649-287-4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OUlnYdOHJ3wC&dq=levon+chorbajian+alpaslan+turkesh+founder+of+the+turkish+fascist+grey+wolevs&pg=PA34 34]}} Around 200 members of the Grey Wolves were still in the conflict zone in September 1994 to train Azerbaijani units.{{cite book|editor1-last=Brzezinski|editor1-first=Zbigniew|editor2-last=Sullivan|editor2-first=Paige|editor1-link=Zbigniew Brzezinski|title=Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis|year=1997|publisher=M. E. Sharpe|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-1-56324-637-1|page=616|quote=It is also revealed that a new force of 200 armed members of the Grey Wolves organization has been dispatched from Turkey in preparation for a new Azeri offensive and to train units of the Azeri army.}}

In 1993, Azerbaijani Interior Minister Isgandar Hamidov established the Azerbaijan National Democrat Party (AzMDEP), which was known as Boz Qurd ("Grey Wolves").{{cite news|last1=Fuller|first1=Liz|title=Azerbaijan: Date For Presidential Ballot Confirmed|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1076817.html|agency=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=30 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115073846/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1076817.html|archive-date=15 January 2009|quote=...National Democratic Party (aka Boz Gurd, Gray Wolves)...}} According to Russian political scientist Stanislav Cherniavsky, the Azerbaijani Grey Wolves grew out of the nationalist Popular Front in 1992 and "considered itself a branch of the Turkish Grey Wolves."{{cite book|last1=Cherni︠a︡vskiĭ|first1=Stanislav|title=Новый путь Азербайджана [Azerbaijan's New Path]|date=2002|publisher=Moscow|location=Azer-Media|page=169|quote=Партия «Боз гурд» («Серые волки») возникла в рядах НФ, организационно оформилась весной 1992 г. Партия считала себя филиалом турецкой экстремистской организации «Серые волки», которая была запрещена в Турции...}} It was registered by the Justice Ministry in 1994. In interviews in 1992–93, Hamidov said there was no organisational link with the Turkish organization, stating that the "Grey Wolves of Azerbaijan are not subordinate to the Turkish group".{{cite web|author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada|title=Information on the strength and activities of a group called the Grey Wolves, and on whether this group is related to the ultra right-wing group called the Grey Wolves in Turkey|url=https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1150177.html|publisher=European Country of Origin Information Network|date=2 May 1995|author-link=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200820105353/https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1150177.html|archive-date=20 August 2020|access-date=20 August 2020|url-status=live}}

In March 1995, a coup d'état attempt against President Heydar Aliyev was staged in Baku by paramilitary police chief Rovshan Javadov, Turkish far-right organizations (including the Grey Wolves), and the Azerbaijani opposition.{{cite book|last1=Murinson|first1=Alexander|title=Turkey's Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan: State Identity and Security in the Middle East and Caucasus|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-77892-3|page=126|quote=The attempted coup of April–May 1995 against Heydar Aliyev engineered by a coalition of Turkish ultra-nationalists, members of Boz Kurtlar organization, and Azerbaijani opposition leaders...}} According to Thomas de Waal, the "shadowy backers of this uprising were never identified but appear to have included rogue elements of the Turkish security establishment and members of the 'Gray Wolves' Bozkurt movement."{{cite book|last=de Waal|first=Thomas|title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War|year=2003|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8147-1945-9|author-link=Thomas de Waal|pages=[https://archive.org/details/blackgardenarmen00waal/page/n265 251]–2|title-link=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War}} After the coup attempt, Hamidov was jailed, while the Azerbaijani Supreme Court formally abolished the National Democratic Party due to its links to the Turkish Grey Wolves, which it considered to be a terrorist organization. In 2004, Hamidov was freed in an amnesty granted by President Ilham Aliyev. In 2008, Hamidov retired from politics and as president of the party, which had been inactive since.{{cite news|first=Kyamal|last=Ali|script-title=ru:"Серые волки" собрались на охоту|url=http://ann.az/xeber-quot-quot-t8759.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025062823/http://ann.az/xeber-quot-quot-t8759.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2014|work=ann.az|publisher=Azerbaijan News Network|date=18 February 2014|language=ru|quote=В 1995 году Верховный суд ликвидировал регистрацию «Боз Гурд» в связи с названием организации, известной в мире как террористическая.}} After 2007, the Grey Wolves reportedly used to not operate in Azerbaijan for some time.{{cite journal|last1=Imanli|first1=Mahammad|last2=Nasrullayev|first2=Shahin|title=Fight Against Terrorist Financing|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=241694|journal=Crime & Justice International|publisher=National Criminal Justice Reference Service|volume=23|issue=99|pages=35–37|date=July 2007|quote=The article concludes with a refutation of claims that Turkish terrorists ("Grey Wolves") are operating in Azerbaijan.|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222085958/https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=241694|url-status=live}} In the blockades of the Lachin corridor of December 2022 the presence of Grey Wolves was made apparent by their repeated salutations.{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CmE4AH_phCp/ | title=Zartonk Media on Instagram: "Azerbaijan Closes off Only Route Connecting Armenia and Artsakh for 2nd Time This Month ➖➖➖ A group of Azerbaijanis describing themselves as "environmentalists" again blocked the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor in the morning of December 12. The Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor is the only road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) with Armenia. A similar incident took place earlier on December 3. Then, the authorities of Artsakh said that the self-described Azeri environmentalists were actually secret service operatives seeking to make provocations. Moreover, Artsakh authorities even said they are ready for an international monitoring organization to assess and affirm that the mining operations meet all safety requirements. Artsakh authorities reported that the Russian peacekeeping contingent's command is aware of the situation. Artsakh authorities described the Azerbaijani side's actions as "unacceptable, aggressive and destructive" and said they are taking all possible steps to resolve the situation, maintaining contact with the Russian peacekeeping contingent's command. "We are asking our citizens to stay calm and follow official reports and refrain from spreading unverified information. We will provide updates on further developments," the Artsakh official Information Center said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Artsakh State Service of Emergency Situations spokesperson Hunan Tadevosyan announced that the road is currently closed. "A group of Azerbaijanis closed the Shushi section of the interstate road under environmental pretexts," Tadevosyan said." | access-date=15 December 2022 | archive-date=15 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215204533/https://www.instagram.com/p/CmE4AH_phCp/ | url-status=live }}

=China (Xinjiang)=

The Grey Wolves "set up training camps in Central Asia for youths from Turkic language groups" following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Failing to find support in post-Soviet Central Asian republics, they targeted the Uyghurs, concentrated in the Chinese province of Xinjiang and began actively supporting the East Turkestan independence movement. In this scope, the Grey Wolves' European affiliates attacked Chinese tourists in the Netherlands.{{cite news|last=Shimatsu|first=Yoichi|title=Behind the China Riots -- Oil, Terrorism & 'Grey Wolves'|url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6dee147021a596f4f22c69316977d3f3|agency=New America Media|date=13 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106031059/http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6dee147021a596f4f22c69316977d3f3|archive-date=6 November 2014|url-status=usurped|location=Dunhuang, China}} The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies suggested in 2012 they are "highly limited in their reach and support base".{{cite web|last1=Singh |first1=Bhavna |title=Separatism in Xinjiang: Between Local Problems and International Jihad? |url=http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/SR122-CRP-SeparatisminXinjiang.pdf |website=IPCS Special Report |publisher=Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies |location=New Delhi |date=April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106032221/http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/SR122-CRP-SeparatisminXinjiang.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2014 }} In March 2020, several Chinese state-run outlets published an article, which claimed that the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and "its offshoots have forged ties with the Grey Wolves" and that WUC founder Erkin Alptekin met Türkeş on numerous occasions.{{cite news |title=Inside the World Uyghur Congress: The US-backed right-wing regime change network seeking the 'fall of China' |url=http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/0316/c98649-9668832.html |work=People's Daily |date=16 March 2020 |access-date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731164609/http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/0316/c98649-9668832.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Unmistakable US hand in Xinjiang |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/20/WS5e7402ffa31012821728093c.html |work=China Daily |date=20 March 2020 |access-date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731164717/https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/20/WS5e7402ffa31012821728093c.html |url-status=live }}

=Northern Cyprus=

{{Main|Cyprus problem}}

{{Further|Cypriot intercommunal violence|Turkish invasion of Cyprus}}

Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 the Grey Wolves "continued to play a role in radicalizing the dispute with Greek Cypriots by actively engaging in violence on the island."{{cite journal|last1=Pearlman|first1=Wendy|last2=Cunningham|first2=Kathleen Gallagher|title=Nonstate Actors, Fragmentation, and Conflict Processes|journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution|date=2012|volume=56|issue=3|page=11|doi=10.1177/0022002711429669|s2cid=154685753|url=http://jcr.sagepub.com/content/56/1/3|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=6 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706094152/http://jcr.sagepub.com/content/56/1/3|url-status=live}} They actively supported Rauf Denktaş, then President of the unrecognized Northern Cyprus between 1983 and 2005, and were involved, according to Harry Anastasiou, in state-sponsored terrorism against Cypriot citizens. In July 1996, Kutlu Adali, a Turkish Cypriot journalist who had criticized Denktaş and his policies, was killed by the Grey Wolves, according to some sources.

In August 1996, the Grey Wolves were involved in an attack on a protest of Greek Cypriots against the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus. In the same year Tassos Isaac, a Greek Cypriot protester, was beaten to death by the Grey Wolves in the United Nations Buffer Zone.Wes Johnson, Balkan inferno: betrayal, war and intervention, 1990–2005, (Enigma Books, 2007), 389.{{cite web|title=AI Concerns in Europe|url=https://www.amnesty.org/es/documents/eur01/001/1997/es/|publisher=Amnesty International|date=July–December 1996|quote=Tasos Isaak, a Greek Cypriot, was beaten to death in the United Nations (UN) buffer zone on 11 August by Turkish Cypriots or alleged members of the right-wing Turkish organization Grey Wolves.|access-date=21 November 2018|archive-date=1 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101100815/https://www.amnesty.org/es/documents/eur01/001/1997/es/|url-status=live}} In July 1997, the Grey Wolves clashed with Kurdish university students in Northern Cyprus who protested against Turkey's invasion of northern Iraq in search of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members.{{cite web|title=Chronology for Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/469f387d1e.html|website=refworld.org|publisher=Minorities at Risk|date=2004|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025055554/http://www.refworld.org/docid/469f387d1e.html|url-status=live}}

On 17 October 2003, Murat Kanatlı, a Turkish Cypriot journalist and editor of the opposition newspaper Yeniçağ, was "attacked by a group of 20-30 persons belonging to the Grey Wolves" according to the International Press Institute (IPI). Kanatlı had covered the Grey Wolves' demonstration against the "intervention" of the European Union and the United States in elections in Northern Cyprus.{{cite web|last1=Fritz|first1=Johann P.|title=IPI expresses concern over brutal attack on Turkish Cypriot journalist|url=https://www.ifex.org/cyprus/2003/10/23/ipi_expresses_concern_over_brutal/|website=ifex.org|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|date=23 October 2003|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025054849/https://www.ifex.org/cyprus/2003/10/23/ipi_expresses_concern_over_brutal/|url-status=live}}

During the 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan, the Grey Wolves campaigned for a "no" vote. During the pre-voting period at least 50 Grey Wolves activists arrived in Northern Cyprus and caused riots against pro-ratification supporters.{{cite web|last1=Sayın |first1=Fatih Mehmet |title=Cyprus Problem in the Integration of Turkey to the European Union |url=http://www.tsu.edu.ge/data/file_db/faculty_social_political/Fatih%20Mehmet%20SAYIN.pdf |publisher=Tbilisi State University |page=98 |date=2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107182802/http://www.tsu.edu.ge/data/file_db/faculty_social_political/Fatih%20Mehmet%20SAYIN.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2014 }} They were suspected of assaulting motorcyclists carrying "vote yes" banners.{{cite book|last1=Anastasiou |first1=Harry|author-link1=Harry Anastasiou|title=The Broken Olive Branch: Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and the Quest for Peace in Cyprus|date=2008|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, New York|isbn=978-0-8156-5090-4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MQFbi6f6lIUC&dq=Broken+Olive+Branch%3A+Nationalism%2C+Ethnic+Conflict+grey+wolves&pg=PA152 152]}}

In October 2013, the Grey Wolves opened a new headquarters in North Nicosia's Köşklüçiftlik quarter. During the opening ceremony Adem Yurdagül, the chairman of the Grey Wolves in Cyprus delivered a speech, while slogans like "Nicosia plain is home of Grey Wolves", "Cyprus is Turkish and will remain Turkish", "We are soldiers of [Alparslan] Türkeş", "The Grey Wolves Movement cannot be prevented" were chanted.{{cite news|title=Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review 30/10/2013|url=http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/36F52905DC4DBE3EC2257C140044B20B?OpenDocument&print|work=moi.gov.cy|agency=Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior, Press and Information Office|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102064317/http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/36F52905DC4DBE3EC2257C140044B20B?OpenDocument&print|url-status=live}}

In November 2013, a fight broke out between members of the Grey Wolves and Kurdish university students at the Near East University in North Nicosia, resulting in arrest of 23 persons. According to the newspaper Havadis, "the cause of the fight was allegations by the Grey wolves' organization that some Kurdish students broke the windows of the Grey wolves organization’s building. Around 500 students went out on the streets holding clubs and rocks and the police asked for reinforcement in order to put them under control."{{cite news|title=Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review 08/11/2013|url=http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/d2f0876e1500506ac2257076004d01cb/124f3fe8b670f019c2257c1d00496b33?OpenDocument|work=moi.gov.cy|agency=Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior, Press and Information Office|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102064022/http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/d2f0876e1500506ac2257076004d01cb/124f3fe8b670f019c2257c1d00496b33?OpenDocument|url-status=live}}

=Russia=

In November and December 2015, Federation Council member Andrey Klishas and two Communist Party members of the State Duma proposed outlawing the Grey Wolves in Russia.{{cite news|title=В Совфеде предложили запретить турецкую организацию "Серые волки"|url=http://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/565c79a49a794730072e5723|work=rbc.ru|date=30 November 2015|language=ru|access-date=17 January 2016|archive-date=3 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103001450/http://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/565c79a49a794730072e5723|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Коммунисты предложили Чайке запретить турецких "Серых волков"|url=http://www.gazeta.ru/social/news/2015/12/16/n_8016269.shtml|work=gazeta.ru|language=ru|quote=16 December 2015|access-date=17 January 2016|archive-date=19 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119184858/http://www.gazeta.ru/social/news/2015/12/16/n_8016269.shtml|url-status=live}} In August 2020, the Russian International Affairs Council, a government think tank, classified the Grey Wolves as an extremist organization.{{cite news |title=Russian think tank labels Turkish far-right Grey Wolves as 'extremist' organisation |url=https://ahvalnews.com/ultranationalists/russian-think-tank-labels-turkish-far-right-grey-wolves-extremist-organisation |work=ahvalnews.com |agency=Ahval |date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200819102039/https://ahvalnews.com/ultranationalists/russian-think-tank-labels-turkish-far-right-grey-wolves-extremist-organisation |archive-date=19 August 2020 |access-date=19 August 2020 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Denisova |first1=Sofya |title=Серые волки [Grey Wolves] |url=https://russiancouncil.ru/turkeyextremists-greywolves |website=russiancouncil.ru |publisher=Russian International Affairs Council |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200819102132/https://russiancouncil.ru/turkeyextremists-greywolves |archive-date=19 August 2020 |access-date=19 August 2020 |url-status=live }}

According to a December 2015 report by the independent Russian online newspaper Svobodnaya Pressa,{{cite news|last1=Ivanov|first1=Andrey|title=Эрдоган отправляет в Крым "Серых волков"|url=http://svpressa.ru/politic/article/137804/|work=svpressa.ru|agency=Svobodnaya Pressa|date=8 December 2015|language=ru|archive-url=https://archive.today/20151208221329/http://svpressa.ru/politic/article/137804/|archive-date=8 December 2015|access-date=17 January 2016|url-status=live}} Crimean Tatar nationalists have apparently began cooperating with the Grey Wolves in Crimea.{{efn|The status of Crimea and of the city of Sevastopol is currently under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine and the majority of the international community consider Crimea to be an autonomous republic of Ukraine and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine's cities with special status, while Russia, on the other hand, considers the Crimea to be a federal subject of Russia and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's three federal cities.}}

==Chechnya==

Members of the Grey Wolves fought on the Chechen separatist side during the First Chechen War (1994–1996){{cite book|editor1-last=Roy|editor1-first=Olivier|editor2-last=Sfeir|editor2-first=Antoine|editor3-last=King|editor3-first=John|editor1-link=Olivier Roy (professor)|editor2-link=Antoine Sfeir|title=The Columbia World Dictionary of Islamism|date=2007|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-231-14640-1|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rNrMilgHKKEC&dq=during+the+first+chechen+war+from+1993+to+1996+grey+wolves+chechen+rebels&pg=PA375 375]|quote=During the first Chechen war, from 1993 to 1996, the paramilitary wing of the MHP, known as the "Bozkurtlar" ("The Grey Wolves") — in honor of Kemal Atatürk — had sent men to fight with the Chechen rebels.}} and the Second Chechen War (1999–2000).{{cite book|last1=Cooley|first1=John K.|author-link1=John K. Cooley|title=Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism|date=2002|publisher=Pluto Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-7453-1917-9|page=[http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1pdon/PoliticsUnholyWarsAf/resources/195.htm 195]|edition=3rd|quote=A Turkish Fascist youth group, the "Grey Wolves," was recruited to fight with the Chechens.}}{{cite book|last=Goltz|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Goltz|title=Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya|date=2003|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-26874-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/chechnyadiarywar00thom/page/22 22]|quote=I called a well-informed diplomat pal and arranged to meet him at a bar favoured by the pan-Turkic crowd known as the Gray Wolves, who were said to be actively supporting the Chechens with men and arms.
...the Azerbaijani Gray Wolf leader, Iskander, Hamidov...|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chechnyadiarywar00thom/page/22}}
{{cite news|last=Isingor|first=Ali|title=Istanbul: Gateway to a holy war|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/06/chechnya.istanbul/|agency=CNN|date=6 September 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017193747/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/06/chechnya.istanbul/|archive-date=17 October 2014}} CNN reported in 2000 that the Grey Wolves with most pro-Chechen stance were those affiliated with the Islamist Great Union Party (BBP), which had split from MHP in 1993. The article suggested that they "run the mosques and commercial activities in some parts of Istanbul. It is in these mosques, in the suburbs of the city, that offerings are collected after daily prayers for the Chechen refugees. It is money that probably also goes to soldiers on the front lines." According to Svante Cornell it is "widely believed that the Grey Wolves organised arms shipments to Chechnya, probably with at least the partial knowledge of the Turkish authorities."{{cite journal|last1=Cornell|first1=Svante E.|author-link1=Svante Cornell|title=International Reactions to Massive Human Rights Violations: The Case of Chechnya|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|date=1999|volume=51|issue=1|page=92|doi=10.1080/09668139999137|jstor=153547|pmid=20509217}} Russian media has alleged that the Turkish government knew and possibly supported, or at least did not prevent, the activities of the Grey Wolves in Chechnya.{{cite news|last1=Balmasov|first1=Sergey|title=Шторм в "тихой гавани" чеченских боевиков|url=http://www.pravda.ru/world/asia/20-10-2011/1095812-chechen-0/|work=pravda.ru|date=20 October 2011|language=ru|quote=Но самое важное, что не без поддержки турецких спецслужб в Чечне воевали отряды так называемых "Серых волков" из Турции.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822134549/https://www.pravda.ru/world/1095812-chechen/|archive-date=22 August 2020|access-date=13 December 2015|url-status=live}} Georgian Minister of State Security Valery Khaburdania stated in 2002 that the Grey Wolves were the "conduit of assistance" to the Chechen militants.{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Ariel |title=Moscow, Washington and Tbilisi Wrestle With Instability in the Pankisi |url=https://eurasianet.org/moscow-washington-and-tbilisi-wrestle-with-instability-in-the-pankisi |work=EurasiaNet |date=19 February 2002 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200820163145/https://eurasianet.org/moscow-washington-and-tbilisi-wrestle-with-instability-in-the-pankisi |archive-date=20 August 2020 |access-date=20 August 2020 |url-status=live }}

Azerbaijani Grey Wolves also participated in the fight against Russia.{{cite book|last1=Cornell|first1=Svante|author-link1=Svante Cornell|title=Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-79669-3|pages=226–7|quote=Nevertheless it seems certain that isolated groups of Azeri Grey Wolves have participated in the war...}} In January 1995 Kommersant cited the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) in stating that the Azerbaijani Grey Wolves sent 80 fighters to Chechnya.{{cite news|title=Наемники в Чечне|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/Doc/99614|work=Kommersant|date=18 January 1995|language=ru|quote=По информации ФСК Дагестана азербайджанская организация "Серые волки" направила в Чечню 80 боевиков.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130910000440/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/99614|archive-date=10 September 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|url-status=live}} Another 270 fighters went to Chechnya in December of that year.{{cite book|last1=Evangelista|first1=Matthew|title=The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union?|date=2003|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|location=Washington|isbn=978-0-8157-2497-1|page=89|quote=From Azerbaijan, the Grey Wolves opposition party sent 270 fighters to Chechnya in mid-December.}}

=Syria=

{{Main|Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war}}

{{Further|Kurdish–Turkish conflict|Rojava conflict|Turkish occupation of northern Syria}}

File:Azez’den Akçakale’ye gelen ve Geçici Barınma Merkezi'ne getirilen ÖSO konvoyu.jpg group in the Syrian National Army, transported from Azaz to Akçakale during the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. One of them makes the Grey Wolves sign (left).]]

Activists of the MHP and Idealist Hearths have fought in the Syrian civil war in support of the Syrian Turkmen, whom they consider kinsmen.{{cite news|last1=Taştekin|first1=Fehim|title=Turkey's nationalist 'Gray Wolves' enter Syrian fray|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/02/turkey-syria-grey-wolves-emerge-as-jihadists.html|agency=Al-Monitor|date=3 February 2016|access-date=2016-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205094925/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/02/turkey-syria-grey-wolves-emerge-as-jihadists.html|archive-date=2016-02-05|url-status=dead}} The MHP and Grey Wolves have provided the Syrian Turkmen Assembly with relief aid and fighters.{{cite web|last1=Heller|first1=Sam|last2=Grimaldi|first2=S.G.|title=A Cause for all Turks: Turkey and Syria's Turkmen Rebels|url=http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/a-cause-for-all-turks-turkey-and-syrias-turkmen-rebels/|website=warontherocks.com|date=21 January 2016|access-date=28 January 2016|archive-date=2 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202062757/http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/a-cause-for-all-turks-turkey-and-syrias-turkmen-rebels/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=MHP'nin iki ilçe başkanı Türkmen Dağı'nda savaşa katıldı|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/mhpnin-iki-ilce-baskani-turkmen-daginda-savasa-katildi-1483138/|work=Radikal|date=30 November 2015|language=tr|access-date=2 December 2015|archive-date=3 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203074609/http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/mhpnin-iki-ilce-baskani-turkmen-daginda-savasa-katildi-1483138/|url-status=live}} Syrian Turkmen Assembly president Abdurrahman Mustafa stated in 2016 that "Turkish NGOs, just as the Grey Wolves, give us humanitarian aid."{{cite news |last1=Starr |first1=Stephen |title=Turkey protective of ethnic Turkmens in Syria |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/turkey-protective-of-ethnic-turkmens-in-syria-1.2535691 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=15 February 2016 |access-date=1 August 2020 |archive-date=16 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216093216/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/turkey-protective-of-ethnic-turkmens-in-syria-1.2535691 |url-status=live }} According to Egypt Today the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (MİT) "is believed to be recruiting retired military personnel to provide support for armed groups operating in Syria, through the Grey Wolves Brigades."{{cite news |last1=Maguid |first1=Mohamed Abdel |title=Grey Wolves, Turkey's armed proxy in Syria |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/4984/Grey-Wolves-Turkey%E2%80%99s-armed-proxy-in-Syria |work=Egypt Today |date=11 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729013856/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/4984/Grey-Wolves-Turkey%E2%80%99s-armed-proxy-in-Syria |archive-date=29 July 2020}}

Some Syrian rebel groups have ties to the Grey Wolves. One is the Muntasir Billah Brigade,{{cite news |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russian-airstrikes-prompt-turks-join-fight-alongside-syrian-turkmen-2045640666 |title=Turks head to Syria to defend Turkmen 'brothers' |author=Umar Farooq |work=Middle East Eye |date=16 February 2016 |access-date=17 September 2018 |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214075048/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russian-airstrikes-prompt-turks-join-fight-alongside-syrian-turkmen-2045640666 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://warontherocks.com/2016/01/a-cause-for-all-turks-turkey-and-syrias-turkmen-rebels/ |title=A Cause For All Turks: Turkey and Syria's Turkmen Rebels |author1=Sam Heller |author2=S.G. Grimaldi |work=War on the Rocks |date=21 January 2016 |access-date=21 November 2018 |archive-date=22 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122052013/https://warontherocks.com/2016/01/a-cause-for-all-turks-turkey-and-syrias-turkmen-rebels/ |url-status=live }} another is the Turkmen Abdulhamid Han Brigade.{{cite news |last1=Xudosi |first1=Arslon |title=Syrian Turkmen Groups in Latakia: An Overview |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/02/07/syrian-turkmen-groups-in-latakia-an-overview/ |work=Bellingcat |date=7 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716224632/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019/02/07/syrian-turkmen-groups-in-latakia-an-overview/ |archive-date=16 July 2020 |quote=Like many Turkmen brigades and individuals, the brigade openly affiliates with the Grey Wolves movement, an ultra-nationalist organisation in Turkey.}}

On 24 November 2015, the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border. The pilot was shot in mid-air parachuting toward land by Syrian Turkmen rebels under Syrian Turkmen Brigades. The Turkmen rebel group operated under the command of Alparslan Çelik,{{cite news|title=Turkmen forces in Syria shot dead pilots of downed Russian jet – deputy commander|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-shooting-idUKKBN0TD1TM20151124|work=Reuters|date=24 November 2015|quote="Both of the pilots were retrieved dead. Our comrades opened fire into the air and they died in the air," Alpaslan Celik, a deputy commander in a Syrian Turkmen brigade said...|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=21 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321114354/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-shooting-idUKKBN0TD1TM20151124|url-status=dead}}

  • {{cite news|last1=Beauchamp|first1=Zack|title=Syria's Turkmen: who they are, and what they have to do with Russia's downed plane|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/11/24/9792830/russia-plane-turkmen|work=Vox|date=24 November 2015|quote=To understand why Celik's rebels would even claim to do this...|access-date=13 June 2017|archive-date=9 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009195139/https://www.vox.com/2015/11/24/9792830/russia-plane-turkmen|url-status=live}} a Turkish national and a Grey Wolves member from Elazığ.{{cite news|last1=Sidorchik|first1=Andrey|title=След "Серых Волков". Кто убил российского пилота Су-24?|url=http://www.aif.ru/politics/world/sled_seryh_volkov_kto_ubil_rossiyskogo_pilota_su-24|work=Argumenty i Fakty|date=26 November 2015|language=ru|quote=Однако жест в исполнении Альпаслана Челика и его соратников говорит не о любви к року, а о принадлежности к радикальной турецкой группировке «Бозкурт» — «Серые Волки».|access-date=26 November 2015|archive-date=26 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126142510/http://www.aif.ru/politics/world/sled_seryh_volkov_kto_ubil_rossiyskogo_pilota_su-24|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://ntv.livejournal.com/426110.html|title=Найти и уничтожить|date=25 November 2015|language=ru|publisher=ntv.livejournal.com|access-date=25 November 2015|archive-date=27 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127201018/http://ntv.livejournal.com/426110.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Kıvanç|first1=Ümit|author-link1=:tr:Ümit Kıvanç|title=Rus uçağını düşürmek gerekli miydi?|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/umit-kivanc/rus-ucagini-dusurmek-gerekli-miydi-1480328/|work=Radikal|date=26 November 2015|language=tr|quote=Böyle demişken... "Türkmen komutanı" diye karşımıza dikilen şahıs, Elazığ/Keban'dan, MHP'li Ramazan Çelik'in oğlu Ülkücü Alparslan Çelik çıktı!|access-date=26 November 2015|archive-date=27 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127052951/http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/umit-kivanc/rus-ucagini-dusurmek-gerekli-miydi-1480328/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title='Türkmen komutan' dedikleri kişi Elazığlı ülkücü çıktı!|url=http://haber.sol.org.tr/turkiye/turkmen-komutan-dedikleri-kisi-elazigli-ulkucu-cikti-137262|work=SoL|date=24 November 2015|language=tr|quote=DHA tarafından "Türkmen komutan" olarak gösterilen Alparslan Çelik isimli kişinin Elazığlı bir ülkücü olduğu ortaya çıktı.|access-date=26 November 2015|archive-date=27 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127015229/http://haber.sol.org.tr/turkiye/turkmen-komutan-dedikleri-kisi-elazigli-ulkucu-cikti-137262|url-status=live}}

Youm7, an Egyptian news site picked up a document allegedly issued by the Army of Conquest (Jaish al-Fatah), which claimed that it conspired with the Turkistan Islamic Party and the Grey Wolves in the December 2016 assassination of Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey.{{cite news |title=موجز أخبار مصر 1 ظهرا.. جيش الفتح يعلن مسئوليته عن اغتيال سفير روسيا بأنقرة [Army of Conquest announces responsibility for the assassination of Russia's ambassador in Ankara] |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/12/21/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%B2-%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-1-%D8%B8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86/3020497 |work=youm7.com |date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200820122815/https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/12/21/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%B2-%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-1-%D8%B8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86/3020497 |archive-date=20 August 2020 |language=ar |access-date=20 August 2020 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=جيش فتح الشام يعلن مسئوليته عن اغتيال السفير الروسى فى أنقرة [Jaysh Fatah al-Sham claims responsibility for the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Ankara] |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/12/21/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%BA%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%89-%D9%81%D9%89/3020365 |work=youm7.com |date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200820122818/https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/12/21/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%BA%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%89-%D9%81%D9%89/3020365 |archive-date=20 August 2020 |language=ar |access-date=20 August 2020 |url-status=live }} Russian-state run news TASS agency cited this in a news report.{{cite news |date=21 December 2016 |title=Media: Jaish al-Fatah claims responsibility for murder of Russian ambassador |url=http://tass.com/world/921186 |publisher=TASS |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161225230142/http://tass.com/world/921186 |archive-date=25 December 2016 |access-date=4 January 2017 |url-status=live }}

=Thailand=

The 2015 Bangkok bombing is suspected to have been carried out by the Grey Wolves due to Thailand's deportation of Uyghur terrorist suspects back to China instead of allowing them to travel to Turkey for asylum. A man with fake Turkish passports using the name Adem Karadag was arrested by the Thai police in connection to the bombing and bomb making materials found in his apartment.{{cite news |last=Murdoch |first=Lindsay |date=30 August 2015 |title=Bangkok bombing: Who are the Turkish terrorist group the Grey Wolves? |url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/bangkok-bombing-who-are-the-turkish-terrorist-group-the-grey-wolves-20150830-gjavjz.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=30 August 2015 |archive-date=30 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830033643/http://www.smh.com.au/world/bangkok-bombing-who-are-the-turkish-terrorist-group-the-grey-wolves-20150830-gjavjz.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Cunningham |first=Susan |date=24 August 2015 |title=Thailand's Shrine Bombing – The Case For Turkey's Grey Wolves |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/susancunningham/2015/08/24/thailands-shrine-bombing-the-case-for-turkeys-grey-wolves/ |newspaper=Forbes |access-date=29 August 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010001122/https://www.forbes.com/sites/susancunningham/2015/08/24/thailands-shrine-bombing-the-case-for-turkeys-grey-wolves/ |url-status=live }}

Presence in Western Europe

= Austria =

In Austria, the Grey Wolves salute as well as its symbols were legally banned starting from 1 March 2019. It is punishable by fines up to €4,000.{{cite news |title=Diese 13 extremistischen Symbole werden verboten |url=https://www.heute.at/s/diese-13-extremistischen-symbole-werden-verboten-55522543 |work=Heute |date=12 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728193817/https://www.heute.at/s/diese-13-extremistischen-symbole-werden-verboten-55522543 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |language=de}} Turkey's Foreign Ministry condemned the ban.{{cite news |last1=Nur Duz |first1=Zehra |title=Turkey condemns Austria's ban on 'Grey Wolves' salute |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-condemns-austria-s-ban-on-grey-wolves-salute/1392217 |agency=Anadolu Agency |date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321114324/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-condemns-austria-s-ban-on-grey-wolves-salute/1392217 |archive-date=21 March 2020}} "[T]he 'bozkurt' ('Grey Wolves') sign, which is a symbol of a legal political party in Turkey and the 'rabia' sign that is widely used by Muslims in many countries as well as in Turkey. We do not accept this and we strongly condemn it," read the Foreign Ministry statement. Turkey also called on Austria to "correct this grave mistake," because it "deeply offends Turkey, the Turkish community in Austria and Muslims."{{cite web |title=Press Release Regarding the "Symbol Act" on Symbols of Extremist Organizations that Has Been Passed by the Austrian Parliament |url=https://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-333_-avusturya-da-kabul-edilen-sembol-yasasi-hk_en.en.mfa |website=mfa.gov.tr |publisher=Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421095301/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-333_-avusturya-da-kabul-edilen-sembol-yasasi-hk_en.en.mfa |archive-date=21 April 2019 |date=12 December 2018}} In early March 2019, Grey Wolves sympathizers started a campaign on Twitter by sending Chancellor Sebastian Kurz hundreds of photos of people showing the salute. Kurz defended the ban declaring people and organizations that do not accept democratic values, or fight against those values, have no place in Austria.{{cite news |title=So kontert der Kanzler auf Wolfsgruß-Aktion |url=https://www.heute.at/s/kurz-sagt-rechten-wolfsgrussen-den-kampf-an-41838218 |work=Heute |date=4 March 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200728194300/https://www.heute.at/s/kurz-sagt-rechten-wolfsgrussen-den-kampf-an-41838218 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |language=de}}

In January 2020 four Turkish bus drivers were fired in Vienna for making the Grey Wolves sign.{{cite news |title=4 Turkish bus drivers fired over gray wolf sign in Vienna |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2020/01/31/4-turkish-bus-drivers-fired-over-gray-wolf-sign-in-vienna |work=Daily Sabah |date=21 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213820/https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2020/01/31/4-turkish-bus-drivers-fired-over-gray-wolf-sign-in-vienna |archive-date=28 July 2020}} On 26 June 2020, Turkish nationalist groups, identified by journalist Jake Hanrahan as Grey Wolves members, attacked Kurdish rallies in Vienna protesting the Turkish operation in Iraqi Kurdistan.{{cite news |title=Turkish ultranationalists attack Kurdish rallies in Vienna |url=https://ahvalnews.com/turks-austria/turkish-ultranationalists-attack-kurdish-rallies-vienna |agency=Ahval |date=27 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731134913/https://ahvalnews.com/turks-austria/turkish-ultranationalists-attack-kurdish-rallies-vienna |archive-date=31 July 2020}} Turkey criticized the handling of the violence by the Austrian police and claimed that it was organized by PKK sympathizers.{{cite news |title=Turkey, Austria trade barbs over Kurdish-Turkish clashes in Vienna |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-austria/turkey-austria-trade-barbs-over-kurdish-turkish-clashes-in-vienna-idUSKBN240193 |work=Reuters |date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715134551/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-austria/turkey-austria-trade-barbs-over-kurdish-turkish-clashes-in-vienna-idUSKBN240193 |archive-date=15 July 2020}}

=Belgium=

The Belçika Türk Federasyonu (BTF) is considered to be "affiliated with or sympathetic" to the Grey Wolves. According to one study, its aim is "to foster loyalty among young people of Turkish origin to their ancestral culture, religion and history and to keep alive the Turkish identity in Europe. BTF claims to oppose not the integration of Belgian-Turks into their host society but rather their assimilation by it." Its activities mostly focus on "issues relevant to Turkish national sensitivities". For instance, it has demonstrated against the erection of an Armenian Genocide memorial in Brussels. During the municipal elections of 2006 two member of the BTF came to the attention of the media: Fuat Korkmazer on the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V) list in Ghent and Murat Denizli on the Francophone Socialist Party (PS) list in Schaerbeek, a municipality in the Brussels Region. Korkmazer got a very low number of votes, while Denizli was elected but had to resign because it was discovered he had a false address and lived in another municipality.{{cite news|title=Fuat Korkmazer stapt op bij Turkse vereniging|url=http://www.standaard.be/cnt/g1j11c1cn|work=De Standaard|date=8 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031034106/http://www.standaard.be/cnt/g1j11c1cn|archive-date=31 October 2014|language=nl}}{{cite news|last1=Dorzée|first1=Hugues|title=Le loup gris du PS hante Schaerbeek|url=http://archives.lesoir.be/le-loup-gris-du-ps-hante-schaerbeek-elections-la%EFcite-_t-20061012-006PC5.html|work=Le Soir|date=12 October 2006|language=fr}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In 2019, sp.a candidate Mustafa Ayutar was linked to the organization.{{cite web |url=https://www.jellypages.com/breaking/Verkiezingsborden-Zuhal-Demir-plastered-with-Turkish-slogans-and-symbol-Grey-Wolves-But-I-will-not-be-intimidated-h88626.html |title=Verkiezingsborden Zuhal Demir plastered with Turkish slogans and symbol Grey Wolves: But I will not be intimidated News |date=11 May 2019 |access-date=9 January 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109235116/https://www.jellypages.com/breaking/Verkiezingsborden-Zuhal-Demir-plastered-with-Turkish-slogans-and-symbol-Grey-Wolves-But-I-will-not-be-intimidated-h88626.html |url-status=live }} In 2019, Belgian-Kurdish New Flemish Alliance politician Zuhal Demir reported that posters advertising her candidacy in Maasmechelen had been vandalized with swastikas and the symbol of the Grey Wolves.

In 2022, Grey Wolves vandalized an Armenian genocide memorial in Brussels with three crescents, similar to the MHP logo.{{cite web |title=Grey Wolves vandalize Armenian genocide memorial in Brussels |url=https://www.turkishminute.com/2022/04/27/ey-wolves-vandalize-armenian-genocide-memorial-in-brussels/ |website=Turkish Minute |date=27 April 2022}}

=France=

In May 1984, Grey Wolves leader Abdullah Çatlı carried out a bombing of an Armenian Genocide memorial in Alfortville, a Paris suburb.{{cite book|last=Grosscup|first=Beau|title=The new explosion of terrorism|year=1991|publisher=New Horizon Pr.|location=Far Hills, NJ|isbn=978-0-88282-074-3|page=297}}

According to Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure members of the Grey Wolves partook in a 21 January 2012 demonstration in Paris against the adoption of the bill criminalizing the Armenian genocide denial in France.{{cite news|last=Meynial|first=Claire|title=Les Loups sont entrés dans Paris|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/les-loups-sont-entres-dans-paris-29-03-2012-1699782_24.php|work=Le Point|date=29 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102005304/http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/les-loups-sont-entres-dans-paris-29-03-2012-1699782_24.php|archive-date=2 November 2014|language=fr}}

In November 2020, France banned the Grey Wolves organization{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/2/france-to-ban-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group |title=France to ban Turkish ultranationalist Grey Wolves group |date=2 November 2020 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=2 November 2020 |archive-date=2 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102171625/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/2/france-to-ban-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=France bans Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves – DW – 11/04/2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469 |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en}} after defacement of an Armenian Genocide Memorial, organizing combat training camps in the Ardèche region in 2019, inciting violence against Kurds and Armenians{{Cite news|date=2020-11-04|title=Le mouvement ultra-nationaliste turc des Loups gris officiellement dissous en France|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/11/04/en-france-le-mouvement-ultranationaliste-turc-des-loups-gris-officiellement-dissous_6058483_823448.html|access-date=2020-11-18|archive-date=19 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119010338/https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/11/04/en-france-le-mouvement-ultranationaliste-turc-des-loups-gris-officiellement-dissous_6058483_823448.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201102-france-to-ban-turkish-grey-wolves-after-defacement-of-armenian-memorial |title=France to ban Turkish 'Grey Wolves' after defacement of Armenian memorial |date=2 November 2020 |publisher=France 24 |access-date=2 November 2020 |archive-date=2 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102170116/https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201102-france-to-ban-turkish-grey-wolves-after-defacement-of-armenian-memorial |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|date=2020-11-02|title=Grey Wolves: Far-right group to be banned in France|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54787028|access-date=2020-11-05|archive-date=4 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104235833/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54787028|url-status=live}} and orchestrating marches targeting Armenians near Lyon.{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/epddna/turkey-france-armenia-grey-wolves-lyon |title=Turkish Ultranationalist Group Linked to "Hunt For Armenians" in France |date=29 October 2020 |publisher=Vice Media |access-date=2 November 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101101934/https://www.vice.com/en/article/epddna/turkey-france-armenia-grey-wolves-lyon |url-status=live }} Turkey's Foreign Ministry criticized the ban and said: "we will reciprocate to this decision in the strongest way." In addition, accused the French government of tolerating associations affiliated with the PKK and the FETÖ.{{cite web |title=Press Release Regarding the French Council of Ministers' Decision on the dissolution of the "Grey Wolves" Movement |url=http://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-276_-bozkurtlar-hareketinin-kapatilmasina-iliskin-bakanlar-kurulu-karari-hk.en.mfa |website=mfa.gov.tr |publisher=Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211102429/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-276_-bozkurtlar-hareketinin-kapatilmasina-iliskin-bakanlar-kurulu-karari-hk.en.mfa |archive-date=11 December 2020 |date=4 November 2020}}

=Germany=

File:Graue Wölfe 20190713 151505.jpg, 2019]]

As a far-right extremist group, the Grey Wolves are monitored by the German authorities. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution assumes that there are around 12,100 people in Germany who can be assigned to the “Ülkücü” movement and its ideology as of 2023. The majority of these - around 10,500 supporters - are organized in clubs, which in turn are grouped together under the umbrella of larger associations.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-01 |title=Auslandsbezogener Extremismus |url=http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/DE/themen/auslandsbezogener-extremismus/auslandsbezogener-extremismus_node.html |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=BundesamtfuerVerfassungsschutz |language=de}} A 2017 article published by the Federal Agency for Civic Education estimated over 18,000 members.

The three “Ülkücü” associations in Germany with the largest number of members are:

  • “Federation of Turkish Democratic Idealist Associations in Germany e.V.” (ADÜTDF), with around 7,000 members organized in around 200 local associations.
  • “ATİB – Union of Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations in Europe e.V.” (ATİB), with around 2,500 members in 25 associations.
  • "Federation of the World Order in Europe” (ANF), with around 1,000 members in around 15 local associations.

The group transfers conflicts from their native Turkey into Germany with harassment against Kurds and Armenians as well as people with leftist political views in general.{{cite web|last=Bildung|first=Bundeszentrale für politische|title=Einführung: Graue Wölfe und türkischer Ultranationalismus in Deutschland {{!}} bpb|url=https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/252855/einfuehrung-graue-woelfe-und-tuerkischer-ultranationalismus-in-deutschland|access-date=2020-11-21|website=bpb.de|date=19 July 2017 |language=de|archive-date=28 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128171351/https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/252855/einfuehrung-graue-woelfe-und-tuerkischer-ultranationalismus-in-deutschland|url-status=live}} Its members have actively engaged in attacks on and clashes with{{cite web|title=2012 Annual Report on the Protection of the Constitution |url=http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Broschueren/2013/vsb_kurzfassung_engl_2012.pdf?__blob=publicationFile |publisher=German Federal Ministry of the Interior |page=8 |quote=Supporters of the Turkish nationalist Ülkücü movement (suspicious case), also publicly known as Grey Wolves, especially attracted attention during demonstrations, which occasionally sparked off heavy riots between nationalist Turks and Kurds. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107183722/http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Broschueren/2013/vsb_kurzfassung_engl_2012.pdf?__blob=publicationFile |archive-date=7 November 2014 }} Kurds in Germany.

Historically the most important Grey Wolves-affiliated Turkish organization in Germany was the Türk Federasyon (Avrupa Demokratik Ülkücü Türk Dernekleri Federasyonu, ADÜTDF), which had around 200 member organizations. Founded in 1978 by 64 nationalist organizations it declined in the 1980s, but revived in the 1990s and claimed to have doubled its membership following the Solingen arson attack of 1993. It denies any direct links with the Grey Wolves in Turkey or the MHP, however, its monthly journal publishes articles praising the MHP and denouncing left-wing and Kurdish organizations in Turkey and Germany. According to educationalist Kemal Bozay, their influence on third generation Turkish youth—who are "looking for an identity"—has "increased significantly". They had ties to the banned Turkish-nationalistic outlaw motorcycle club Osmanen Germania BC.{{fact|date=October 2023}}

According to the Baden-Württemberg State Government, there are 45 Grey Wolves clubs and associations in that state as of 2012. These associations are often given non-political names (usually cultural and athletic) to conceal their identity.

The 2013 in three German federal states "two live arms with ammunition, blank-firing guns, batons, electric stun guns and Samurai swords" were seized from members of the Grey Wolves.

The Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state where 70 Grey Wolves associations with more than 2,000 members operated in 2011, also monitors the organization.{{cite web|title=Wer sind die "Grauen Wölfe"?|url=http://www.mik.nrw.de/uploads/media/UElkuecue-Broschuere_01.pdf|website=mik.nrw.de|publisher=Ministerium für Inneres und Kommunales des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen [Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102021247/http://www.mik.nrw.de/uploads/media/UElkuecue-Broschuere_01.pdf|archive-date=2 November 2014|location=Düsseldorf |language=de}} Nevertheless, Serdar Yüksel, a Social Democratic Party member of the state's parliament, stated in a 2011 interview that the threat of the Grey Wolves in Germany is underestimated. He said, "When thousands of Turkish right-wing radicals come together in Essen, we're not worried. But if 100 members of NPD march, we immediately organize a counter-demonstration." Olaf Lehne, a Christian Democratic Union member of North Rhine-Westphalia's state parliament, stated in an interview that the Grey Wolves "are in this country, unfortunately, too often ignored". He also added that they have a large number of sympathizers among young people.{{cite news|last1=Stoldt|first1=Till-R.|title=Der Schein trügt, die Grauen Wölfe sind gefährlich|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article13735417/Der-Schein-truegt-die-Grauen-Woelfe-sind-gefaehrlich.html|work=Die Welt|date=25 November 2011|language=de|access-date=7 March 2017|archive-date=2 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902202543/https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article13735417/Der-Schein-truegt-die-Grauen-Woelfe-sind-gefaehrlich.html|url-status=live}} Another important organization affiliated with the Grey Wolves are the ATIB (Turkish: Avrupa Türk-İslam Birliği, ATİB; German: Union der Türkisch-Islamischen Kulturvereine in Europa).{{cite web |title=Stellung der Avrupa Türk-Islam Birliği (ATIB) im Spektrum der Grauen Wölfe |url=http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/18/093/1809353.pdf |website=bundestag.de |publisher=Bundestag |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823070519/http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/18/093/1809353.pdf |archive-date=23 August 2020 |language=de |date=5 August 2016}}

During the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament held in Germany, several Turkish supporters were observed giving the "wolf salute," a hand gesture associated with the Grey Wolves. This gesture, symbolic of Turkish ultra-nationalism and far-right ideologies, raised concerns among European authorities and football officials.

The incident occurred during the group stage match between Turkey and Italy, held in Munich on June 20, 2024. The "wolf salute" was prominently displayed by a section of Turkish fans, leading to immediate condemnation from various quarters. UEFA officials noted the salute and initiated an investigation to address the display of political and extremist symbols during the tournament.

UEFA issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to keeping political and extremist expressions out of football. The German Football Association (DFB) also expressed its concern and emphasized the need for vigilance against far-right activities in sports events. {{cite web|last=Zidan|first=Karim|title=Europe's extremists are converging at Euro 2024|date=June 26, 2024|url=https://www.sportspolitika.news/p/euro-football-extremist-far-right-politics}}

Turkey's Merih Demiral was subsequently banned "for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute", for allegedly making a "wolf salute" during Turkey's round of 16 win over Austria. {{cite web|title=Turkey says Demiral ban for Euros 'wolf' salute is unfair|date=July 5, 2024|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240705-turkey-s-demiral-banned-after-controversial-euros-salute}}

From 2014-2018 the Osmanen Germania were a extreme right criminal gang working as security guards for the gray wolves.

=Netherlands=

As early as 1979 the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy reported that clashes between the Grey Wolves and the Dutch-Turkish Workers Association (HTIB) occurred on May Day celebrations.{{cite web|last1=Penninx |first1=Rinus |title=Ethnic minorities |url=http://www.wrr.nl/fileadmin/en/publicaties/PDF-Rapporten/R17_Ethnic_minorities__r17_1979_.pdf |publisher=Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy |page=113 |date=1979 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107184549/http://www.wrr.nl/fileadmin/en/publicaties/PDF-Rapporten/R17_Ethnic_minorities__r17_1979_.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2014 }} Organizations such as Turkish Federation Netherlands (Turkse Federatie Nederland, TFN){{cite news|title=Protest in Den Bosch against Grey Wolves|url=http://www.atour.com/~aahgn/news/20020110a.html|agency=Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau|date=5 January 2002|quote=The most important speaker at the TNF-congress was the Turkish vice-prime minister Davlet Bahceli, leader of the extreme-right Nationalist Action-party MHP, also known as the Grey Wolves.|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=26 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426034740/http://www.atour.com/~aahgn/news/20020110a.html|url-status=live}} and Turkish Islamic Federation (Turks Islamitische Federatie) have links to the Grey Wolves.{{cite book|first1=Gamze|last1=Avcı|contribution=Religion, Transnationalism and Turks in Europe|editor1-last=Çarkoğlu|editor1-first=Ali|editor2-last=Rubin|editor2-first=Barry|editor2-link=Barry Rubin|title=Turkey and the European Union: Domestic Politics, Economic Integration and International Dynamics|date=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-76120-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BSLeAAAAQBAJ&dq=Turkish+Federation+Netherlands&pg=PA63 63]}} According to Wangmo and Yazilitas, the Grey Wolves in the Netherlands have engaged in a variety of activities, ranging from criminal activities and nationalist propaganda to support of football teams. The organization was more influential in the 1990s when many first-generation Turkish immigrants "maintained a deep interest in Turkish politics and who had a deeply felt Turkish identity." Grey Wolves activists have participated—with varying successes—in the local politics of several Dutch municipalities.{{cite web|first=Ernst|last=Haffmans|url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~afa/comite/artikel/artikel130.html|title=Belabberd resultaat Grijze Wolven bij gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2006|work=Onderzoeksgroep Turks extreem-rechts|publisher=Xs4all.nl|language=nl|access-date=2011-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305051707/http://www.xs4all.nl/~afa/comite/artikel/artikel130.html|archive-date=2010-03-05|url-status=dead}} In November 2020, VVD MP Bente Becker introduced a motion to ban the Grey Wolves. The motion was supported by 147 members of the parliament with 3 members voting against it. All three votes against the motion came from Denk.{{cite web|url=https://www.nieuwson.nl/nederland-wil-een-verbod-op-organisatie-grijze-wolven/|title=Nederland wil een verbod op organisatie Grijze Wolven|date=18 November 2020|publisher=NieuwsOn|language=nl|access-date=20 November 2020|archive-date=19 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119144044/https://www.nieuwson.nl/nederland-wil-een-verbod-op-organisatie-grijze-wolven/|url-status=live}}

=Sweden=

On 13 September 2015, an explosion occurred at a Kurdish civil center in Stockholm, Sweden, following clashes between Turks, Kurds and anti-fascists at a rally organized by the Swedish Grey Wolves.

The Swedish Green Party was hit by a political scandal in April 2016, as images emerged of party member and Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan attending a dinner party alongside leading members of the Grey Wolves.{{Cite news|title=Sweden's Green Party hit by religious row|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/sweden-green-party-infiltrated-islamists-160426130534157.html|work=Al Jazeera|date=27 April 2016|access-date=16 March 2017|archive-date=16 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316002611/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/sweden-green-party-infiltrated-islamists-160426130534157.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=Housing minister, Turkish extremists dined together|url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6411611|work=Radio Sweden|date=14 April 2016|access-date=16 March 2017|archive-date=10 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810081723/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6411611|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=Swedish cabinet member compared Israel with Nazi-Germany|url=http://www.svd.se/swedish-cabinet-member-accused-of-antisemitism|work=Svenska Dagbladet|date=17 April 2016|access-date=16 March 2017|archive-date=6 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006125225/http://www.svd.se/swedish-cabinet-member-accused-of-antisemitism|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=Sweden's housing minister Mehmet Kaplan quits after his Nazi comparison to Israel|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/swedens-housing-minister-mehmet-kaplan-quits-after-his-nazi-comparison-israel-1555419|work=International Business Times|date=18 April 2016|access-date=16 March 2017|archive-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418125446/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/swedens-housing-minister-mehmet-kaplan-quits-after-his-nazi-comparison-israel-1555419|url-status=live}} Kaplan resigned when a 2009 video was made public in which he compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians to that of Jews by Nazi Germany.{{Cite news|title=Green Party leaders: We have no plans to resign|url=http://www.thelocal.se/20160425/green-party-sweden-crisis-romson-fridolin|work=The Local|date=25 April 2016|access-date=16 March 2017|archive-date=2 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302061526/http://www.thelocal.se/20160425/green-party-sweden-crisis-romson-fridolin|url-status=live}} The Sweden Democrats party have called for the Grey Wolves to be banned in Europe and for its members in Sweden to be deported.{{cite web|url=https://nyheteridag.se/charlie-weimers-sd-eu-behover-bygga-murar-mot-erdogans-turkiet/|title=Charlie Weimers (SD): EU behöver bygga murar mot Erdogans Turkiet|date=4 March 2020|access-date=8 January 2022|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108142845/https://nyheteridag.se/charlie-weimers-sd-eu-behover-bygga-murar-mot-erdogans-turkiet/|url-status=live}}

=Vatican=

On 13 May 1981 Mehmet Ali Ağca, an alleged Grey Wolves member, attempted to murder Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. The masterminds were not identified and the organization's role remains unclear. According to Daniel Pipes and Khalid Duran Grey Wolves appear to have been involved in the assassination attempt and write that Ağca "in his own confused way mixed Turkish nationalist sentiments with fundamentalist Islam." However, Italian investigators could not establish his link to the Grey Wolves.

=Norway=

There is allegedly a Grey Wolf group recruiting in Drammen, Norway.{{cite web|url=https://www.dt.no/5-57-492765|title=Advarer mot tyrkisk fascistisk organisasjon i Drammen|first=Camilla|last=Ondrckova|date=15 November 2016|website=Drammens Tidende|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=13 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184251/https://www.dt.no/nyhet/drammen/politikk-og-samfunn/advarer-mot-tyrkisk-fascistisk-organisasjon-i-drammen/s/5-57-492765|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dt.no/5-57-496779|title=En flørt med fascisme|first=Dag Einar Thorsen-førsteamanuensis i statsvitenskap ved Høgskolen i|last=Sørøst-Norge|date=20 November 2016|website=Drammens Tidende|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=13 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184252/https://www.dt.no/meninger/europa/tyrkia/en-flort-med-fascisme/o/5-57-496779|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rights.no/2016/11/fascisme-apenbarer-seg-i-drammen/|title=Fascisme åpenbarer seg i Drammen? – Human Rights Service|first=Hege|last=Storhaug|date=15 November 2016 |access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130141901/https://www.rights.no/2016/11/fascisme-apenbarer-seg-i-drammen/|url-status=live}}

Illegal drug trade allegations

Grey Wolves members and leaders have been involved in international drug trafficking since the 1980s.{{cite book|last1=Gingeras|first1=Ryan |title=Heroin, Organized Crime, and the Making of Modern Turkey|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-871602-0|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=JOq-AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 226–228]}} In the early 1980s U.S. anti-terrorism officials at the State Department reported that Türkeş is "widely believed to have been involved" in moving heroin from Turkey into Western Europe. According Stephen E. Ambrose, the leaders of Grey Wolves had built in the late 1980s an army by trading drugs for military equipment, ranging from assault helicopters to tanks. Drugs were transported to Italy, where organized crime processed them.{{better source needed|date=November 2016}} According to Peter Dale Scott, the author of the book American War Machine, in 2010 there were drug producing and dealing groups that had clear ties with the Grey Wolves and its affiliated political party, MHP.{{cite book|last1=Fijnaut|first1=Cyrille J. C. F.|title=The Containment of Organised Crime and Terrorism: Thirty-Five Years of Research on Police, Judicial and Administrative Cooperation|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004281943|page=281|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gvg6DQAAQBAJ&q=Grey+wolves+drug&pg=PA281|language=en|date=2016-09-08|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=13 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113184254/https://books.google.com/books?id=gvg6DQAAQBAJ&q=Grey+wolves+drug&pg=PA281|url-status=live}}

Designation as a terrorist group

In 2005, Kazakhstan banned the Grey Wolves, classifying it as a terrorist group.

Following the November 2020 ban of the Grey Wolves in France for hate speech and violence,{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469|title=France bans Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves group|website=Deutsche Welle|date=4 November 2020|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=4 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104230753/https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/11/24/france-has-banned-the-grey-wolves-but-who-are-they|title=France has banned the 'Grey Wolves' – but who are they?|author=Patrick Keddie|website=AlJazeera|date=24 November 2020|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=1 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601102030/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/11/24/france-has-banned-the-grey-wolves-but-who-are-they|url-status=live}} and the calls for similar actions to be taken in the Netherlands and Germany,{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-lawmakers-urge-ban-on-extreme-right-turkish-gray-wolves/a-55528032|title=German lawmakers urge ban on extreme-right Turkish Gray Wolves|author=Richard Connor|work=Deutsche Welle|date=7 November 2020|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514123545/https://www.dw.com/en/german-lawmakers-urge-ban-on-extreme-right-turkish-gray-wolves/a-55528032|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_shadowy-turkish-ultra-nationalist-group-under-scrutiny-europe/6199344.html|title=Shadowy Turkish Ultra-Nationalist Group Under Scrutiny in Europe|author=Ezel Sahinkaya|website=Voice of America|date=8 December 2020|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511093245/https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/shadowy-turkish-ultra-nationalist-group-under-scrutiny-europe|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/germanys-political-opposition-wants-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-banned/|title=Germany's political opposition wants Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves banned|author=Zoe Didili|website=New Europe|date=9 November 2020|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111031850/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/germanys-political-opposition-wants-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-banned/|url-status=live}} the European Parliament urged, on 20 May 2021, that the 27 member states of the European Union to designate the Grey Wolves as a terrorist group, and thus, marking the first time that an EU institution has linked the Grey Wolves to terrorism.{{cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/will-turkeys-grey-wolves-land-eu-terror-list|title=Will Turkey's Grey Wolves land on EU terror list|website=Al Monitor|author=Nazlan Ertan|date=20 May 2021|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520194605/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/will-turkeys-grey-wolves-land-eu-terror-list|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/05/20/foreign-ministry-slams-ep-over-call-to-add-grey-wolves-to-eu-terrorist-list/|title=Turkish Foreign Ministry slams EP over call to add Grey Wolves to EU terrorist list|website=Turkish Minute|date=20 May 2021|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520183550/https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/05/20/foreign-ministry-slams-ep-over-call-to-add-grey-wolves-to-eu-terrorist-list/|url-status=live}} The Turkish government reacted to the EP report by calling it "biased" and "unacceptable", because, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç, the Grey Wolves are "a legal movement, which is associated with a long-established political party in Turkey." The MFA claimed the "slanders" are "fabricated by the anti-Turkey Armenian diaspora as well as PKK and FETÖ circles."{{cite web |title=Statement of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Tanju Bilgiç in Response to a Question Regarding the Call on the EU and its Member States to Examine the Possibility of Adding Grey Wolves to the EU Terrorist List, to Ban their Associations and Organisations in EU countries, to Closely Monitor their Activities in the European Parliament's 2019-2020 Report on Turkey |url=https://www.mfa.gov.tr/sc_-22_-db-sozcusu-be-tanju-bilgic-in-(ap)-2019-2020-turkiye-raporu-nda-ap-nin-ab-ve-uye-ulkelere-ulkucu-hareketi-ab-teror-orgutleri-listesine-ekleme-olasiligi-hk-sc.en.mfa |website=mfa.gov.tr |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413073703/https://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-192_-avrupa-parlamentosu-nun-2019-2020-turkiye-raporu-hk.en.mfa |archive-date=13 April 2022 |date=19 May 2021}}

In September 2021 Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) proposed designating the Grey Wolves as a terrorist group through an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).{{cite news |title=Proposed amendment calls for designation of Turkey's Grey Wolves as a terrorist group |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1167922/proposed-amendment-calls-for-designation-of-turkey-s-grey-wolves-as-a-terrorist-group/ |work=Kathimerini |date=15 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218144614/https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1167922/proposed-amendment-calls-for-designation-of-turkey-s-grey-wolves-as-a-terrorist-group/ |archive-date=18 December 2021}} The proposed amendment asked the US Secretary of State to provide "a detailed report of the activities of the Grey Wolves organization undertaken against US interests, allies, and international partners" and determine if the organization "meet the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization."{{cite news |last1=Mathews |first1=Sean |title=Grey Wolves: Amendment to US defence bill has Turkey's ultra-nationalists in its sights |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-us-grey-wolves-lawmakers-designate-terrorist-organisation |work=Middle East Eye |date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204213701/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-us-grey-wolves-lawmakers-designate-terrorist-organisation |archive-date=4 December 2021}} The state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that the Gülen movement was behind the move.{{cite news |title=FETÖ behind US move to designate Turkish group as terrorists |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/feto-behind-us-move-to-designate-turkish-group-as-terrorists/news |work=Daily Sabah |agency=(via Anadolu Agency) |date=30 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002133046/https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/feto-behind-us-move-to-designate-turkish-group-as-terrorists/news |archive-date=2 October 2021}}

Cultural references

The Grey Wolves organization benefits from Turkish TV films and series, such as those released in 2003 to 2005 or 2018, which glorify Turkish nationalism.

  • The Turkish television series Valley of the Wolves ("Kurtlar Vadisi") and The Wolves ("Börü") are particularly likely to provoke an exaggerated nationalist attitude and reinforce enemy images that are inherent in the Ülkücü movement.
  • In the 2002 film Aram a French-Armenian fighter named Levon attempts to kill a high level Turkish general who is the head of Grey Wolves.{{cite news|last1=Afeyan|first1=Bedros|title=Compressing Time, Expanding Horizons: The Armenian Film Festival of San Francisco in February 2004|url=http://www.groong.com/tcc/tcc-20040301.html|work=Armenian News Network / Groong|publisher=University of Southern California|date=1 March 2004|quote=Alas, Levon does not allow this, becomes wounded in an assassination attempt of a high level Turkish general heading the grey wolves...|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023749/http://www.groong.com/tcc/tcc-20040301.html|url-status=live}}
  • In the 2003 novel {{ill|L'Empire des loups (novel)|lt=L'Empire des loups|fr|L'Empire des loups (roman)}} ("Empire of the Wolves") by Jean-Christophe Grangé the Grey Wolves are involved in a woman's murder.{{cite news|last1=Jakeman|first1=Jane|title=Empire of the Wolves, by Jean-Christophe Grangé, trans. Ian Monk|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/empire-of-the-wolves-by-jeanchristophe-grangeacute-trans-ian-monk-6155877.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141122181626/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/empire-of-the-wolves-by-jeanchristophe-grangeacute-trans-ian-monk-6155877.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 November 2014|work=The Independent|date=17 December 2004|quote=Our heroine and the murdered women are in fact being pursued by a Turkish fascist group, the Grey Wolves, survivors of a failed coup and followers of a psychopathic leader.}} The 2005 film Empire of the Wolves is based on the same-name novel by Grangé.
  • The left-wing American podcast Chapo Trap House (2016–present) refers to avid fans and Patreon backers as "Grey Wolves," an ironic reference to the podcast's pretended support of Erdoğan and the AKP.{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/mst3k-for-politics-the-hosts-of-chapo-trap-house-trace-1797866330|title=MST3K for politics: The hosts of Chapo Trap House trace their podcast's evolution to the disastrous present|website=The A.V. Club|date=24 August 2017|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116075944/https://www.avclub.com/mst3k-for-politics-the-hosts-of-chapo-trap-house-trace-1797866330|url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/what-will-become-of-the-dirtbag-left|title=What Will Become of the Dirtbag Left?|first=Jia|last=Tolentino|author-link=Jia Tolentino |magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=24 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224095158/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/what-will-become-of-the-dirtbag-left|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/23/chapo-trap-house-leftwing-breitbart|title=Leftwing Breitbart? Chapo Trap House is strong new voice in resistance to Trump|date=23 July 2017|website=the Guardian|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119173202/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/23/chapo-trap-house-leftwing-breitbart|url-status=live}}

See also

References

=Notes=

{{notelist}}

=Citations=

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite book|last1=Canefe|first1=Nergis|last2=Bora|first2=Tanıl|author-link2=:tr:Tanıl Bora|contribution=Intellectual Roots of Anti-European Sentiments in Turkish Politics: The Case of Radical Turkish Nationalism|editor1-last=Çarkoğlu|editor1-first=Ali|editor2-last=Rubin|editor2-first=Barry|editor2-link=Barry Rubin|title=Turkey and the European Union: Domestic Politics, Economic Integration and International Dynamics|date=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-76120-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4NyRAgAAQBAJ&dq=%C3%9Clk%C3%BC+Ocaklar%C4%B1+%22Idealist%22&pg=PA125 125], [https://books.google.com/books?id=-E2QAgAAQBAJ&dq=the+negative+image+of+the+gray+wolves+an+openly+fascist&pg=PA129 129]}}

{{cite web|last=Jacoby|first=Tim|title=Political Violence, the 'War on Terror' and the Turkish State|url=https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/school-of-international-relations/bsmes/documents/war-on-terror-and-the-turkish-state.doc|publisher=University of St Andrews|page=7|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025063107/https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/school-of-international-relations/bsmes/documents/war-on-terror-and-the-turkish-state.doc|archive-date=2014-10-25}}

{{cite book|last=Combs|first=Cindy C.|contribution=Grey Wolves|title=Encyclopedia of terrorism|year=2007|publisher=Facts On File|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4381-1019-6|author2=Slann, Martin|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=H7fT0BQxwDsC&pg=PA110 110]|quote=The Grey Wolves, the unofficial militant arm of the MHP, has been involved in street killings and gunbattles.}}

{{cite web|title=Crying "Wolf": Why Turkish Fears Need Not Block Kurdish Reform |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/turkey-cyprus/turkey/227-crying-wolf-why-turkish-fears-need-not-block-kurdish-reform |website=Europe Report N°227 |publisher=International Crisis Group |location=Brussels |pages=9–10 |date=7 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901132635/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/turkey-cyprus/turkey/227-crying-wolf-why-turkish-fears-need-not-block-kurdish-reform |archive-date=1 September 2014 }}

{{cite news|last=Zaman|first=Amberin|author-link=Amberin Zaman|title=Turkey's Gray Wolves Nip at Heels of Power|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-apr-20-mn-29194-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=20 April 1999|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=9 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209233110/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/apr/20/news/mn-29194|url-status=live}}

Koutroubas, T., Vloeberghs, W. and Yanasmayan, Z. 2009. [http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/PWP5_TK_WV_ZY.pdf Political, Religious and Ethnic Radicalisation Among Muslims in Belgium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025062124/http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/PWP5_TK_WV_ZY.pdf |date=2014-10-25 }}. MICROCON Policy Working Paper 5, Brighton: MICROCON.

{{cite book|last1=Sloan|first1=Stephen|last2=Anderson|first2=Sean K.|title=Historical Dictionary of Terrorism|date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-0-8108-6311-8|contribution=Gray Wolves|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aVcG7EkuPgAC&dq=694+murders+grey+wolves&pg=PA214 213–4]}}

{{cite book|last=Atkins|first=Stephen E.|contribution=Grey Wolves (Turkey)|title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups|date=2004|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-32485-7|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=b8k4rEPvq_8C&pg=PA110 110–111]}}

{{cite news|last=Idiz|first=Semih|title=Turkey's Ultra-Nationalists Playing With Fire|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/turkey-ultra-nationalists-rally-grey-wolves-mhp.html|agency=Al-Monitor|date=29 March 2013|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=28 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228121729/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/turkey-ultra-nationalists-rally-grey-wolves-mhp.html|url-status=live}}

{{cite news|last1=Ergil |first1=Doğu |author-link1=:tr:Doğu Ergil |title=Parties and political identities |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail.action;jsessionid=SihaaFP4f7RR3ujAwruL437B?newsId=345791&columnistId=0 |work=Today's Zaman |date=22 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019041227/http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail.action%3Bjsessionid%3DSihaaFP4f7RR3ujAwruL437B?newsId=345791&columnistId=0 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |quote=The Gray Wolves, who are the militant youth wing of the Turkish ethnic nationalists that are dissatisfied with the inertia of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) camp, constitute 3.6 percent of voters. |url-status=dead }}

{{cite book|last1=Sullivan|first1=Colleen|contribution=Grey Wolves|editor1-last=Martin|editor1-first=Gus|editor1-link=C. Augustus Martin|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism|date=2011|publisher=SAGE Publications|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=I_jh4VBi_HYC&dq=Grey+Wolves&pg=PA236 236–7]|edition=2nd}}

{{cite news|title=Hundreds of thousands on Taksim Square on Mayday|url=http://www.socialistworld.net/mob/doc/4252|publisher=Committee for a Workers' International|date=2 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022012706/http://www.socialistworld.net/mob/doc/4252|archive-date=22 October 2014|quote=In 1977, at the peak of a revolutionary movement in Turkey, half a million gathered there. Immediately after the demonstration began, snipers – from the fascist Grey Wolves, or from the police (this is still not clear today) – began shooting at the masses.}}

{{cite web|last1=Prabha|first1=Kshitij|title=Defining Terrorism|url=http://www.idsa-india.org/an-apr-08.html|publisher=Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses|location=New Delhi, India|date=April 2008|quote=Mohamed Ali Agca of Turkey, the man who shot at Pope John Paul II in Rome had no political motive. The investigating agency in Italy tried to establish his link with the Turkey based terrorist group, 'Grey Wolf,' however, could not get any evidence of his political connection.|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025060347/http://www.idsa-india.org/an-apr-08.html|url-status=usurped}}

{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=Martin A.|author-link1=Martin A. Lee|title=Turkish Dirty War Revealed, but Papal Shooting Still Obscured|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-12-op-38664-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=12 April 1998|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=3 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503010622/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/12/opinion/op-38664|url-status=live}}

{{cite web|last1=Wangmo|first1=Tenzin|last2=Yazilitas|first2=D.|title=Turkish and Kurdish Identity and Nationalism in the Netherlands|url=http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/254-turkish-and-kurdish-identity-and-nationalism-in-the-netherlands|publisher=Humanity In Action|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019044416/http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/254-turkish-and-kurdish-identity-and-nationalism-in-the-netherlands|archive-date=19 October 2014|location=New York|year=2004}}

{{cite book|last1=Østergaard-Nielsen|first1=Eva|title=Transnational Politics: The Case of Turks and Kurds in Germany|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-26586-7|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lSqDAgAAQBAJ&dq=hand+sign+of+the+grey+wolves+a+fist&pg=PA52 51–52]}}

{{cite news|last=Marchand|first=Laure|title=En Turquie, les "Loups" sont de retour [In Turkey, the "Wolves" are returning]|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2008/01/21/01003-20080121ARTFIG00594-en-turquie-les-loupssont-de-retour-.php|work=Le Figaro|date=21 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102011554/http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2008/01/21/01003-20080121ARTFIG00594-en-turquie-les-loupssont-de-retour-.php|archive-date=2 November 2014|language=fr|quote=Dans les années 1970, les militants ultranationalistes des Loups gris étaient engagés dans une lutte sanglante contre la gauche turque. Mais, dans les années 1990, l'ennemi communiste disparu, les officines de la contre-guérilla se sont reconverties dans la lutte antikurde.}}

{{cite news|last1=Baumgärtner|first1=Maik|last2=Diehl|first2=Jörg|title=Türkische Nationalisten in Deutschland: Die unheimlichen Grauen Wölfe [Turkish nationalists in Germany: The Uncanny Grey Wolves]|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/graue-woelfe-tuerkische-nationalisten-in-deutschland-a-953197.html|work=Der Spiegel|date=15 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102014754/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/graue-woelfe-tuerkische-nationalisten-in-deutschland-a-953197.html|archive-date=2 November 2014|language=de|quote=In Deutschland sollen mindestens zehntausend Personen zu dieser Szene zählen. [...] Die Grauen Wölfe träumen von der Vereinigung aller Turkvölker zu einer Großtürkei, die vom Balkan bis Zentralasien reichen soll. Die Liste derer, die sie verachten und bekämpfen, ist lang: Kurden, Armenier, Griechen, Juden, Schwule und Christen.}}

{{cite book|editor1-last=Aslan|editor1-first=Fikret|editor2-last=Bozay|editor2-first=Kemal|title=Graue Wölfe heulen wieder: Türkische Faschisten und ihre Vernetzung in Deutschland [Grey wolves howl again: Turkish fascists and their networks in Germany]|date=2012|publisher=Unrast Verlag|isbn=978-3-89771-035-1|edition=3rd.|url=http://www.unrast-verlag.de/gesamtprogramm/allgemeines-programm/antifaschismus/graue-woelfe-heulen-wieder-74-detail|language=de|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511141935/https://www.unrast-verlag.de/gesamtprogramm/allgemeines-programm/antifaschismus/graue-woelfe-heulen-wieder-74-detail|url-status=dead}}

{{cite news|last1=Kölbl|first1=Andreas|title=Graue Wölfe im Schafspelz|url=https://www.zvw.de/inhalt.waiblingen-graue-woelfe-im-schafspelz.f7b3c539-4792-48df-838e-4d05e24444d4.html |work=Zeitungsverlag Waiblingen|date=17 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321114347/https://www.zvw.de/inhalt.waiblingen-graue-woelfe-im-schafspelz.f7b3c539-4792-48df-838e-4d05e24444d4.html|archive-date=2020-03-21|language=de}}

{{cite news|title=Radikale sollen in der NRW-CDU aktiv sein|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2014-06/nrw-cdu-extremisten|work=Die Zeit|date=1 June 2014|language=de|quote=Milli Görüș und Graue Wölfe werden vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet.|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102071821/http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2014-06/nrw-cdu-extremisten|url-status=live}}

{{cite news|last1=Bergs|first1=Melanie|title=Wie die rechtsradikalen "Grauen Wölfe" junge Türken ködern|url=https://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/wie-die-rechtsradikalen-grauen-woelfe-junge-tuerken-koedern-id4341035.html|work=Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung|date=28 February 2011|language=de|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132819/http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten/wie-die-rechtsradikalen-grauen-woelfe-junge-tuerken-koedern-id4341035.html|url-status=live}}

{{cite web|last1=Pipes|first1=Daniel|last2=Duran|first2=Khalid|author-link1=Daniel Pipes|author-link2=Khalid Duran|title=Muslims in the West: Can Conflict Be Averted?|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/232/muslims-in-the-west-can-conflict-be-averted|publisher=United States Institute of Peace|location=Philadelphia and Washington|date=August 1993|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=12 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112175500/http://www.danielpipes.org/232/muslims-in-the-west-can-conflict-be-averted|url-status=live}}

{{cite web|title=2013 Annual Report on the Protection of the Constitution |url=http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/embed/annual-report-2013-summary.pdf |publisher=German Federal Ministry of the Interior |page=27 |quote=The Turkish nationalist "Ülkücü" movement is ideologically rooted in exaggerated nationalism, linked with an overstated image of its own ethnicity. The ideology is characterized by very distinct, often also racist, enemy concepts of ethnic minorities in Turkey. These minorities include Kurds, Armenians, Greeks and Jews. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107183211/http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/embed/annual-report-2013-summary.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2014 }}

{{cite book|last1=Jenkins|first1=Gareth|title=Political Islam in Turkey|date=2008|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-0-230-61245-7|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kdXGAAAAQBAJ&dq=pro-MHP+activists+were+to+become+known+as&pg=PA130 130]|quote=In 1966, Türkeş formed a network of youth organizations called Ülkü Ocakları, or "Idealists' Hearths"; although they and other pro-MHP activists were to become popularly known as Bozkurtlar, or "Grey Wolves," after what Türkeş claimed had been the national symbol of the Turkic peoples in Central Asia. In 1968, Türkeş established more than 100 commando camps scattered across Anatolia, which provided young nationalists with ideological and paramilitary training.}}

{{cite news|last1=Birand|first1=Mehmet Ali|author-link1=Mehmet Ali Birand|title=You reap what you sow|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=you-reap-what-you-sow-2006-05-19|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=19 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112011740/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=you-reap-what-you-sow-2006-05-19 |archive-date=12 November 2014}}

{{cite news|title=Ultranationalist attacks viewed with concern|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=ultranationalist-attacks-viewed-with-concern-1998-05-15|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=15 May 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112013141/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=ultranationalist-attacks-viewed-with-concern-1998-05-15 |archive-date=12 November 2014}}

{{cite news|title=Attack on Sept. 6-7 events photo exhibit condemned|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=attack-on-sept.-6-7-events-photo-exhibit-condemned-2005-09-08|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=9 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319093955/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=attack-on-sept.-6-7-events-photo-exhibit-condemned-2005-09-08 |archive-date=19 March 2014}}

{{cite news|last1=MacDonald|first1=Alex|title=Increasing tensions see resurgence of Turkey's far-right street movements|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/increasing-tensions-see-resurgence-turkeys-far-right-street-movements-923266627|agency=Middle East Eye|date=14 September 2015|access-date=6 October 2015|archive-date=19 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019034119/http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/increasing-tensions-see-resurgence-turkeys-far-right-street-movements-923266627|url-status=live}}

{{cite news|last1=Apple|first1=R. W. . Jr.|author-link1=R. W. Apple Jr.|title=Trial of Mehmet Ali Agca: 6 years of neofascist ties|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/25/world/trail-of-mehmet-ali-agca-6-years-of-neofascist-ties.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=25 May 1981|access-date=8 February 2017|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108135020/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/25/world/trail-of-mehmet-ali-agca-6-years-of-neofascist-ties.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}

{{cite news |last1=Stevenson |first1=Tom |title='Our bodies are Turkish, our souls Islamic!' The rise of Turkey's ultra-nationalists |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/our-bodies-are-turkish-our-souls-islamic-rise-turkeys-ultra-nationalists |agency=Middle East Eye |date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200805160317/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/our-bodies-are-turkish-our-souls-islamic-rise-turkeys-ultra-nationalists |archive-date=5 August 2020|quote=...the Ulku Ocaklari (Idealist Hearths), a street movement known more famously as the "Grey Wolves" - once a notorious paramilitary arm of the MHP - has for the first time taken a seat in parliament as an MHP representative...}}

{{cite journal |last1=O’Connor |first1=Francis |last2=Baser |first2=Bahar |title=Communal violence and ethnic polarization before and after the 2015 elections in Turkey: attacks against the HDP and the Kurdish population |journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies |date=2018 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=9–10 |doi=10.1080/14683857.2018.1451035 |s2cid=158516592 |url=https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/files/25600233/Binder1.pdf |access-date=4 June 2022 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701123614/https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/files/25600233/Binder1.pdf |url-status=live }}

}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book|last1=Zürcher|first1=E.J.|last2=Linden|first2=H. van der|author-link1=Erik Zürcher|title=The European Union, Turkey and Islam|date=2004|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|location=Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy|isbn=978-90-5356-712-8|url=http://www.wrr.nl/fileadmin/en/publicaties/PDF-Rapporten/The_European_Union__Turkey_and_Islam.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107185132/http://www.wrr.nl/fileadmin/en/publicaties/PDF-Rapporten/The_European_Union__Turkey_and_Islam.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-11-07}}
  • {{cite book|editor1-last=Avagyan|editor1-first=Ashot |script-title=hy:Պանթուրքական երազանք կամ "Գորշ գայլեր" [Pan-Turkic dream or "Grey Wolves"]|date=2013|publisher=Asoghik|location=Yerevan|isbn=978-99941-2-834-1|url=http://www.historyofarmenia.am/images/menus/1179/panturqakan_erazanq.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105031528/http://www.historyofarmenia.am/images/menus/1179/panturqakan_erazanq.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-11-05|language=hy}}

Further reading

  • Barbara Hoffmann, Michael Opperskalski, Erden Solmaz: Graue Wölfe. Koranschulen. Idealistenvereine. Türkische Faschisten in der Bundesrepublik [Grey Wolves. Koranic schools. Idealists clubs. Turkish fascists in Germany]. Köln 1981, {{ISBN|3-7609-0648-6}}.
  • Jean-Christophe Grangé: Das Imperium der Wölfe [The Empire of the Wolves]. Bergisch Gladbach 2005, {{ISBN|3-404-15411-8}}.
  • {{cite book|last1=Poulton|first1=Hugh|title=The Top Hat, the Grey Wolf, and the Crescent: Turkish Nationalism and the Turkish Republic|date=1997|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-6648-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/tophatgreywolfcr00poul}}
  • {{cite web|title=Graue Wölfe [Grey Wolves]|url=http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/jugendkultur-islam-und-demokratie/125175/graue-woelfe|website=Jugendkultur, Islam und Demokratie|publisher=Federal Agency for Civic Education|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102040903/http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/jugendkultur-islam-und-demokratie/125175/graue-woelfe|archive-date=2 November 2014|language=de|date=19 March 2012}}