Turkey Bans Reading Quran and Adhan in Turkish

Istanbul, MINA – Turkey’s highest religious authority bans reading the Quran and chanting the call to prayer (Adhan) in Turkish.

The remarks came after the Quran was recited in Turkish during an event organized by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the city of Istanbul.

The Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) said reading the Quran and the call to prayer is not allowed in Turkish.

“Islamic scholars agree that a translation of the Quran cannot be accepted as the Quran,” said Diyanet in a statement quoted from Duvar on Friday.

Diyanet added that the same applies to the call to prayer. According to Diyanet, both the call to prayer and the reading of the Quran must be chanted in Arabic.

“Reading the translation of the Quran as if it were actually the Quran itself is not correct,” he said.

Reading of the Quran in Turkish has previously been criticized by government officials, particularly the Director of Communications for the Presidency, Fahrettin Altun. He said the Quran is not respected.

In fact, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also criticized the opposition CHP party for refusing to pray in Arabic.

“If the CHP plans to return to the fascist practices of the 1940s, we are already saying this is a wrong idea,” Erdogan said.

According to Islamists in Turkey, reading the Quran in Turkish is indeed reminiscent of the practice of the early years of the republic when the call to prayer was chanted in Turkish. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)