Rola Dyrektoriatu ds. Religijnych w tureckiej polityce zagranicznej

The aim of this article is to present Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) as a major political institution in contemporary Turkey. Established in 1924 to oversee mosques and supervise religious practice, Diyanet as a state organization was obliged to guard the republic’s secular identity. Although Turkey was ofcially declared a secular state in 1937, successive governments have granted Directorate new responsibilities, attempting to manage religion in accordance with their own political interests. In the early 1970s, Diyanet began operating in Western Europe where its local branches provided religious services to the Turkish diaspora. Two decades later, the institution expanded its influence to regions with which Turkey had historical and cultural ties (e.g. Balkans, Central Asia). After Justice and Development Party (tur. Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi − AKP) came to power in 2002, Diyanet has become one of the main instruments of its foreign policy by promoting Turkish version of moderate Islam abroad. In this context, the fundamental goal of Turkey is to achieve a status of leader among Muslim countries. At present, the almost unlimited budget of the Directorate and its global scope of activities testify to the institution’s importance for President Erdoğan and the AKP.