Cemal is the grandson of Djemal Pasha, one of the "Three Pashas" who led the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He is known for acknowledging and apologizing for the Armenian genocide, which was perpetrated in part by his grandfather and his colleagues. His 2012 book on the subject (written in response to the 2007 assassination of his friend Hrant Dink) is titled "1915: Ermeni Soykırımı" (English: "1915: Armenian Genocide").