Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on his supporters to turn the opposition “politically dead” in a campaign speech he gave in the Blue Mosque as the 17th century monument was re-opened after repairs, in time for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.
Erdoğan first condemned the opposition for plans to shut down Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), a top-level state body that oversees Sunni Muslim matters of worship in the country, including the appointment of imams and the writing of a centralised Friday sermon given in all mosques.
“The opposition says they will shut down the Diyanet and replace it with a faith directorate or something,” Erdoğan said to a booing crowd. Then the president continued: “Booing is not enough. We will work day and night until 14 May and turn them politically dead. It must be the end for them on 14 May.”
Most of the opposition, including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), have plans to reduce the Diyanet’s influence in Turkey, as the institution’s 36 million lira ($1.85 million) budget overshadows several ministries, including the interior and foreign ministries.
Instead, several parties have suggested the establishment of a faith works directorate, which would be inclusive of all faiths in Turkey, instead of focusing solely on Sunni Islam. However, none of the parties have focused their current campaigns on this platform.
Erdoğan frequently takes Diyanet Director Ali Erbaş with him on important ceremonies, as Erbaş gives speeches and prays. The director conducted Friday prayers while holding a sword at the Hagia Sophia after the millennia-old Byzantine basilica’s re-conversion into a mosque in 2020.
