04.01.2025 12:30
In his Friday sermon, Bolu Provincial Mufti Hüseyin Demirtaş responded to criticisms regarding the budget of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, which drew the reaction of one of the congregants in the mosque. The individual interrupted the preacher, saying, "Sir, don't engage in politics. Just tell us about religion."
Before the Friday prayer in Bolu, the Provincial Mufti Hüseyin Demirtaş, who gave a sermon at Yıldırım Bayezid Mosque, responded to criticisms directed at the budget of the Presidency of Religious Affairs.
"I SAID STOP TALKING NONSENSE"
Mufti Hüseyin Demirtaş shared a dialogue he had with a director regarding efforts for accessibility for the disabled, saying, "We wanted to have some good things in a few mosques for disabled access. We called a lady to see if they were checking whether it was happening or not. In between, she said, 'Sir, the Diyanet has this much money, why don't they do these things on time?' I said, wait a minute, what are you talking about? I asked, what is the proportion of our budget within the general budget? 'Sir, it's this many billions' and so on. I said, brother, it's 0.9 percent. There are 150 thousand personnel, and there are overseas organizations. I said stop talking nonsense. Be informed, don't be prejudiced. Don't come to such things, my dear brothers," he stated.
"TELL US ABOUT RELIGION, DON'T DO POLITICS"
One of the citizens in the mosque reacted to Mufti Demirtaş's words by saying, "Tell us about religion, sir. The entire congregation here already knows what is what. Sir, don't do politics."
"YOU ARE THE ONES DOING POLITICS"
In response to this criticism directed at him, Mufti Demirtaş replied, "You don't do politics, you are the ones doing it. Alright, brother."