Turkish official’s Ottoman-style circumcision triggers public outcry

quick, organize an anti rally..

- A deputy governor in the western Turkish province of Bursa recently organized an Ottoman-style circumcision ceremony for his son near the tomb of a sultan, drawing public criticism and prompting officials to announce his retirement on May 30.

Mehmet Özcan, deputy governor of Bursa, chose the Hüdavendigar Mosque in the Çekirge neighborhood, which houses the tomb of Ottoman Sultan Murad I, to celebrate his 6-year-old son’s circumcision, a ritual that many Muslims in Turkey regard as the first step to manhood.

Dressed as an Ottoman prince, Özcan’s son arrived in the mosque on horseback and sat down on a throne surrounded with imperial decorations. An Ottoman military band, janissary soldiers, fireplayers and women dressed as concubines accompanied the boy and his family.