Imam suspended for saying that "those who oppose the veil are infidels"«
Northern Cyprus Religious Affairs suspends imam for denying funeral services to anyone who opposes headscarf.
Ibrahim Damar
Bimanset.com
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In Northern Cyprus, the Department of Religious Affairs has suspended the imam of Hamitköy, İbrahim Damar, after he posted on social media statements in which he labelled those who reject the Islamic veil in schools as ’infidels“ and denied them the right to a religious funeral. According to the outlet Bimanset, his exact words were:«I say it plainly: anyone who opposes the veil is an infidel. You cannot perform the funeral prayer for an infidel.».
The controversy of headscarf at school
Damar's statements were directed at the KTOEÖS teachers' union. This union defends secularism and public education free from religious influence. Several public figures immediately denounced his comments.
As a result, the Department of Religious Affairs has opened a disciplinary investigation and has temporarily removed İbrahim Damar from his duties.
One of the most forceful responses came from Kudret Özersay, leader of the People's Party (HP), who denounced the imam to the Department of Religious Affairs, the police and the public prosecutor's office. Özersay explained that his party had lodged the complaint on legal grounds, as they considered that “A hate crime had been committed.”He recalled that they had requested a disciplinary investigation and They had also referred the case to the Prosecutor's Office and the police. According to him, “it is not enough to make statements; we must take action.”.
Islamic but secular majority
Cyprus is a divided island in the eastern Mediterranean. The southern part is of Greek culture and is part of the European Union. The northern part is controlled by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a self-proclaimed state recognised only by Turkey since 1983.
In Northern Cyprus, the vast majority of the population — around 99 per cent — identify as Sunni Muslim. However, this does not mean that religion dominates public life. In fact, Turkish Cypriot society has been characterised for decades by a a moderate and secular interpretation of Islam, heavily influenced by the secular culture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's republican Turkey.
For many years, the’public education, institutions and even religious practice were maintained within a framework secular and tolerant. Many Muslim women did not wear the veil, and religion was considered a private matter.
Erdogan exports his model conservative
In recent times, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan It has pursued a foreign policy that exports its model of conservative Islam beyond Turkey. In Northern Cyprus, this approach has translated into a Greater institutional presence of religion, with the construction of mosques, the sending of imams trained in Turkey and the attempt to introduce religious values into public education.
This more visible religiosity, directed from Ankara, has met with resistance from certain quarters. secular within Turkish Cypriot society. One of the most active opponents is the teachers' union. KTOEÖS, which advocates a public school free from religious impositions. The union has denounced the presence of imams in schools, compulsory religious instruction and what it considers to be growing interference by the Turkish government in the territory's education system.
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