Executive Summary
The constitution defines the country as a secular state. It provides for freedom of conscience, religious belief, conviction, expression, and worship and prohibits discrimination based on religious grounds. The Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), a state institution, governs and coordinates religious matters related to Islam; its mandate is to enable the practice of Islam, provide religious education, and manage religious institutions. The penal code prohibits blasphemy and provides punishment for “provoking people to be rancorous and hostile,” including showing public disrespect for religious beliefs, and it criminalizes “insulting values held sacred by a religion.” Government guidelines issued in June define criteria that enable minority religious foundations to elect their governing boards, with some conditions and restrictions.
According to media reports, an Istanbul court gave a deferred sentence to a flight attendant for his social media photograph that showed him drinking alcohol on the Islamic holy night of Eid al-Qadr (Kadir in Turkish). The court case continued of the nine Kurdish imams arrested in 2021 on terrorism-related charges for preaching in their native language. The government continued to limit the rights of non-Muslim religious minorities, especially those not recognized under the government’s interpretation of the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, which includes only Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Greek Orthodox Christians. The government continued to treat Alevi Islam as a heterodox Muslim “sect,” categorized Alevi worship as cultural rather than religious, and did not recognize Alevi houses of worship. Media outlets and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported continued entry bans and deportations of noncitizen leaders of Protestant congregations. On May 25, a district municipality of Istanbul demolished the Meryem Ana Tomb, despite protests by Alevis, who consider it sacred. The government completed restoration of two Armenian churches, where the Armenian Patriarch presided over Mass. In June, Orthodox Syriacs reopened a church closed since 1915. The Bodrum municipality restored a Jewish cemetery and Izmir municipality continued to renovate several synagogues and Jewish sites as an open-air museum. The government continued to restrict efforts of minority religious groups to train their clergy domestically, and the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary remained closed. According to the Jerusalem Post, in January, progovernment Turkish media published an article stating that “Jewish influence” was involved in the “Armenian deportation,” a reference to the Armenian genocide following World War I. In July, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism instructed provincial governors to engage with the Alevi community during the holy month of Muharram.
full article here
