Turkish PM seeks restitution of top religious body’s ‘honor’
Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄlu has said his government attributes an "international mission" to Turkey's Directorate for Religious Affairs (Diyanet), also indicating that the country needs to make âreforms in religion.â
His words echo President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan's recent suggestion that the Diyanetâs âhonorâ as a key state body should be restituted
Recalling the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, DavutoÄlu argued that the Diyanetâs role as a body involved in peopleâs social lives had grown only after democratization began in Turkey.
âWith the transition to democracy, efforts for a restitution of honor were exerted. It was always considered as an institution that arranges religious life,â he said late Sept. 4, speaking in a televised interview.
His words came following a recent change in the Diyanetâs status. As part of the reassignments in the new Cabinet, Prime Minister DavutoÄlu sought to bring the Diyanet under his subordination. Though previously subordinated to another ministry, the Diyanet is the highest religious authority in Turkey â which, although a majority Muslim country, has been a secular state since the 1920s â and will henceforth be under DavutoÄluâs personal responsibility.
Earlier on Sept. 4, speaking with a group of journalists on board the new presidential plane, registered as TR-TUR, during his official trip from Azerbaijan to Wales for the NATO Summit, ErdoÄan also touched on the matter.
According to ErdoÄan, DavutoÄlu may not be able to fully focus on Diyanet and will eventually hand over the de facto responsibility to a deputy prime minister as he will have to deal with a hectic schedule both inside the country and abroad.
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