ISTANBUL
In a show of support for Palestine, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus met on Friday with the grandson of legendary South African leader Nelson Mandela along with a former mixed martial arts fighter who recently converted to Islam.
Kurtulmus hosted Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, a member of the South African parliament, and Jeff Monson, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor, along with representatives from the European Muslim Forum and the Global Palestine Summit, he said on X.
“I would like to sincerely thank our two esteemed brothers for their courageous stance on the side of justice and humanity against the oppression of Israel,” Kurtulmus added.
Monson, who recently converted to Islam, reportedly cited solidarity with Palestinians as one of the motivations for his change in faith.
Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, and statesman who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
