Mele Yusuf Andan, a Kurdish religious scholar and member of the Democratic Islamic Congress (DİK), criticized Erdoğan and AKP members' way of doing politics by abusing religious concerns.

He stated that in Turkey, the holy book is not considered as a reference for law and order but is used in the government’s favour. "They are waging wars, killing people and doing business under the guise of religion," he added.

In an interview with ANF, Mele Yusuf Andan stated that Islam has been misused by governments and rulers in the Middle East and Turkey for thousands of years. The Kurdish religious scholar remarked that the essence of not only Islam but also other religions was manipulated in the Middle East. He continued: “These exploiters of religion are Muslims without Islam. Religious states and mongers in the Middle East have used the Qur'an as their shield. They do not consider this holy book as a reference for law and order. They use it in their own favour. They are waging wars, killing people and doing business under the guise of religion.”

Andan commented on the criticism directed at presidential candidate of the Nation Alliance, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who unwittingly stepped on a prayer rug during an election event a short time ago. The religious scholar said: “Everywhere is a prayer rug for Muslims. As a matter of fact, the cleanest prayer rug is dry soil. I don't think that even an atheist would step on a prayer rug on purpose. A prayer rug has no function. Religious exploiters seek to use such things in their favour. Unfortunately, people do not have enough knowledge about these issues. This is our failure. If we had raised awareness of these matters,we wouldn't be discussing them today".

“Nowadays, our people think that those who use religious terminology are true Muslims, but they are not. For example, Abu Jahl was also a very good religious man, but he was against justice, rights and laws. He was called Abu Jahl because he was against justice. A person who does not seek justice is an ignorant person. Currently, there are the likes of Abu Jahl. They put forward unsound arguments to stay in power. To maintain power, they persecute people. Currently, we are ruled by incompetent people. Those who are incompetent are also ignorant.”