HDP: 'The petition by the Directorate of Religious Affairs is a shame'

Drawing: Ercan Altuntaş

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Peoples and Beliefs Committee of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) issued a statement about the petition by the Directorate of Religious Affairs requesting to intervene in the Kobani case.

The Directorate of Religious Affairs had intervened in the case before again, for the reason of damage caused in places of worship, recalls the statement. "But the real intention of the directorate was in fact revealed with this current petition," it states.

"An effort to influence the judicial process"

This last petition that the directorate has sent to Ankara 22nd Heavy Penal Court "is one of the clearest signs of the thirst for revenge," says the HDP committee.

"The arguments of the Directorate of Religious Affairs which is not based on any legal evidence is only an effort to influence the judicial process," they further state.

The Directorate of Religious Affairs is using turning the beliefs, the sacred values, and the places of worship of the people into useful tools in order to legitimize government policies, according to the committee.

"They cannot stop our struggle to ensure that all peoples and all beliefs should live and be expressed freely by means of such conspiracy law cases or various scenarios," says today's statement and adds, "AKP and their allies who exploit religion for their political gain  will give account for this both before the law and in the presence of the God."

What did the petition by Directorate of Religious Affairs say?

"The Directorate of Religious Affairs works so as to inform the society about religion with correct and actual information based on the primary resources of the İslam religion, to manage the services related to belief and morals, and to administrate the places of worship in order to keep alive the religious, moral and sentimental values of the society," says the last petition submitted by the Directorate of Religious Affairs to the court.

The acts and behaviors of the people standing trial "led to irreparable results in this context", it argues.

"It is beyond dispute that if the confidence and trust are lost in the religious services that address to the conscience, this field which does not allow for any gaps will be filled in with various deviant currents and groups," it further states. (AS/PE)