Turkey’s Diyanet intends to ban some Quran Translations

Details of Turkey’s Planned Ban on Certain Quran Translations

A Turkish parliamentary committee has recently approved a controversial bill that would grant the state-run Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) sweeping powers to censor, seize, and destroy Quran translations it deems “contrary to the essential principles of Islam”15. Under this proposed legislation, a Diyanet-appointed board would review Quran translations (“meal”) and, if found objectionable, could petition the courts to halt their publication, mandate the destruction of existing copies, and block or remove digital versions—even while legal appeals are pending15.

The bill stipulates that:

• Diyanet can initiate court proceedings against translations or interpretations it finds inconsistent with its definition of Islamic principles.

• Enforcement of bans and destruction orders would proceed immediately, even if an appeal is filed, effectively allowing for rapid removal of materials from circulation1.

• If no objection is made, or if the appeal is rejected, the translations would be permanently eliminated1.

• The law would also apply to online publications, allowing courts to block access or remove content15.

Critics argue that this move would significantly increase state control over religious expression and suppress alternative interpretations of Islam, turning the Diyanet into a de facto censorship body15. The bill’s vague language, especially in defining what is “contrary to the essential principles of Islam,” has raised concerns about arbitrary enforcement and threats to religious freedom15.

Comparison with Previous Quran Bans in Turkey and Beyond

In Turkey

• Recent Precedents: The Diyanet has previously used its regulatory power to ban specific Quran translations. For example, in 2023, a Turkish court banned the sale and ordered the collection of İhsan Eliaçık’s Turkish translation and commentary (“Yaşayan Kur’an Türkçe Meal-Tefsir”) after Diyanet argued it violated its 2019 regulation on Quran translations279. The court later lifted the ban after Eliaçık’s appeal, but the process illustrated Diyanet’s central role in policing religious texts29.

• Language Restrictions: The Diyanet has also declared that reading the Quran and the call to prayer (Adhan) in Turkish is not allowed, insisting that both must be performed in Arabic3. This stance echoes earlier Republican-era policies but is now enforced under a religious rather than secular rationale.

Historical and International Context

• Ottoman and Early Republican Turkey: During the early years of the Turkish Republic, the call to prayer was required to be recited in Turkish, but this policy was later reversed. Bans on Quran translations have not been as systematic since the late 20th century, making the current move a significant reversal toward tighter state control3.

• Balkans: In the Balkans, bans on Quran translations were enforced by religious authorities and, later, by communist regimes. For example, the Mufti of Albania banned reading Quran translations in 1924, and the communist regime continued to suppress translations until 199111.

• Europe: In medieval and early modern Europe, the Catholic Church banned Quran translations, fearing their influence. For instance, Pope Clemens VI outlawed the Quran in 1309, and translations could only appear with official warnings and censorship108. The 1559 Index of Prohibited Books included Latin translations of the Quran10.

• Russia: More recently, Russia has banned certain Quran translations, such as the Azeri theologian Elmir Kuliyev’s version, on grounds of promoting extremism, ordering their destruction6.

• General Trends: Throughout history, bans on Quran translations have often been justified by claims of doctrinal purity or fears of heresy, but they have also served as tools for political or ideological control481011.

Comparison Table: Turkey’s 2025 Bill vs. Historical Quran Bans

Some critiques:

Threats to Freedom of Thought and Religious Scholarship

• Taha Akyol, a respected Turkish columnist and legal scholar, has strongly criticized the recent Turkish bill empowering Diyanet to censor Quran translations. Akyol argues that such measures threaten both religious and intellectual freedom, warning that the law echoes historical attempts to suppress theological and philosophical inquiry in Islam. He emphasizes that the ability to reinterpret and contextualize the Quran for the modern age is essential for religious and scholarly progress. According to Akyol, the Diyanet’s new authority risks turning it into a rigid, bureaucratic censorship body, undermining the diversity of Islamic thought and stifling debate among theologians1.

• Akyol draws on Islamic intellectual history, noting that Islam has grown through debate, not censorship. He references the early Islamic period, when scholars like Hasan al-Basri engaged with new theological questions, and later eras when encounters with Greek philosophy necessitated fresh interpretations of religious texts. He also cites Prof. İsmail Cerrahoğlu’s History of Tafsir, which documents the rich variety of interpretive schools in Islam—lexical, legal, philosophical, sectarian, and scientific—questioning which of these traditions Diyanet might now suppress1.

Concerns Over Legal and Constitutional Rights

• Critics, including independent lawmaker Mustafa Yeneroğlu, warn that the bill’s vague language—especially what constitutes “essential principles of Islam”—undermines legal certainty and the rule of law. They argue that this violates constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and could criminalize nonconforming theological interpretations without adequate judicial safeguards5.

• The case of İhsan Eliaçık, whose Quran translation was banned and then reinstated by Turkish courts, is cited as evidence of arbitrary and potentially unconstitutional enforcement. Eliaçık himself argued that the Diyanet’s actions violated Article 26 of the Turkish Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and dissemination of thought68.

Historical and Comparative Perspectives

• Scholars highlight that the suppression of Quranic translations is not unique to Turkey. Similar bans in Russia, for example, have been widely criticized by academics and religious leaders as arbitrary and counterproductive, often antagonizing large segments of the population and undermining social cohesion2.

• Academic studies of Islamic history stress that tafsir (interpretation) and translation have always been dynamic fields, with reinterpretation occurring in response to changing social and intellectual contexts. Attempts to freeze religious understanding or enforce a singular interpretation are seen as contrary to the historical development of Islamic thought17.

The Role of State vs. Scholarly Authority

• Akyol and other critics argue that while Diyanet is the highest authority in religious services, it is not the highest scientific or academic institution. The exclusion of academic theologians from the process of evaluating Quran translations is seen as a move away from scholarly rigor toward bureaucratic control1.

• The broader academic consensus is that religious texts—including the Quran and hadith—have always been subject to commentary and reinterpretation. As noted by Muslim cleric Obidkhon Qori Nazarov, “Commenting and interpreting them in a given historical context can happen anytime and is nothing unusual”7.