Davutoglu’s Crimean-Karaite Jewish origin

Crimean Karaites (or Qaraylar, or karaits) men from Сrimea in traditional dress, 19th century. Auguste Raffet, 1837.

An article by renowned Turkish historian and researcher Prof Yalcin Kucuk reveals the following regarding Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu’s Crimean-Karaite Jewish origin:

– The Karaite Jewish community of Crimea is descended from ethnic Tatars that adopted Judaism as part of the Khazar Kingdom during the 8th-9th centuries.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Karaites

– In the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of Crimean-Karaite families emigrated to today’s Turkey. Some of them started identifying themselves as secular Sunni-Turks and reached elite positions in the new Turkish Republic.

–  Davudoff or Davutoglu — the latter meaning Son-of-David in Turkish — is a well-known Crimean-Karaite family name,  in connection with Anan Ben-David who founded the Karaite sect in Baghdad in the 8th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anan_%28Karaite_prince%29

– Davutoglu’s wife Sare (Sara), daughters Sefure and Buke, and grand-daughter Aybike, all have traditional Crimean-Karaite names.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Davuto%C4%9Flu

– As part of a tradition of marrying within the community, Davutoglu’s daughter Sefure is married to Ahmet Ozokur, scion of another Crimean-Karaite family. The family name Ozokur represents Turkish translation of “Pure Karaite” (Pure Reader) from Hebrew.

– Son-in-law Ahmet Ozokur’s mother, Ahsen (Ulker) Ozokur, is 960th on Forbes’ list of billionaires and one of two sibling heirs to the multibillion-dollar Ulker food empire. The Ulker family is known to be of Crimean-Karaite origin, while the family’s matriarch and mother to the two Ulker heirs is Jewish, hailing from the Istanbul’s Sephardic-Jewish community. The Ulker family is currently considered among the wealthiest backers and beneficiaries of Turkey’s pro-Islamist AKP regime.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/ahsen-ozokur/
https://www.forbes.com/profile/murat-ulker/

– As to the known ethnic origins of the remainder of top AKP leadership:

— PM Tayyip Erdogan: Self-admitted ethnic Georgian from Black Sea port of Batum; family settled in Potamia village near Turkey’s Eastern Black Sea port of Rize;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recep_Tayyip_Erdo%C4%9Fan

— Erdogan’s wife Emine (Gulbaran) Erdogan: Sabbatean-Jewish origin from Syria’s Aleppo region; family settled in ethnic-Kurdish town of Siirt in Southeastern Turkey;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emine_Erdo%C4%9Fan

— Abdullah Gul (President): Syrian-Arab origin; family settled in Kayseri region a century ago; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_G%C3%BCl

— Gul’s wife Hayrunnisa (Ozyurt) Gul: Converted Armenian origin from Kayseri area;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayr%C3%BCnnisa_G%C3%BCl

— Ali Babacan (former FM and current Deputy PM): Sabbatean-Jewish origin from Istanbul, family later moved to Ankara and established sizeable textile business;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Babacan

— Bulent Arinc (former Speaker of Parliament and current Deputy PM): Sabbatean-Jewish origin from Aegean region; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulent_Arinc

— Cemil Cicek (former Deputy PM and current Speaker of Parliament): Crimean-Karaite origin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cemil_%C3%87i%C3%A7ek

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For further information on Turkey’s Sabbatean community:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatean

Link to Prof Kucuk’s original Turkish-language article on FM Ahmet Davutoglu’s ethnic background:

About Prof Yalcin Kucuk (himself of Sabbatean-Jewish origin from Syria):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yal%C3%A7%C4%B1n_K%C3%BC%C3%A7%C3%BCk

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Prof. Dr. Murat Kunt
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Swiss Federal Institute of Technology