Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate

Ahmet Muhsin Tüzer, who once made headlines in local media as "rock singer" imam, has applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to get his job back.

While serving as an imam in the Mediterranean province of Antalya's Kaş district, Tüzer formed a band named "FiRock" with famous rock guitarist Doğan Sakin and released a single in 2013.

The imam at Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia mosque announced on April 8 he is stepping down from his duties to return to academic studies.

Mehmet Boynukalın, whose assignment at the nearly 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia was temporary, asked to leave the post, and his request was accepted.

"We will conquer mosques," proclaimed Ali Erbas, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, on May 27 as he announced the Turkish government's plan to reopen mosques for public worship after a Covid-19 hiatus. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan requested the reopening, originally planned for June 12, to be pulled back to May 29.

The head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) on Dec. 10 met with Saudi Arabia's hajj and umrah minister to reach an agreement on services to be provided next year for Turkish pilgrims making their way to Islam's holiest cities for pilgrimages amid concern over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkey and Iran need to work together to find solutions to the problems of the Islamic world and for the unity of the Muslim Ummah, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate said Nov. 30.

In an unexpected move, President Tayyip Erdoğan slammed Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) on Aug. 5. He said it had been late in detecting black holes and loops in the system, thus letting "others" sneak in "especially in the east and southeast of the country."

The former head of Turkey's top religious body is planning to become a university rector after he resigned from his post on July 30, Hurriyet writes.

The former head of Turkey's top religious body is planning to become a university rector after he resigned from his post on July 30. 

More than 7,000 people were dismissed with a new state of emergency decree published in the Official Gazette on July 14.

A total of 7,395 dismissals were carried out and 312 public workers were reinstated to their posts with the decree.

Europe is being tested on EU-Turkish ties due to its recent xenophobic and racist approach, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on July 12.

Speaking during a visit to Turkey's EU permanent representation in Brussels, Kurtulmuş said there had been some radical changes in the overall attitudes of European countries.