Ahmet Yasin Bursevi, the leader of Islamic cult Naqshbandi, recently claimed that they had downed the NASA space shuttle ‘Challenger’ in 1986.
The Turkish Islamist cult leader alleged that their fellows from the sect had loosened the bolts of the famous American space shuttle, and that is why it had fallen down and exploded.
“You know this space shuttle called Challenger. We were inside the granule just as it was launched. That’s recorded. Uncle Ahmet asked help from Khidr [a religious mystic figure believed to help people in difficult times]. ‘Launched, but why did not it explode yet?’ asked Uncle Ahmet. ‘Don’t worry, Ahmet, we’ve loosened its bolts, it is about to fall down,’ Uncle Mehmet Emin said. Challenger exploded at that time,” Bursevi said.
The NASA space shuttle ‘Challenger’ broke apart 73 seconds into its flight because of some technical failures, killing all seven crew members consisting of five NASA astronauts and two specialists in January 1986.
Meanwhile, Islamist cult leader Bursevi’s ‘Challenger’ allegation went viral in Turkey; many social media users mocked Bursevi for “disclosing such a secret”.
The Naqshbandi is a Sunni Islamic sect in Turkey, having a large network with many sub-affiliated religious groups around the country. Many right-wing and Islamist politicians have link to this sect while the group enjoys free organization and capitalist relations under the rule of Justice and Development Party. The group has played a devastating role in undermining secularism along with many other sects and cults in Turkey.
