Keep Diyanet budget out of debate: Bozdağ

ANKARA

The budget allocated to the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) should not be discussed, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said Jan. 2, describing Diyanet as the cement for unity and togetherness of the country.

Those who find Diyanet’s budget high are actually against presence of the institution itself, Bozdağ told Anatolia news agency, adding that the budget was not high.

“I mean, there is almost nothing in this budget except personnel expenditures,” he said, noting that 95.07 percent of the Diyanet budget was spent on personnel expenditures.

In almost every corner of the world, it is possible to see services by Diyanet, he said. “To sum up, Diyanet is doing great work both inside the country and abroad.”

Except salaries, finance for most of the services of Diyanet such as the building of mosques and opening of Quran courses were provided through personal donations, Bozdağ said.

In November 2012 during deliberations over the 2013 budget at the Parliamentary Budget Commission, Bozdağ had said the Diyanet budget was increased by 18.34 percent for the year 2013 when compared to 2012.