The last ironer in Hajj...

There are exactly 90 thousand mosques in Turkey...

And every week, sermons prepared by the Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs) are read in these mosques. It is always the same suggestion: "Be grateful, be patient, be content..." Of course, these pieces of advice are always for the poor citizen... Because the Diyanet itself does not practice gratitude, patience, or contentment.

Look, the latest incident is the final straw!

Last week, news emerged that Seher Erbaş, the wife of the President of Religious Affairs, Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş, had gone on Hajj via a VIP quota. As is the case with every incident, a denial came at jet speed, for some reason.

It was stated that:

"Our President and his wife did not go through the pilgrim quota, but with an invitation from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, using a special Hajj visa."

Fine, that's all well and good... It might have been an invitation, it's within the realm of possibility.

But the real issue spilled out afterward:

The Erbaş couple took an ironer from Ankara to Mecca for their Hajj duty! You heard that right, an ironer...

The ironing staff ironed the clothes of Erbaş and his wife throughout the Hajj. Not to mention the clothes of high-level Diyanet officials and Erbaş's close team... Of course, that ironing was also done by Diyanet personnel brought from Turkey.

Again, the classic denial came; we are used to it by now. They said:

"The ironers serve all pilgrims."

I am calling out from here: I would like to ask our citizens who went on Hajj; who ironed your clothes? Were you also provided with ironing services?

Or is that service only valid for the "upper-tier pilgrim"?

The issue is exactly here. This country's chronic illness...

Our ancestors didn't say it for nothing:

"Preach to others, but do the opposite yourself."

Do what the imam says, but never question what the imam does!

But I am sure that this ironing staff will not be taken on Hajj again after these reports. In other words, those hardworking brothers and sisters there are "the last ironers in Hajj"...

The Diyanet is one of the institutions that receives the most budget in Turkey.

However, according to research, it is also one of the institutions that the public trusts the least!

Are we surprised?

We are not. Because what society thinks or what the public feels does not matter.

If you are currying favor with the political authority, the matter is settled.

But there is a forgotten truth:

A fish rots from the head down!

When this order continues like this at the top, the gears at the bottom also break down.

Here is the scandal that emerged in Konya in recent days...

4 imams whose diplomas were determined to be fake were arrested. Moreover, it is alleged that these imams had been serving with fake diplomas for years and preaching to congregation members in large mosques.

What a coincidence that they were all members of the İsmailağa Community.

What is the Diyanet doing while these things are happening?

Chasing after ironing, at luxury tables, in special VIP Hajj organizations...

And the citizen is still listening to the same suggestion:

"Be grateful, be patient, be content..."

NOTE: Journalism is not just about finding and writing or interpreting news. The headline you write for every story is like an advertising slogan a copywriter finds for a product. The headline of this article was "Hajj with an iron, prayer with a fake diploma"...

When I sent the article to my dear editor friend Erdinç Yapan, with whom I have worked together in various institutions for years, to be published, he said, "So, the last ironer in Hajj, then"... That is how the headline of the article changed. Being a team and working with good journalists is exactly like this... I thank first Erdinç and then all my teammates who are trying to do free and accurate journalism with all their might.