Diyanet found its own way

The Presidency of Religious Affairs ' funding for personnel sent to its international operations has been revealed. The Presidency's financial statements for the first half of 2025, which reveal expenditures that ignore Turkey's deep economic crisis, also revealed exorbitant spending on overseas assignments.

The Presidency of Religious Affairs, which has been sending messages to citizens that "Be content with little" and "Waste is forbidden," has sent hundreds of personnel to religious and social events and international meetings abroad. Fifteen national and international events were held under the leadership of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in 2024, while 10 international events were reportedly held between January and June of 2025.

MONEY SCATTERED ON THE ROAD

The Presidency of Religious Affairs, headed by Ali Erbaş, who has made over 100 international trips during his tenure, sent dozens of personnel to meetings held abroad between January and June 2025. The Presidency's international activities have also drawn attention to travel allowance spending. In the first half of 2025, Diyanet personnel working at events held both domestically and internationally spent a total of 261,924,000 Turkish Lira. The "travel allowance" item, which covers personnel travel, food, and accommodation expenses, is projected to total 799,592,000 Turkish Lira for the entire year.

The number of personnel working in the Presidency of Religious Affairs' international offices was also shared. According to data from the Presidency of Religious Affairs' Human Resources General Directorate, the number of personnel in the Presidency's international offices has reached 576. Of these, 80 are permanent staff and 496 are contract personnel.

RECORD SOURCE

The amount of money the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) plans to spend on travel allowances in 2026 and 2027 is also noteworthy. The Presidency is expected to cover travel expenses of 845,059,000 TL and 917,383,000 TL in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

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CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE SERMONS

Women's organizations and the "We Are Not Giving Up on Our Civil Rights" campaign group filed a criminal complaint against the Presidency of Religious Affairs today at the Istanbul Çağlayan Courthouse. The women stated that the Friday sermon delivered in 90,000 mosques on August 15th openly attacked women's acquired rights. The women emphasized that the sermon portrayed daughters' demands for a share of inheritance as "envying men's rights," and that this violated Articles 10 and 41 of the Constitution and the equal sharing provisions of the Civil Code.