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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001043 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE POSTS 
"PROPER" CONDUCT GUIDANCE 
 
 
¶1. (U) Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate's (Diyanet) 
guidance on "appropriate" conduct for Muslims, posted on its 
website, is generating considerable debate, particularly 
proscriptions governing "sexual life."  The list attracted 
attention during a May Provincial Muftis Conference; Radikal 
daily and several women's groups criticized warnings against 
women and men remaining alone together, women wearing perfume 
and dating as increasing discrimination and violence against 
women.  Diyanet officials claim the information was taken out 
of context and is part of a broader catechism that has been 
on the website since 2006 and published in books since 2002. 
 
¶2. (U) According to the Diyanet guidance, women must be 
particularly careful because they have "sexual stimulants" 
that can arouse strangers.  They should cover themselves when 
they go out, be serious and modest when talking to strangers 
and not wear perfume outside their homes.  Failure to do so 
constitutes "immoral" behavior, contrary to the Prophet 
Mohammed's teachings.  Dating before marriage constitutes 
adultery and a woman should not travel alone or remain alone 
in a closed place with a strange man; otherwise, Satan will 
join them, resulting in adultery or gossip that might damage 
their chastity.  Radikal reported that some books published 
by the Diyanet Foundation claim shaking hands with the 
opposite sex, co-education and dating lead to sexual 
perversion.  Diyanet officials distanced themselves from the 
charge, stating each publishing house is individually 
responsible for content. 
 
¶3. (U) Diyanet Chief, Professor Ali Bardakoglu, backpedaled 
when asked about the guidance, stating a relationship between 
unmarried people is not adultery but is also not something 
permitted by Islam, either.  "Our religion encourages seeing 
each other before marriage.  What has been banned is for 
unmarried couples to exceed the restrictions imposed by Islam 
on being together," he explained.  The Diyanet guidance is 
not a fatwa, Bardakoglu emphasized.  State Minister Sait 
Yazicioglu also stressed that "interpretations" should not be 
regarded as requirements of Islam; some provisions are 
unquestionable but many other aspects could be interpreted in 
different ways.  Applying ancient interpretations to today's 
conditions would lead to problems, he added. 
 
¶4. (U) Several women's groups objected to the guidance as 
justifying sexual harassment by portraying women as 
provocateurs, and discouraging women from working outside the 
home.  "These explanations work directly towards deepening 
sexual inequality; they become part of the discrimination 
against women," commented Kizbes Aydin, head of the Women's 
Culture House Association.  The Diyanet influences how men 
and women think and behave; Diyanet comments are accepted 
without debate, Zozan Ozgokce of the Van Women's Association 
explained.  Ozgokce views the guidance as an obstacle, 
preventing things from changing.  She noted that women in Van 
do not sit on bus seats vacated by men until the man's warmth 
has dissipated because of a similar warning.  Muftus' words 
are taken very seriously, therefore they should comment about 
universal issues rather than specific behavior, she said. 
Aysegul Kanat, a women's activist, agreed, calling the 
guidance very dangerous.  People see them as scientifically 
proven information and they create pressure on women to 
conform, she said. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment.  In Turkey's polarized political 
atmosphere, such "religious edicts" deepen the concerns of 
those Turks wary of the ruling Justice and Development 
Party's (AKP) pro-Islam roots.  Two other recent incidents 
piqued suspicions as well: an Ankara University rowing team, 
in Sapanca (near Istanbul) for a championship race, was 
attacked May 31 by locals for wearing shorts and tights, and 
lingerie shops in Malatya reportedly received threat letters 
warning them to remove lingerie from store windows because 
the displays violate Turkey's ethical principles.  Pious 
Turks complain they cannot live their religion openly; the 
ban on headscarves in state offices and universities is one 
example.  At the same time, media reports of pressure to 
comply with Islamic precepts inflame fears that less pious 
Turks risk being forced to be publicly observant.  End 
comment. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
ANKARA 00001043  002 OF 002 
 
 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON