Turkey has plan-B to by-pass Austrian law on Islam

ANTALYA

AA Photo

The head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, has once again reacted to a recent Austrian code, which caused debate with items that regulates Islam in the country, saying that the body has a plan-B to by-pass the code by training a number of Turkish-origin imams in Turkey before they return to the European country as religious officials.

On Feb. 25, the Austrian Parliament passed a law the updated “Law on Islam,” which was prepared by the coalition of the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Party, aims to regulate how Islam is managed inside the country and includes provisions requiring imams to be able to speak German, standardizing the Quran in the German language, and banning Islamic organizations from receiving foreign funding.

The code also projects sending back religious service cadre back to their countries in three years.

“We have a second preparation, a plan-B on the issue,” Diyanet head Mehmet Görmez told Anadolu Agency in the Mediterranean province of Antalya. “Sons of Turkish families who have immigrated to Europe, who have become Europeans, are having religious training in Turkey. Inshallah they will provide the best service when they return to their own countries.”

Along with Görmez, top Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have criticized the Austrian Law on Islam.