A video, spread widely in Turkey, shows an Islamic theologian and TV personality Nihat Hatipoğlu leading a 13-year-old Armenian Christian boy in a conversion during Ramadan, it was reported on 15 May.
The video was broadcast live from Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, which is where Armenians were imprisoned during the 1915 genocide before being sent to their deaths. The square is a central location for commemoration events which remember the genocide. Forced conversions were a prominent feature of the 1915 genocide, and the video brings many concerns.
The parents were notably absent from the video. Furthermore, it is illegal to convert a child to Islam under the age of 18 without the presence of the parents. The parents say they were not consulted and learned of the incident through television. They intend to file a criminal complaint that this incident was forced Islamisation and is a type of child abuse.
