Career
Kaplan was on board the Ship to Gaza flotilla which tried to send necessities through the Israeli embargo of the Gaza strip. The Israeli armed forces boarded the flotilla on 31 May 2010 and the clash killed 9 flotilla members in the heat of battle. Kaplan commented that his statements had been misrepresented, but admitted to having chosen his words poorly.
In a Turkish newspaper interview, Kaplan said that it is natural for Sweden to recognize Palestine as a state, and that the "occupied territories will, if Allah willing, be freed, and east Jerusalem will become the capital of Palestine." Further he said that Israel will be forced to a peace agreement.
He has also been labeled being an Islamist by various personalities, including the previous Member of Parliament, Nalin Pekgul of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.