Religious Affairs Directorate

The head of Turkey’s powerful religious affairs directorate Ali Erbas lauded against attitudes and celebrations that he claimed were not in line with the values of Islam in his Friday sermon at Hagia Sophia.

Following the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye has started an aid campaign for flood-devastated Pakistan, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum has said.

Turkey celebrated the first day of Eid al-Fitr, a three-day Muslim festival celebrated after the fasting month of Ramadan, under the shadow of strict measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 disease for the second year in a row.

The Parliament adopted on second reading amendments to the Religious Denominations Act, Focus News Agency reports. The state shall provide subsidy to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the registered religious denominations on the basis of the number of their followers in the NSI census. For those with more than 1%, the state subsidy shall not be lower than BGN 15 million.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slammed Islamic writers over their sexist comments, calling on the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) to take a more active role in adapting religious practices to current historical and social conditions.

Turkish soldiers are advancing slowly in Syria’s Afrin district to avoid harming civilians in the area, according to Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) head Ali Erbaş.

Turkish Muslims will celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in the week starting Nov. 29 this year following a date change made by the new chair of the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), Ali Erbaş.

Turkey's top religious body has made major changes to the duties of all of its units, while also forming a new department to focus on migration and moral support. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized Turkey's top religious body for "being late" in the struggle against the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.

Erdoğan said the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) was notified on the issue "countless times" but "efforts were delayed." 

The allocation of Istanbul University's Botanical Garden to the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) in 2015 for the use of the Istanbul Mufti's Office has stirred a debate in Turkey, with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) blasting the move.