A religious song that went viral on Turkish social media around the new year has moved from phones into public schools and state-linked events, reopening a long-running argument in Turkey over religion’s place in public institutions in a country whose constitution defines it as secular.
The song went viral after a group in northern Samsun province who welcomed returning umrah pilgrims recorded people repeating the song’s hook for social media. A local political official said the clip of the singing drew about 15 million views.
Celal Karatüre’nin “Hu der Hacılar” klibi trend listelerinde zirveye yerleşti.
-Türkiye’de 1.
-Almanya’da 1.
-Dünya’da 9. pic.twitter.com/JcQ9RWB6DG
— Populeria (@ThePopuleria) February 25, 2026
After the song became viral, it spread to state-run primary schools, and its popularity led to some school managers replacing their usual break-time bell with the Islamic hymn.
A public school in the Derince district of the northwestern Kocaeli province also briefly replaced its bell with the song, and Soner Akbal, a parent who objected to the move, was detained in İstanbul after he recorded a confrontation with school officials and posted his criticism publicly. He was later released under judicial supervision, including a travel ban, according to media reports.
The hook of the song refers to Muslim pilgrimage at Islam’s holiest site in Mecca. In English it means: “At the Kaaba, pilgrims call out ‘Hu,’ Allah.”
🔴 Washington’daki bir şantiyede Amerikalı işçilerin “Kâbe’de Hacılar Hû Der Allah” ilahisini dinlediği anlar görüntülendi.
pic.twitter.com/Df4IzkRbDQ
— VoW (@voiceofworldco) February 26, 2026
The controversy unfolded after the Ministry of Education rolled out a nationwide set of Ramadan-themed school activities through an instruction sent to all 81 provinces. The ministry described the program as classroom and social activities focused on themes such as sharing, helping people in need and introducing Ramadan’s cultural heritage.
The Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen), a major teachers union, criticized the instruction, arguing that public schools serve students from different beliefs and that religious-centered activities can create informal pressure even when described as voluntary.
The issue also gained weight after the song appeared in a state-hosted setting. Celal Karatüre, the singer whose performance went viral, performed it at a Ramadan program at the presidential palace on Wednesday, with children and attendees joining in.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan embraced the song in a speech to lawmakers from his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Wednesday, praising those who produced and performed it and adding that seeing children join in at schoolyards and “chant the name of Allah together” made him “very happy” and “proud.”
He urged critics not to feel uncomfortable and defended the Education Ministry’s Ramadan school programming as lawful.
The song also triggered a political exchange between Erdoğan and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
CHP leader Özgür Özel criticized Erdoğan at a rally in İstanbul’s Bakırköy district, arguing that religious hymns belong in religious settings, not in partisan politics. Özel said politicians should be discussing poverty and unemployment and the hardship of families struggling to afford pre-dawn Ramadan meals and evening fast-breaking meals.
The AKP’s chief spokesperson, Ömer Çelik, responded on social media, accusing Özel of having a “political navigation” problem and defending Erdoğan’s remarks as reflecting what, he said, ordinary citizens and children have been repeating in daily life.
CHP deputy parliamentary group chair Ali Mahir Başarır fired back, accusing the government of exploiting religious feelings to distract from economic distress. He said the opposition would keep focusing on citizens’ problems and claimed the government was trying to manufacture a debate.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, a key ally of Erdoğan, also backed the Ramadan instruction and framed criticism as hostility toward religious values.
For critics, the main issue is the use of religious content in routine functions of public schools that children cannot avoid. In reported remarks, Akbal argued that if a Sunni devotional song is used as a school bell, then other faith traditions, including heterodox traditions such as Alevism, should receive equal treatment and families who do not want religious messaging in school should be respected.
An estimated 5 to 10 percent of Turkey’s population follow Alevism.
Turkey’s constitution defines the republic as democratic, secular and social and makes that secular character unamendable. At the same time, it places religious education under state supervision, lists “religious culture and ethics” among compulsory subjects in primary and secondary education and gives a formal role to the Directorate of Religious Affairs, a state body that oversees Sunni Islamic services.
Turkey’s approach to religion in education has also drawn scrutiny at the European Court of Human Rights in cases involving compulsory religion and ethics classes and the rights of parents and minorities, including Alevi applicants.
