Deputy PM: Muftis being given right to carry out marriages 'not a violation of secularism'

A draft law granting muftis and civil servants of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) the right to register and perform marriages is not a violation of secularism, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said, denying claims that marriages will be held at mosques. 

"Muftis will register marriages in the same way and based on the same conditions as mayors or marriage officials who are currently authorized to perform marriage procedures. Anyway, muftis are already civil servants. This regulation change has nothing to do with any violation of secularism," Bozdağ told reporters in the capital Ankara on Aug. 7. 

A debate was sparked after a government-drafted bill allowing muftis to perform marriages was revealed last week, with the opposition saying the move violated the secularism principle of the Turkish constitution. 

Bozdağ said the law would give couples the option of getting married either at marriage offices or at the offices of muftis without changing marriage procedures. 

"Some argue that marriages will be performed at mosques. But there is a valid procedure that has an open clause forbidding marriages at religious sites. These processes will be open and transparent," he added.

Single-type uniforms 

Also top of Turkey's agenda is the government's plan to introduce a single-type uniform for suspects appearing at court over alleged links to the failed July 2016 coup attempt. 

"There is no uncertainty in terms of the uniform's color but I think there is a need for a legal regulation in terms of its scope. The ministry is working on it and they will share their studies with the government. Probably the regulation will be put out as one of the decree laws issued in the...