The Grey Wolves (Turkish: Bozkurtlar), officially known as Ülkü Ocakları (pronounced [ylky od͡ʒaklaɾɯ]; "Idealist Clubs" or "Idealist Hearths"), is a Turkish neo-fascist organization. Formally a youth organization with close links to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), it has been described as MHP's "militant youth arm", "unofficial militant arm", "paramilitary and terrorist wing". Established by Colonel Alparslan Türkeş in the 1960s, it was the main nationalist force during the political violence in 1976–80 in Turkey. During this period the organization became a "death squad" engaged in "street killings and gunbattles". According to authorities 220 of its members carried out 694 murders of communist and liberal activists and intellectuals. Attacks on university students were commonplace. They killed hundreds of Alevis in the Maraş massacre of 1978, and are alleged to have been behind the Taksim Square massacre of 1977. The masterminds behind the attempt on Pope John Paul II's life in 1981 by Grey Wolves member Mehmet Ali Ağca were not identified and the organization's role remains unclear. Due to these attacks the Grey Wolves have been described by scholars and journalists as a terrorist organization. A staunchly Pan-Turkist organization, in the early 1990s the Grey Wolves extended their area of operation into the post-Soviet states with Turkic and Muslim populations. Up to thousands of its members fought in the Nagorno-Karabakh War on the Azerbaijani side, and the First and Second Chechen Wars on the Chechen side. After an unsuccessful attempt to seize power in Azerbaijan in 1995, they were banned in that country. Kazakhstan in 2005 also banned the organization, classifying it as a terrorist organization. Under Devlet Bahçeli, who assumed the leadership of MHP and Gret Wolves after Türkeş's death in 1997, the organization has been reformed. Despite this, its members have been involved in a number of violent attacks and incidents and remain to be widely considered an ultra-nationalist group. The organization has also been active in the Turkish-controlled portion of Cyprus. It has affiliated branches in several Western European countries with significant Turkish populations, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany In Germany, they are the largest far-right organization with at least 10,000 members and are monitored by the authorities as an extremist organization. According to sociologist Doğu Ergil (tr) the Grey Wolves are supported by 3.6% of the Turkish electorate as of 2014. The organization's informal name is "inspired by the ancient legend" of Asena, a she-wolf in the Ergenekon, a myth associated with Turkic ethnic origins in Central Asian steppes. In Turkey, wolf also symbolizes honor. They are "characterised by a strong emphasis on leadership and hierarchical, military-like organisation." The Grey Wolves and MHP supporters are known for their hand sign which represents a wolf head. It is made by holding up the forefinger and little finger. According to commentator Mehmet Ali Birand, "We cannot say everyone who makes the sign of the wolf or uses force in the name of the country is an Ülkü Ocakları member. Neither can we accuse everyone acting in the name of Ülkü Ocakları of being a member." The Grey Wolves use, what Ahmet İnsel (tr) calls, "fascist slogans imported from America", such as "Love It or Leave It!" ("Ya Sev Ya Terk Et!") and, mostly in the past, "Communists to Moscow" ("Komünistler Moskova'ya").[44] Ideology The ideology of the Grey Wolves "puts accent on Turkish history insisting on its glorious days and exploiting events such as the establishment of the first Turkish States in Central Asia, almost tracing a 'Turkish race'. At the same time, its conception of the Turkish nation is blended with Islam. The principle of what they consider to be the synthesis of Turkishness and Islam is very dominant in their rhetoric and activities. Mottos like 'Your doctor will be a Turk and your medicine will be Islam' reflect their feelings on the issue." Their ideology is based on the "superiority" of the Turkish race and the Turkish nation. The "strive for an 'ideal' Turkish nation, which they define as Sunni-Islamic and mono-ethnic: only inhabited by 'true' Turks. A Turk is everyone who lives in the Turkish territory, feels Turkish and calls him/herself Turkish. The Grey Wolves are Pan-Turkist and seek to unite the Turkic peoples in one state stretching from the Balkans to Central Asia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Grey Wolves called for "a revived Turkish empire embracing newly independent Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union." They has proposed "for a pan-Turkish extension of the Turkish nation-state." In 2005 Kaveh Farrokh describes the Grey Wolves as "perhaps the most actively racist pan-Turanian organization in existence today".

• published: 21 Nov 2014
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