Mehmet Görmez

Ali Erbaş was reappointed as the head of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) with a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Sept. 17.

"I would like to thank our president, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who appreciated reappointing us to this noble task," Erbaş said.

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.

The head of Turkey's top official religious body, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), has recently been changed by the government, but it seems that the change has not had any effect on the institution's anti-secularism stance.

The Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) will step up its efforts in the fight against the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, new Diyanet head Ali Erbaş said on Sept. 18. 

Ali Erbaş was appointed as the new head of the Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) late on Sept. 16.      

Erbaş has been serving as rector of Yalova University and will replace Mehmet Görmez who retired from the post in July after serving in the office, Turkey's highest religious position, from November 2010.      

The Turkish Interior Ministry has ordered governors to play Ottoman-era composer Itri's piece with lyrics from Quran verses instead of Frédéric François Chopin's "Marche Funèbre" during the funeral processions of fallen soldiers. 

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. 

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.

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."

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."