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  • Turkey: The Diyanet - the elephant in Turkey's religious freedom roo

    FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
    http://www.forum18.org/

    The right to believe, to worship and witness
    The right to change one's belief or religion
    The right to join together and express one's belief

    ===============================================
    Wednesday 4 May 2011
    TURKEY: THE DIYANET - THE ELEPHANT IN TURKEY'S RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ROOM?

    The Diyanet, or Presidency of Religious Affairs, is a state institution
    reporting to the Prime Minster's Office and exerts a very large influence
    on the extent to which freedom of religion or belief can be enjoyed in
    Turkey, Forum 18 News Service notes. Massive state financial and
    institutional support of the Diyanet along with its activities - including
    its biases against Muslim and non-Muslim beliefs it dislikes - make it
    difficult for people inside and outside the Diyanet's structures to
    exercise freedom of religion or belief. This has been reinforced by the
    latest law governing the Diyanet, which increases its influence without
    addressing its current incompatibility with Turkey's human rights
    obligations. For a political party to propose removing the Diyanet from the
    state's structures would render that party liable to be closed down under
    Turkish law. Despite the need for change in the Diyanet-state relationship,
    civil society proposals for change have been described by the government as
    "unjust" and "too assertive for such a sensitive issue".

    TURKEY: THE DIYANET - THE ELEPHANT IN TURKEY'S RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ROOM?

    By Mine Yildirim, Researcher at the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo
    Akademi University

    The protection of freedom of religion or belief within Turkey, and the
    Turkish version of secularism, has been receiving increasing attention in
    public debates and in the media. Mainly this is in connection with possible
    changes in a new Constitution, expected to be drafted after the 12 June
    General Election. However, Forum 18 News Service notes that, for any
    meaningful improvements to take place, there should be a close scrutiny of
    the nature and role of the Diyanet, or Presidency of Religious Affairs,
    which is a constitutional public institution. This scrutiny should examine
    the Diyanet's compatibility with Turkey's international and national legal
    and political commitments to implement freedom of religion or belief.

    The current state financial and institutional support of the Diyanet, the
    theological dominance given to Sunni Islam within its programmes, and the
    Diyanet's activities in relation to other Islamic traditions and other
    religions combine to make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
    reconcile the Diyanet with Turkey's international human rights obligations.
    It is, for example, very difficult to reconcile the Diyanet's activities
    with European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments obliging the state to
    remain neutral and impartial.

    Although the Diyanet has yet to directly fall foul of the ECtHR, Turkey has
    already been criticised by the Court for failing in this duty. In a case
    Turkey lost as compulsory Religious Culture and Knowledge of Ethics classes
    do not meet this requirement, the ECtHR reiterated "that it has always
    stressed that, in a pluralist democratic society, the State's duty of
    impartiality and neutrality towards various religions, faiths and beliefs
    is incompatible with any assessment by the State of the legitimacy of
    religious beliefs or the ways in which those beliefs are expressed" (see
    F18News 5 January 2011
    ). As noted below, the
    Diyanet's activities are not compatible with this duty.

    Massive organisation

    The Diyanet is a massive organisation with a broad mandate, large budget
    and vast sphere of influence. Under Law no. 633 of 1965 ("The Presidency of
    Religious Affairs, Its Establishment and Obligations"), its mandate is to
    operate affairs related to the belief, worship and moral principles of the
    Islamic Religion, enlighten the public about religious issues and to
    administer places of worship [mosques and mescid]. Operating under the
    Prime Minister's Office and with a President appointed by the Prime
    Minister, the Diyanet has five main departments; the Higher Committee for
    Religious Affairs, an advisory council; Education, including Koran courses
    for children and adults; Religious Services, including services for
    families, discipleship, mosque services and social and cultural services
    with a religious content; and Publications and Public Relations (see
    ). Domestic activities are carried out via
    muftis and religious personnel all over Turkey. Activities carried out
    abroad are conducted by Diyanet religious counsellors, diplomatic attachés
    and other personnel, with 1,350 people in 81 countries.

    Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, the
    number of Diyanet personnel has increased from 74,000 to 117,541. During
    this period, 2,000 Diyanet personnel have moved to positions in other state
    departments. Currently its budget is about 2,500,000,000 Turkish Lira
    (8,564,350,690 Norwegian Kroner, 1,097,538,190 Euros, or 1,626,694,770 US
    Dollars). This is a larger budget than some full government ministries.

    There are about 85,000 mosques in Turkey and the Diyanet hopes to use some
    of its increased numbers of personnel to staff vacant posts in these
    mosques. Only the Diyanet can operate all mosques and mescit (see F18News 2
    March 2011 ). Only the
    Diyanet can provide imams, who are civil servants, for these mosques. Yet,
    because the Diyanet does not have legal personality it cannot own these
    mosques.

    Indeed, no religious community - whether Muslim, Jewish, Armenian
    Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Baha'i,
    Jehovah's Witness, or any other - has direct legal entity status in Turkish
    law. This is part of the Turkish version of secularism, under which there
    is close supervision of religious activity, and less autonomy of religious
    communities than in many other countries (see F18News 7 February 2011
    ).

    Mosques are usually owned by either the public - through for example a
    municipality, village legal entity - or by private persons. Mostly, they
    are the property of the Diyanet Foundation, the Diyanet Vakfi. This is a
    foundation (vakif) established in 1975 under the Civil Code, to foster
    knowledge of the "true identity" [in the Diyanet's Sunni Islamic view] of
    Islam and religion, to build and equip mosques, to support people in need,
    and other tasks. However as Article 101 of the Civil Code does not allow
    the establishment of a foundation with a religious goal the Diyanet Vakfi
    constitutes an irregularity in the application of law - but it is highly
    improbable that any government will act on this (see F18News 13 March 2008
    ).

    The Diyanet itself - as against the Diyanet Foundation - does not have a
    mandate to build mosques, but these are often built by citizens who usually
    establish associations for the building of mosques. The Diyanet's 2009
    report indicated that in that year it contributed 3,060,000 Turkish Lira
    (10,482,505 Norwegian Kroner, 1,343,365 Euros, or 1,991,820 US Dollars) to
    85 mosques for building expenses.

    The Diyanet's role

    The Diyanet's massive institutional and financial status makes it very
    attractive as a vehicle for implementing government policies. This can be
    benign, as in working with the State Minister Responsible for Women and
    Family Affairs for the elimination of violence against women. This involved
    preaching by the Diyanet's imams against the use of violence toward women.
    However, its large influence in Turkey can - and is - also used for
    activities incompatible with the state's human rights obligations.

    The Diyanet maintains, according to its website, that it takes the
    religious demands and traditions of people into account, and to provide
    true and authentic religious knowledge as well as training and education in
    scientific and sound religious knowledge. It's a nice-sounding theory, but
    in reality - as for example many Alevi and Caferi Muslims point out - it
    promotes only Sunni Islamic theology (see Forum 18's Turkey religious
    freedom survey at ).

    Similarly, the Diyanet has published books on, among other topics
    'Jehovah's Witnesses' and 'Christian Propaganda and Missionary Activities'.
    In these books missionary activities - or anyone sharing their beliefs in
    line with the internationally-recognised right to freedom of religion or
    belief - is an activity the Diyanet is hostile to. Currently the Diyanet
    prepares Friday sermons preached by all imams, although Milliyet newspaper
    reported on 11 March 2011 that the Diyanet will move away from this
    practice and allow individual sermons. In an 11 March 2005 sermon - before
    the murders in 2006 of a Catholic priest and in 2007 of three Protestants -
    the Diyanet described sharing beliefs as "a scheme of foreigners to steal
    the faith of the young". Many in Turkey's vulnerable groups think that such
    thinking is a strong factor in the attacks they experience (see F18News 29
    November 2007 ).

    Defending the sermon, the Diyanet on 27 March 2005 published a document
    claiming that: "History as well as contemporary developments have
    demonstrated that missionary activities are not an innocent act of
    communicating one's religion or exercising religious freedom, but a highly
    planned movement with political motives." (..) "The Diyanet believes that
    missionary activities aim to distort historic, religious, national and
    cultural unity by leading to changes in the religious belief that lies at
    the heart of the most fundamental values of our society, whereas our people
    have cohabited peacefully in Anatolian territories for centuries by
    upholding these same values. We also deem

    it to be a violation of the most intimate freedom, the freedom of
    religion." (..) "Today, rather than Christian priests, missionary
    activities are conducted by doctors, nurses, engineers, Red Cross workers,
    human rights defenders, volunteers for peace, language teachers, computer
    instructors, sports organizers, etc." (..) "The Diyanet considers these
    activities as separatist and destructive since they may create a basis for
    a spiritual and cultural gap and distort our religious/national integrity
    in the long run, and considers it necessary that our citizens notify the
    Diyanet and all relevant government institutions about such activities."

    It is significant that the Diyanet listed activities that it claimed are
    opposed to national unity and religious integrity as a threat, for example
    in its 2009 Activity Report. It is hard to see how, in the Diyanet's view,
    Turks who are atheists, agnostics, Jews, Christians, Alevis, Caferis,
    Baha'is, Jehovah's Witnesses, or in other vulnerable groups can have any
    part in the nations unity and its identity.

    Such an extremely narrow definition of national unity and Turkish identity
    - ignoring the diversity found among Turkey's citizens - continues. For
    example, demands backed by a ECtHR judgment for an end to compulsory
    religious education classes are characterised by the Diyanet as a threat
    (see F18News 5 January 2011
    ).

    If the Diyanet were not an institution of the state such views would still
    be problematic. But as part of the state the Diyanet plays an active role
    in influencing the extent to which freedom of religion or belief can be
    enjoyed in Turkey.

    One example is that the state accords a de facto authoritative status to
    formal Opinions from the Diyanet on religious or belief communities outside
    the Diyanet's structure. This is even though such Opinions are not legally
    binding. The Baha'i faith is not recognised as a religion, so for example
    Bahai's cannot record this on Identity Cards if they wish, because of a
    Diyanet Opinion that it is a sect and not a religion (see F18News 8 October
    2010 ). Similarly, the
    decision not to recognize Alevi cemevi as places of worship is based on a
    Diyanet Opinion that the common place of worship for Muslims is mosques -
    run by the Diyanet (see F18News 2 March 2011
    ).

    Paying twice

    All Turkish taxpayers - whatever their religion or belief - finance all the
    Diyanet's activities. No other religious or belief community, such as
    non-Sunni Muslim communities of the Alevi and Caferi, Christians, Jews,
    Baha'i, Jehovah's Witnesses, atheists or agnostics receives any state
    funding. There is no system allowing exemption from tax revenues allocated
    to the Diyanet, so anyone in a non-Diyanet community pays to support two
    sorts of beliefs - their own community's activities, buildings and
    personnel and the opposing activities of the Diyanet.

    Communities that do not receive services from the Diyanet do not benefit
    from privileges given to the Diyanet either. They are not given the
    possibility to have broadcasting time on national state television, for
    example. Diyanet personnel can provide religious services in state
    institutions such as hospitals and prisons, but this possibility is not
    officially recognized and facilitated for ministers or volunteers of other
    groups.

    What next for the Diyanet?

    In July 2010 a long awaited new Law on the Diyanet was adopted (Law No.
    6002 "On the Establishment and Duties of the Presidency of Religious
    Affairs" amending Law No. 633). Yet this seems to multiply the
    possibilities for the Diyanet without addressing or eliminating its aspects
    that seem problematic for Turkey in implementing its international human
    rights obligations. The new Law allows the Diyanet to establish its own
    radio or television channel. National radio and TV frequencies will be
    provided free of charge to the Diyanet by the RTUK (the National Radio and
    Television Agency). The establishment of a Religious High Education Centre
    for specialized professional training is permitted, and Diyanet personnel
    will receive greater employment benefits than previously. The mandate for
    religious service provision is broadened to include religious services
    outside the mosque such as in prisons, juvenile correction facilities,
    hospitals, and old people's homes.

    It is difficult to predict the long-term effects of granting greater
    capability and possibilities to the Diyanet to involve itself in the
    religious lives of people. Indeed it is not readily apparent in Turkey that
    there has been a public demand for this. But there is a need to monitor the
    effects of the new Law, to assess its compatibility with Turkey's freedom
    of religion or belief commitments.

    What needs to be done?

    For any improvement, the Diyanet and its activities must be carefully
    assessed for problematic elements in the light of both freedom of religion
    or belief and non-discrimination. Human rights law does not prescribe any
    one way of establishing state-religion relations. But, as the then UN Human
    Rights Committee's General Comment 22 on Article 18 ("Freedom of thought,
    conscience and religion") of the International Covenant on Civil and
    Political Rights puts it: "The fact that a religion is recognized as a
    state religion or that it is established as official or traditional or that
    its followers comprise the majority of the population, shall not result in
    any impairment of the enjoyment of any of the rights under the Covenant
    (..) nor in any discrimination against adherents to other religions or
    non-believers". Massive state support for the Diyanet - with restrictions
    on non-Diyanet religious communities - combine together to form a disparity
    between communities that must be corrected.

    It is also vital that all religious communities - Muslim and non-Muslim -
    must have the possibility to manifest their religion or belief by acquiring
    an adequate form of legal personality, establishing and maintaining places
    of worship, training clergy and teaching their religion or belief outside
    of the Diyanet's structure or influence (see F18News 7 February 2011
    ).

    Legal obstacles preventing free discussion and advocacy for removing the
    Diyanet from the state apparatus must be abolished, so that this can be
    freely discussed in the National Assembly. The April 1983 Law on Political
    Parties (Law No. 2820)) - a remnant of the 1980 military coup - in Article
    89 prohibits any activity by political parties that would contradict the
    existence of the Diyanet in the state administration. If the government or
    any political party wanted to take steps to remove the Diyanet from the
    state structure, it could be closed down by the Constitutional Court. But
    it is difficult to imagine that any party - especially in government -
    would want to deny itself the great possibilities the Diyanet offers a
    governing party to influence public opinion.

    Freedom of religion or belief and non-discrimination problems stemming from
    tax funding of the Diyanet could be addressed in a number of ways. A
    special tax for the Diyanet budget may be instituted, with an opt-out
    possibility for anyone who does not want to support the Diyanet's
    activities. Or if Turkey chooses to support financially a certain
    community, the same support should be made available to other communities -
    for example financial support for their religious personnel, building their
    places of worship, publication of books and other material, etc.

    In a 2006 public opinion survey, over 49 per cent of those polled agreed
    that the Diyanet should be financially supported by voluntary contributions
    of individuals and not by the state (see Carkoglu, A. and Toprak, B.
    (2007), Religion, Society and Politics in a Changing Turkey, Istanbul,
    TESEV, p. 87,
    ). Possibly
    the German Kirchensteuer (Church Tax) system offers an example of how such
    voluntary contributions might be administered. Other possible models also
    exist.

    Some of the Diyanet's teaching currently contributes to fostering prejudice
    against members of certain beliefs, yet as a public institution it has the
    responsibility to uphold religious freedom for all. Its teaching must
    change to reflect its responsibilities. On the other hand, if the Diyanet
    wishes to maintain its current teaching, it should be gradually excluded
    from the state structure starting with more autonomy and less financial and
    institutional support from the state.

    "Too assertive for such a sensitive issue"

    While there is clearly a need for a drastic change in the Diyanet-state
    relationship, the AKP does not see this as desirable. A March 2011 draft
    Constitution proposal prepared by two prominent academics, Ergun Özbudun
    and Turgut Tarhanlı, with funding from the Turkish Industry and
    Business Association (TÜSIAD), described abolishing the Diyanet as
    unrealistic (see in Turkish
    ).
    But it did note that the Diyanet's current structure is not compatible with
    the Turkish version of secularism. The proposal suggested that those who
    want to be represented within the Diyanet structure should be allowed this,
    and that the establishment of religious associations with similar
    activities should be allowed outside the Diyanet structure.

    However State Minister Faruk Çelik - who is responsible in the AKP
    government for the Diyanet - on 25 March called the proposal "unjust" and
    "too assertive for such a sensitive issue". Claiming that the Diyanet has
    been instrumental in enlightening the public with accurate religious
    information, and preserving national unity, he stated that abolishing the
    Diyanet - which TÜSIAD did not propose - would create new problems.

    The adoption of the July 2010 Law on the Diyanet increasing its mandate and
    powers, along with Faruk Çelik's statement, strongly indicates that the
    Diyanet will retain its current structure and approach. It is hard to see
    how this will improve Turkey's implementation of its freedom of religion or
    belief commitments for all. (END)

    For more background, see Forum 18's Turkey religious freedom survey at
    .

    More analyses and commentaries on freedom of thought, conscience and belief
    in Turkey can be found at
    .

    A compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
    (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments can be found at
    .

    A printer-friendly map of Turkey is available at
    .

    PDF and printer-friendly views of this article can be accessed from
    . It may freely be
    reproduced, redistributed or quoted from, with due acknowledgement to Forum
    18 .
    (END)

    © Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
    You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
    F18News http://www.forum18.org/

    Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
    http://www.forum18.org/




    From: A. Papazian
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