If appropriating the past is a sign of not having much to show for the present, then the Indian Right-wing is not alone.
The media must be free and fair, uninfluenced by corporate or state interests. That's why you, the public, need to pay to keep news free.
ContributeEveryone has heard of how the first plastic surgery was carried out in India or how Jesus Christ had been a disciple of Buddha before becoming the Christ the world knows him as now. The latest attempt to appropriate historical characters, though, comes from Turkey, where according to a report in The Turkish Sun, “a self claimed Turkish Historian” declared on national channel, Beyaz TV, that Shakespeare was an “elderly Islamic scholar”.
Those who can understand Turkish, can watch the video here:
“Shakespeare was not English and his original name is ‘Sheikh Pir’. Even more, he was a secret Muslim,” Kadir Mısırlıoğlu says. He further explains that ‘Sheikh’ meant Islamic Scholar and ‘Pir’ was a word for elderly.
This is not the first time someone has tried to claim Shakespeare as their own, though. Mummer Gaddafi, the ex-ruler of Libya, in 2012, claimed that the playwright’s real name was Sheikh Zubair.
General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together to focus on the issues that really matter to the voter. From political funding to battleground states, media coverage to 10 years of Modi, choose a project you would like to support and power our journalism.
Ground reportage is central to public interest journalism. Only readers like you can make it possible. Will you?