‘Conquest’ prayers performed across Turkey’s mosques for Afrin operation

ANKARA

Special “conquest” prayers were held across all of Turkey’s 90,000 mosques on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 for the victory of the country’s military, which launched a cross border operation in Syria’s northwestern Afrin region on Jan. 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

“Sessions will be held after the isha prayer tonight [Jan. 20] and the morning prayer [on Jan. 21] due to Operation Olive Branch,” said Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) head Ali Erbas in a message sent on Jan. 20 to all offices of muftis and religious officials across the country.

“The Surah Conquest [Surah al-Fath] will be cited during the special sessions to pray for the victory of our heroic security forces, who have launched an operation against terrorist groups that threaten our nation and our peace,” Erbaş added.

Responding to the call by Turkey’s top cleric, thousands across the country gathered in mosques to pray for servicemen taking part in the operation.