Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü

On June 31, Mehmet Gormez, a Turkish cleric who headed the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), a government department that runs more than 85,000 mosques, bid farewell to his post he had occupied since 2010. Gormez’s term didn’t end until 2020, which is why his early departure triggered a heated discussion in the media and on social media.

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office on April 21 ruled against trying a Muslim televangelist who said "playing chess is more sinful than gambling," state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Turkish EU Minister Ömer Çelik has criticized the statement by televangelist Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, popularly known as "Cübbeli Ahmet Hoca" (Robbed Ahmet Hoca), condemning chess as "sinful," saying he himself plays chess and advises everyone to do so.

The Turkish Chess Federation (TSF) stated on Jan. 3 that it has launched legal proceedings against a Turkish televangelist who recently claimed that playing chess is more sinful than gambling.

Turkish televangelist Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, popularly known as "Cübbeli" Ahmet Hoca (Robed Ahmet Hoca), has raised eyebrows by claiming that playing chess is more sinful than gambling, daily Hürriyet reported on Jan. 2.

Ünlü said chess players were "cursed" and claimed that "most people who played chess are liars."  

A number of religious movements in Turkey have canceled events scheduled to be held on Dec. 25.

The movements announced that their meetings would be held over the internet, as they refrained from explaining the reasons for the cancelations in their announcements over Twitter.

After declaring that oral sex is not forbidden in Islam, a popular Muslim televangelist in Turkey has issued another sensational fatwa, issuing a religious license to kill Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

A Turkish theologian who recently drew attention for describing ?advanced oral sex? as ?haram? (forbidden) in Islam, has responded to the criticisms of a televangelist in reaction, accusing his rival of being ?shameless.? 

A popular Muslim televangelist in Turkey has opposed a recent statement by a colleague, who had declared "advanced oral sex" to be forbidden by Islam.

"Do not invent a lie on behalf of Allah," said Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, popularly known as "Cübbeli Ahmet Hoca" (Robed Ahmet Hoca) among his followers, during his latest televised sermon.

The Turkish state has appointed a security detail to protect a popular televangelist, after he was threatened by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"If I am on God's list, I would die anyway. If I am not on that list, then ISIL cannot intervene [to kill me]," Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü said in reaction to the decision, according to Turkish news website ?nternethaber.