Turkey’s top religious body to host Latin American Muslim leaders

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Görmez traveled to the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, marking the first official visit by a Diyanet head. Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate has spread its tentacles across the world with a number of international initiatives in recent years.

Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) will hold a “Latin American Religious Muslim Leaders Summit” in November, as part of its efforts to reach Muslim communities around the world.

The summit joins other platforms formed by the directorate, including the Eurasian Islam Council, the African Religious Leaders Summit, the Meeting of European Muslims, the Balkans Meeting of Religious Directorate Heads and the World Islam Scholars’ Peace, Moderation and Foresight Initiative.

All these platforms have been launched to solve problems about why “religions, which brought peace and safety to the world, have begun to be seen as obstacles to peace,” said Mehmet Görmez, the head of the Diyanet.

The directorate is continuing to offer religious services not only for people in Turkey but also “cognates and coreligionists” around the world, Görmez added, after returning from an official visit to Georgia.

The Diyanet also plans to organize the World Muslim Minorities Congress in 2015.

Görmez said the meetings he attended in Georgia, where he discussed the conditions of Muslims in Georgia and Georgians in Turkey, were positive, adding that he would inform President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu about the visit in detail.

On the same trip, he also traveled to the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, marking the first official visit by a Diyanet head.