19 March 2010 / ENGİN ARDIÇ SABAH,
Apparently the president of the Religious Affairs Directorate is going to be elected every five years for a period of two terms at most. Just like the president of the country. Then there’s also the Religious Affairs Supreme Board, which will consist of 16 members.
This is a bill, and it is regarded as a “radical change.” Why isn’t it causing any “excitement” for anyone? Why has it only received little coverage in just a few newspapers? That is because its president and entire staff are civil servants. Reforms in the Land Registry Directorate are even more interesting than this. So what if the president of the Religious Affairs Directorate is going to be elected for eight years and not five years. Is the president of the Religious Affairs Directorate a “distinguished” person in the Muslim community? Is he a “chosen” respectable person? No. He is just a bureaucrat assigned by the state to “manage religious affairs.” It’s also clear what he will do once he retires. He will become a writer for a newspaper’s “religion and morals” section. Is the president’s election occupying Muslim believers’ minds as much as the issue of “conservative” or “progressive” cardinals rising to papal status?
