Wolf salute: Turkey player showed it as a celebration – what does it mean?

Easily explained

Both hands raised in the air, the little finger and index finger spread out, ring finger, middle finger and thumb forming a circle: Turkish defender Merih Demiral celebrated his second goal in the round of 16 match against Austria with the wolf salute, the identifying symbol of the ultra-nationalist and fascist “Grey Wolves”.

What does the wolf salute mean?

The greeting refers to an ancient legend, based on ancient mythology, according to which the Turkic people descend from the she-wolf Asena. According to this legend, a boy was the only one to survive the massacre of his tribe. Asena found him and raised him. This story is considered the origin story of the Turkic peoples.

The first records telling such a story come from a Chinese historian in the first century. However, the current reference to the myth only arose in the 20th century and is based on a second legend, according to which a wolf led the ancestors of Turkish peoples out of the Ergenekon valley, which was threatened by enemies, and thus saved them.

The most important role in the story is played by the collapse and reconstruction of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire. The legend is generally regarded as the origin myth of the Turkic peoples.

Later, the myth played a central role in the ideology of the “Ülkücü” movement (in English “Idealist”). Colloquially, they are called “Grey Wolves”.

Who are the Grey Wolves?

The Grey Wolves are supporters of the far-right Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Their ideology is based on three central points: the rule of Turkish Muslims in Turkey, the return of the Greater Turkish Empire from China to Central Europe and a pure-bred Turkish ethnic community. They are at least exclusionary towards minorities of faiths other than their own, such as Jews, Christians, Kurds, Armenians, Yazidis or Alevis, and some harbor fantasies of annihilation.

The group has also been active in Germany for several years and is monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Small parts are loosely linked to Islamist groups, but otherwise are not very organized. Unlike in Turkey, the members do not appear as a party, but in clubs and associations. What unites them, however, is their ideology, according to which the Turkic peoples are of higher value and superior to other ethnic groups.

German security authorities assume that between 12,000 and 18,000 people in Germany are affiliated with the Grey Wolves, and another 2,000 are said to be loosely affiliated.

Is the wolf salute the Turkish Hitler salute?

Even though the wolf salute is often compared to the Hitler salute and its meaning, the two gestures are not automatically the same. “With the Hitler salute, the reference is much clearer,” explains political scientist Ismail Küpeli to “Spiegel”. The wolf salute, on the other hand, does not refer directly to a specific party or idea, but to the general movement of Turkish ultra-nationalists. There are also very patriotic Turks who show it, even though they have nothing to do with the Grey Wolves, says Küpeli. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes it similarly. In addition, showing the wolf salute is not a criminal offense in Germany – unlike showing the Hitler salute.

In the past, the wolf salute has repeatedly caused outrage. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is said to have shown it, as has former Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu. Former German national football player Mesut Özil was also criticized for a tattoo with reference to the Grey Wolves.

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