Istanbul-based Islamic charity organization uses ISIL-adopted insignia on logo

An Islamic charity organization based in an Istanbul suburb is using an insignia adopted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), daily HaberTürk has reported.

The report comes amid claims that some Turkish associations were recruiting militants for the jihadist group who have recently launched a wide-scale offensive in Iraq.

The Haznedar Islamic Research, Sustenance and Helping Association (HİSADER), located in Istanbul’s popular district Güngören, have for a long time been campaigning to raise funds for charity work to be undertaken in Syria.

The association notably uses “the stamp of the Prophet Muhammad,” nowadays associated with the ISIL, but previously used by several other Islamic organizations. The insignia includes the Shahadah (the Islamic declaration of faith) and the Quranic phrase: “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

According to its website, the association is also involved in combatting drug addiction and prostitution.
The same insignia can also be found in neighborhood shops, where many parents claim their children have been sent to Syria or Iraq to fight alongside the militant group. HaberTürk’s reports claim a woman threw stones at the shop, shouting, “Give back my child.”

Another man told the newspaper that his 21-year-old son joined ISIL after choosing the path of religion as a means of fighting his drug addictions.

“[First] he was gathering with a group of young people. He [then] dedicated himself to prayers. Then he started to accuse us of being infidels. One weekend, he left and he never came back. His friends told me he went to Syria with 15 other people. I begged him to come back, but he...