Mehmet Ali Aslan (born 1975 in Silvan,

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

, Turkey) is a Turkish politician of

Mhallami The Mhallami people, also known as Mardelli or alternatively spelled as Mahallami (; ; ; ) are an Arabic-speaking tribal ethnic group traditionally living in and around the city of Mardin, Turkey. Although they originate from a diverse mosaic in ...

descent and the founding chairman of the ethnic group's first organization, the ''Mhallami Association''. Born in Silvan,

, Aslan grew up in Mercimekli in

Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...

. Since 2002, he has been working as a sports teacher in

. Aslan contested the June 2015 general election as a list candidate for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). Placed 4th representing

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

, Aslan was elected to become the first Mhallami member of the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

. As he committed his

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Suc ...

to the "peoples of Turkey" rather than "the Turkish people," he was called out for allegedly having

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

roots. Aslan however denied "any connection with Armenians. If I had, I would be proud of it." In the November snap election, he was placed 2nd on the HDP's list in the neighboring

Batman province Batman Province (, ; ) is a province in Turkey. It was created in May 1990 with the Law No. 3647 taking some parts from the eastern Province of Siirt and some from the southern Province of Mardin. Its area is 4,477 km2, and its population i ...

and was reelected to parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aslan, Mehmet Ali 1969 births Living people Turkish people of Mhallami descent Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Mardin Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey Deputies of Batman Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey