ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

Friday, January 18, 2008

  Islam undoubtedly requires women to cover their heads, Turkey’s head of religious affairs said yesterday in a statement that coincides with the current discussions on lifting the headscarf ban in universities.

   “As long as a woman says ‘I am a Muslim,’ she should cover her head,” Professor Ali Bardako?lu, president of the Religious Affairs Directorate, said in an interview with the private NTV channel.

  “Discussions on the necessity of wearing headscarves or head coverings are of a legal and political nature. In religious terms, there is no doubt that they should,” he said, adding that Islamic rules, dating back centuries, are unalterable.

  Politicians may forbid or allow the wearing of headscarves, Bardako?lu said. “It is not my duty to tell them what to do,” he added. “Whether Muslim women abide by the rule is up to their will,” Bardako?lu said, noting that the headscarf dispute can be solved with dialogue between political parties. 

‘Religion and Ethics’ course should be obligatory

  Bardako?lu said religious culture and ethics courses in the high school curriculum should remain obligatory. “These courses are not about the state steering students’ minds according to a certain religion. With accurate information on religions, pupils are protected from misinformation and abuse of religion by the courses,” Bardako?lu said.

  Deficiencies and errors in a course cannot be a reason for its abolition, although improvements in the course are possible, he added.

  Alevis are a positive trait in the diverse Islamic culture, Bardako?lu said, denying that Alevi rituals are alternatives to prayers in the Sunni tradition. “I cannot change the rules of Islam, five times of prayers a day is an obligation under Islamic rules, regardless of whether a Sunni or an Alevi observe it,” Bardako?lu said. 

  The Alevi denomination is a distinct and liberal movement in Islam with its believers mostly found in Turkey and Syria. 

Source: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=94003

Posted by: Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout, info@al-amana.org