PodcastAKP, MHP members call world-famed dancer 'naked whirling dervish'
Members of the ruling AKP and alliance partner MHP called world-famed Sufi dancer Ziya Azazi a "naked whirling dervish" after his performance during a municipal event in İzmir on Sep. 10. The municipality responded by saying that they weren't surprised by the bigoted and antiquated comments of their critics.
Duvar English - Members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its alliance partner Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) dubbed world-famed Sufi dancer Ziya Azazi a "naked whirling dervish" following a performance on Sep. 10.
Azazi performed his latest project "Dervish in Progress" during a gala dinner for the United Cities and Local Government Culture Summit hosted by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) İzmir Municipality.
Attendees from the AKP and MHP condoned the performance for Azazi's combination of the traditional Sufi whirling with a topless outfit as part of his performance and called him a "naked whirling dervish."
Responding to the critics, the municipality said that they weren't surprised by the bigoted and antiquated statements of groups who "failed to write a single word about the cultural activities of the summit."