Turkish man slain for denying killer's self-assigned Mahdi status

Duvar English

A Turkish man named Erdoğan Kösepınar reportedly shot and killed his neighbor, 67-year-old Murat Cura, for not accepting his self-designated status as mahdi, an Islamic figure who's expected to appear before the end times, the indictment against him revealed on Aug. 19. 

Kösepınar reportedly shot Cura nine times immediately after he stepped out of his home in the Kayıkçılar village of northern Zonguldak on Oct. 14, 2020. 

The assailant reportedly decided that he was the mahdi, and that  Cura was a demon for not accepting his status as such, an indictment against Kösepınar noted.

Kösepınar and Cura were reportedly members of the same monastery in Germany where they lived, and the former started hearing voices telling him he was the mahdi after their sheikh passed away, he said. 

"People in the congregation told me they were my subjects, but Cura didn't accept my status as mahdi. He convinced the other members and pushed me out of the community," Kösepınar told police.

Kösepınar also accused his victim of sending him spiritual pain and suffering through his demonic ways and recruiting other congregation members for his demons.

"Cura had to fight me as he was a demon, and I had to kill him to end the fight," Kösepınar said. "I've had a sense of inner peace since killing him. I feel relieved."

A forensic examination of the assailant established that he was mentally sound, and Kösepınar faces charges of premeditated murder for killing Cura.