Turkey’s religious body warns against ‘declarations of Jihad’ in eight languages

ISTANBUL

Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate head Mehmet Görmez speaks at a conference. AA photo

Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) has warned of sectarian strife emerging from the “chaotic environment” in Syria and Iraq, while listing “declarations of Jihad” as one of the “pre-shocks of approaching mass disasters.”

“It is inevitable that the Islamic world will suffer permanent humane, social, religious and sectarian divisions if these events continue to escalate unabated,” Diyanet Chairman Prof. Dr. Mehmet Görmez said in a statement released on June 18 in eight languages, urging Sunnis and Shiites to “mend differences.”