Turkey’s top religious official labels deism ‘very interesting trap’

BURSA

Turkey’s top religious official has labelled deism a “very interesting trap” designed to drive Muslim youth from Islam to eventually convert them into another religion. 

Ali Erbaş, the head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), Turkey’s top religious body, met students at the Uludağ University in the western province of Bursa on Nov. 1.

“I must explain a very important subject. There have been some concepts emerging recently. Atheism as a concept was well-known, as it means to totally reject God and religions. Deism, on the other hand, is a very interesting trap. Warn them if you have any friend who can fall into this trap,” Erbaş said in his address to the students.

“Those who come up with such an understanding [deism] prefer to first move the Muslim youth away from Islam instead of trying to convert them directly into another religion,” the Diyanet head added.

Deism, which posits that God created the universe but rejects organized religions, has become an issue of public debate in Turkey amid reports that many young people, including conservative ones, have recently started to turn to this belief.

“We know that none of our young people will fall into this trap,” Erbaş said in his speech, while promising to hire all the graduates to the Diyanet if they also receive pre-school teaching certificates.