Turkish Red Crescent
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| Charitable organization | |
| Founded | 1868 (as Hilâl-i Ahmer Cemiyeti) 1935 |
| Headquarters | Ankara, Turkey |
| Website | http://www.kizilay.org.tr |
Turkish Red Crescent (Turkish: Türk Kızılayı (official) or Kızılay (for short)) is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The organization was founded under the Ottoman Empire in 1868, partly in response to the experience of the Crimean War, in which disease overshadowed battle as the main cause of death and suffering among Turkish soldiers. It was the first Red Crescent society of its kind and one of the most important charity organizations in the Muslim world.
The society is a not-for-profit, volunteer-based social service institution providing unconditional aid and service, and is a corporate body governed by special legal provisions.
The organization has also encountered criticism for its alleged direct links to major terrorist organizations, as well as indirect ties through groups like Qatar Charity and the Turkish government.
The organization was founded under the Ottoman Empire on 11 June 1868 and was named "Hilâl-i Ahmer Cemiyeti".
It later took on the names:
It was renamed Kızılay by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1935, after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
Beginning with the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), the Turkish Red Crescent Society has provided medical relief to soldiers in all battlefields in which Turkey was present, through mobile and fixed hospitals, patient transportation services, hospital vessels, trained nurses and volunteers. It has provided humanitarian care regardless of nationality to all civilians affected by war. It has been involved in disaster relief and aid in natural disasters in Turkey. It has participated in international relief and response activities.
Examples of disaster relief activities include:
The organization has garnered criticism for various ties to terrorism, brought on by a recent partnership with Qatar Charity (QC), as well as for allegedly providing ISIS with firearms. The Turkish Red Crescent has also been reputed as a propaganda machine for the Turkish government.
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Wikipedia