Turkey's top religious body continues to spend at record levels

The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has spent 9.9 billion liras in the first half of 2022, which corresponds to 70 percent of its allotted budget for the year.

This file photo shows Diyanet head Ali Erbaş.

Duvar English

Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) has spent 9.9 billion liras in the first half of 2022 -- 55 percent higher than the same period in 2021.

With this figure, Diyanet spent 70 percent of its allotted budget for 2022, the daily BirGün reported on Aug. 7.

Diyanet announced that 9.6 billion liras of this expenditure was made within the context of "Religious Services and Non-Formal Religious Education."

The personnel expense of the organization, which was 5.2 billion liras in the first half of 2021, increased to 8.1 billion liras in the January-June 2022 period.

Under the leadership of Ali Erbaş, the Diyanet has become one of the best-funded institutions in Turkey. The directorate was allocated 12.3 billion liras for 2021 and 13.1 billion liras for 2022, exceeding the budget of some ministries.

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Topics Diyanet Diyanet budget Turkey