- Presidency of Religious Affairs
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Logo of the Presidency of Religious Affairs
In Turkey, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Turkish: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı) is an official institution established in 1924 after the abolition of the caliphate. Founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a successor to Sheikh ul-Islam, it represents the highest Islamic religious authority in the country. It is normally referred to simply as the Diyanet.
As specified by law, the duties of the Diyanet are “to execute the works concerning the beliefs, worship, and ethics of Islam, enlighten the public about their religion, and administer the sacred worshipping places”.[1] The Diyanet had an allocated budget of 1,308,187,000 YTL or USD $0.9 Billion for the year 2006.[2]
In 1984, the Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği was opened in Germany to cater for the religious needs of the large Turkish minority there.
The Diyanet has made a name for itself by using the Quran and Hadith. A recent example is the permission of training women as preachers.[3] In March 2005 two women were appointed as vice-mufti in Kayseri and Istanbul.
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI travelled by car to the Diyanet, where he met with its then president, Ali Bardakoğlu, and with various Turkish Muslim leaders, among them the Grand Mufti of Ankara and the Grand Mufti of Istanbul. [4] The Diyanet allows in vitro fertilization and birth control pills.[5]
Contents
List of Presidents
The following people have presided the institution:[6]
- Mehmet Rifat Börekçi (1924-1941)
- Ord. Prof. Şerafettin Yaltkaya (1941-1947)
- Ahmet Hamdi Akseki (1947-1951)
- Eyüp Sabri Hayırlıoğlu (1951-1960)
- Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen (1960-1961)
- Hasan Hüsnü Erdem (1961-1964)
- Mehmet Tevfik Gerçeker (1964-1965)
- İbrahim Bedrettin Elmalılı (1965-1966)
- Ali Rıza Hakses (1966-1968)
- Lütfi Doğan (1968-1972)
- Dr. Lütfi Doğan (1972-1976)
- Prof. Dr. Süleyman Ateş (1976-1978)
- Dr. Tayyar Altıkulaç (1978-1986)
- Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sait Yazıcıoğlu (1986-1992)
- Mehmet Nuri Yılmaz (1992-2003)
- Ali Bardakoğlu (2003-2010)
- Mehmet Görmez (2010-Present)
See also
- Islam in Turkey
- Liberal movements within Islam
- Women as imams
- Shaikh al-Islam
- Indonesian Ulema Council
References
- ^ Basic Principles, Aims And Objectives, Presidency of Religious Affairs
- ^ "2006 Mali Yilin Bütçesi" (in Turkish). Alo Maliye. http://www.alomaliye.com/ekim_05/2006_mali_yili_butcesi.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ Jones, Dorian (2005). "Female Preachers in Turkey: Challenging Traditional Gender Roles". Deutsche Welle. Qantara. http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-315/i.html. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ Pope's speech at Turkey's Diyanet
- ^ Pope bans, Turkey allows
- ^ Former presidents, Presidency of Religious Affairs (Turkish)
External links
- Official Web site
- Women issuing fatwas, Qantara
The Diyanet of Turkey and Its Activities in Eurasia After the Cold War http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/acta/28/06Korkut.pdf Thomas W. Smith, Between Allah and Atatürk: Liberal Islam in Turkey,http://centauro.cmq.edu.mx/dav/libela/paginas/infoEspecial/pdfArticulosLaicidad/100101237.pdf KIMITAKA MATSUZATO & FUMIKO SAWAE, Rebuilding a Confessional State: Islamic Ecclesiology in Turkey, Russia and China, Religion, State & Society, Vol. 38, No. 4, December 2010.http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09637494.2010.525318 İştar Gözaydın,Religion as Soft Power in the International Relations of Turkey,http://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/Religioni/Gozaydin_Religion%20as%20Soft%20Power%20in%20the%20International%20Relations%20of%20Turkey.pdf
Categories:- Religious organizations established in 1924
- Islamic organizations based in Turkey
- Islam in Turkey
- Quran translators
- Organizations based in Ankara
- Islamic organization stubs
- Turkey stubs
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