'Davutoğlu Should End Compulsory Classes On Religion'

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on Tuesday that Turkey should immediately end compulsory classes on religion at schools. The ruling came after 14 Alevi families living in Ankara took the issue to the top court in 2011, on the grounds that only Sunni Islam is taught in schools. According to the ECtHR, by making these classes compulsory Turkey violates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in terms of educational rights. With regard to the ECtHR verdict, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said, "Even an atheist is required to have knowledge about religious culture, just like I should know about Marxism even though I am not a Marxist."
In his Thursday piece, Hürriyet daily columnist Ahmet Hakan wrote that Davutoğlu has a point. Every individual should have knowledge about the notion of religion or religious culture. However, Hakan continued, “Is that really the case in Turkey?” Hakan wrote that Turkey does is not “offer an education about religious culture” but “imposes Islamic education, even on those who are not willing.” According to Hakan, it is persecution to force someone to learn about Islam just like it is persecution to deprive someone who wants to receive an Islamic education. "Davutoğlu should end this persecution," Hakan added.
Hasan Cemal, a columnist with the news portal T24, wrote in his Thursday piece that Prime Minister Davutoğlu is failing to convince the Turkish public that compulsory classes on religion are only about teaching “religious culture.” According to Cemal, the ECtHR ruling indicates that Turkey is being disrespectful to the Alevi community with its compulsory classes. Cemal pointed out that it has been long-acknowledged that the education system in Turkey is not secular. Cemal added that every individual in the country knows that the classes on religion impose Sunni-Hanafi Islam and ignore not only Alevism but every other belief.
Vatan daily's Okay Gönensin wrote on Thursday that every change introduced to Turkey's education system has led to further problems, rather than fixing the current setbacks. Gönensin said the subject of religion was offered from time to time as optional at middle schools and high schools in the past, as the educational officials changed their minds on the issue numerous times. Gönensin pointed out that families who want their children to receive religious-based education are free to enroll them in imam-hatip schools. According to the columnist, for regular schools, an optional religious class would meet the demands of the students and their parents. Gönensin also noted that in fact a far larger change is needed in the Turkish education system, from the content of schoolbooks to the qualifications of teachers, in what can only be described as a “revolution.”

GÜNAY HİLAL AYGÜN (Cihan/Today's Zaman)