According to 2016 state budget, the Presidency has a bigger share than several ministries, including Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Internal Affairs etc. The situation was not different in 2015, yet the Presidency used extra appropriation for its expenses in 2015. It is also given several public lands, to be used for "religious services". This year, a huge area in touristic district Bodrum is allocated to the Presidency and a "religious and cultural facility" is planned to be built in this area.
The staff of Presidency increased rapidly in recent years. In addition, after the failed coup d'état, Presidency of Religious Affairs is among the first ranks of state institutions with respect to the number of staff dismissed for their relations with the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen cult.
ERDOĞAN HAD ALLOCATED AN ARMOURED MERCEDES FOR PRESIDENCY
Last year, news about the extra-ordinary expenses of Presidency took place in media. It was revealed that an armoured Mercedes of 1 million TL ($324 thousand) was ordered for the use of the director Mehmet Görmez. Due to serious reaction from the public, the automobile was said to be returned. However, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted on the issue and allocated an armoured Mercedes to the Presidency using the budget of presidency. Erdoğan had also said that "the President of Religious Affairs should travel with private jets", portraying director Görmez as "our religious leader" and compared him with Pope. According to the Constitution, however, the President of Religious Affairs is expected to be only a public official.
WHAT IS THE PRESIDENCY'S FUNCTION?
With such high incomes and support from State and such a number of staff, the role of Presidency came into question.
Presidency of Religious Affairs is a state organisation and its function is defined by law as "carrying out religious affairs pertaining to faith, worship and moral principles, informing the society on religion and administering places of worship". According to the Constitution, the it is expected to be "in accordance with the principle of secularism, by staying out of all the political views and mentalities and adopting a goal of solidarity and integration as a nation". However, especially under the rule of AKP, the Presidency of Religious Affairs had a leading role in anti-secular policies of the government.
The education system is one of the areas that the Presidency increases its effects; together with some "non-governmental organizations". During AKP rule, the share of religion-related lectures increased in every level of education. Instead of providing students a general knowledge about religions, the lectures are only focused on Sunni Islam. In addition to that increasingly non-secular educational structure, the Presidency of Religious Affairs carries out Quran courses. The number of these courses tripled during the rule of AKP government.
In a newly-announced project, Presidency of Religious Affairs will start pre-school education, through which children will study Quran and Arabic. These activities by Presidency are clearly in contradiction with the Constitution and law.
It is also criticized for its Sunni-oriented policies. The Alawi minority and its sanctuary "djemevi"s are not formally recognised by the Presidency. While thousands of mosques are built every year and their expenses are met by State, places of worship of the Alawi are not supported by the Presidency; only some municipalities, administered mainly by the opposition Republican People’s Party's (CHP), have provided legal status for these places of worship.
PRESIDENCY TOOK PART IN SEVERAL SCANDALS
Several scandals were realized in the past, in relation to statements by the Presidency.
It was written in 2016 calendar of the Presidency that abortion is equal to murder. It was said to be sanctioned and similar to "killing a person in his sleep".
In addition to that, a more serious scandal appeared on media about the "religious information" service of the Presidency. The Presidency has been answering questions from public through telephone and official website. A question which appeared on the official site was "is a father's lust for his own daughter forbidden by Islam?", and the response by the official site was "no, it is not". This response was severely criticized by public and as a result, information service of the Presidency was halted for while. Director Görmez stated that "the news aimed to discredit the Presidency"; instead of making an explanation about the response by the official site.
