If the imam breaks wind, the congregation...

There is a saying, "If the imam breaks wind, the congregation..." An incident that perfectly summarizes this situation occurred in recent days!

The incident concerns the imams of a neighborhood mosque, but the mufti's office they report to, and the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) to which that office reports, all seem to be acting as the embodiment of the aforementioned proverb.

During the week, two imams in Mersin were exposed. One was filmed drinking alcohol on the beach with friends, while the other became a victim of his own fantasies...

Imam H.G., who serves in the Erdemli district, appeared on social media with footage taken while he was drinking whiskey with his friends. Then, he graced the newspaper headlines. The imam was not in his turban, skullcap, or robe, of course; he was in civilian clothes, downing a bottle of whiskey! The imam's wife said that citizens, and even she herself, had complained about the imam to CİMER (Presidential Communication Center) but no action was taken. The woman described her husband by saying, "I couldn't prove it, but I also think he is cheating on me. He drinks at night and then leads the congregation in prayer the next morning."

The other imam made headlines with his nude images. Imam L.S., who was having a video call with a woman on his mobile phone, suddenly strips down. While addressing the woman as "Baby," he becomes stark naked and shows his private parts to the camera!

However, this imam is sharper than the other. Once the images were leaked, he immediately filed a criminal complaint, saying, "They set me up, they are blackmailing me!" Isn't this the argument we hear most often lately? Like every shameless person caught in the act in the New Turkey, he too is shifting the blame onto others.

Of course, what these two imams experience concerns them. The part that concerns us is the indifference of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, which lectures everyone on morality, in the face of this incident.

Yet, while these scandals were unfolding, Diyanet had been ranting and raving about another issue. There is only one day between the imams' scandal and Diyanet's statement.

What did Diyanet say? "We do not accept cohabitation without marriage!" Diyanet, which sees itself as having the authority to decide what we eat and drink, how we dress, and how we make love, did not make a sound about these two imams.

Is this a classic "Everything is permissible for those who are one of us" mentality?

But we are not strangers to this approach by Diyanet anyway. For example, Diyanet, which issued the statement "We do not accept cohabitation without marriage," did not clarify which marriage it meant. Does it not accept unions without a civil marriage, or unions without an imam-performed religious marriage?

Performing a religious marriage without a civil marriage was previously considered a crime under Article 237 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), and in such cases, the parties could be sentenced to prison. However, with the decision taken by the Constitutional Court on May 27, 2015, this criminal sanction was abolished.

During which period did this happen? Who was it that encouraged imam-performed marriages again?

Now we must ask Diyanet: How do you view the mentality that says "the minor consented" regarding children married off through imam-performed marriages?

Do you accept cult members, cult sheikhs, or even bureaucrats and politicians who live with "mistresses"—known as such in society—but who have found a loophole by living under an imam-performed marriage?

Or, if we marry four women through imam-performed marriages, do you accept them as married?