Wolf salute

The modern grey wolf hand gesture, known as the 'Bozkurt' sign, is a more recent development that became prominent in the 20th century, particularly popularized by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Turkey.

Political usage of the gesture was popularized in the 1990s by Alparslan Türkeş, the founder of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), after which the symbol became associated with extreme nationalism and neo-fascism.

[11][12][13]: 96 Republican People's Party (CHP) Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu once greeted his supporters with a grey wolf on his way to a rally in Kayseri for the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum.

[19] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked controversy in 2018 when he briefly made the gesture at a rally in Mersin, before changing it to the four-fingered Rabia sign.

[22] In 2023, when investigating the Grey Wolves in Germany, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution concluded that while the wolf gesture was one of the most famous symbols of the organization, not all users of it may be connected to the Turkish far-right scene in particular.

[27] This hand gesture (referred to as "The Turkish Wolf" or as "Too sweet") has been used extensively in American professional wrestling since its introduction by WCW's Wolfpac in the 1990s, most notably DX, The O.C., and the Bullet Club.

[34] In Germany, the usage of the silent fox signal in education (indicating for students to be quiet) was reported in 2011 as having decreased due to it being the same gesture as the wolf salute.