Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı

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In Turkey, the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (English: Presidency of Religious Affairs) 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 Shaikh al-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 a branch was opened in Germany to cater for the religious needs of the large Turkish minority there.

The Diyanet has made a name for itself with a liberal interpretation of the Qur'an and the hadith. A recent example is the permission of training women as preachers. In March 2005 two women were appointed as vice-mufti in Kayseri and Istanbul.