Ali Erbaş, head of the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), provoked a controversy in Turkey with his homophobic statements at the start of Ramadan. Among other things, he hinted that homosexuals were partly to blame for the Corona pandemic. Erdoğan agreed with the clergyman.

In his sermon at the beginning of Ramadan on April 24th, Erbaş called on people to oppose “evil” homosexuality. He expressed his opinion that homosexuality and extra-marital relationships let whole generations rot and lead to diseases. He also hinted that homosexuals and their transgressions are to blame for Corona.

“Islam curses homosexuality. Homosexuality brings disease and the decay of descent. Let us work together to protect people from such evils.”

The comments led to political controversy in Turkey. The Ankara Bar Association sharply criticized the country’s highest religious authority, and politicians of the opposition and civil society organisations joined in. They described the speech as a hate crime and denounced the unscientific and discriminatory statements, which are nonsense in the present century. Elifcan Demirtaş, a specialist in queer rights at the Bar Association, even presented the statements as a serious danger, as they would legitimise acts of violence against members of the community.

Firat Soyle, working for the queer counselling centre Lambdaistanbul, assessed the theologian’s statement as a crime against the constitution of Turkey:

“Erbaş has violated the principle of peaceful coexistence by putting itself above the constitution. Because according to the constitution every citizen is equal in society.”

Politicians of Erdoğans right-wing party defended the head of the Diyanet authority. The politician and journalist Ömer Celik, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs until 2018, praised the cleric in a Twitter post for defending Islamic values. He attacked Erbaş critics, accusing them of fascism and claiming that they would deprive people of the right to speak according to the value system they believe in.

The Ankara prosecutor’s office announced to the press agency Thomson Reuters that it had opened investigations against the Ankara and Diyarbakir bar associations – on suspicion of disparagement of religious values by accusing the Diyanet leader of sedition.

Finally, the Turkish President also took a stand in the debate. Unsurprisingly, he took to the side of Erbaş. He declared that everything the theologian had said was absolutely correct. Ergo not only the rejection of homosexuality, but also the inciting insinuations that homosexuals are to blame for epidemics like Corona. In the direction of the critics of the clergyman Erdoğan made clear:

“An attack on the president of the religion board is an attack on the state.”

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