Exorbitant profit in Diyanet's book sales! The fatwa that 'God is the one who sets prices' comes back to the agenda...

At a time when price hikes have reached their peak, it has emerged that the Presidency of Religious Affairs, which issued the fatwa 'God is the one who sets prices,' sells the books it publishes at well above their cost.

According to the report by Mustafa Bildircin from Birgün; the Presidency of Religious Affairs completed the printing tender for the work titled 'Riyazü's Salihin' on March 15. Within the scope of the tender, a total of 30 thousand sets of the work were printed. It was reported that each set consists of three books. The printing cost of the books was 4 million 819 thousand 500 TL. Based on the total printing cost of 4.8 million TL, the cost of each set amounted to 160 TL.

EXORBITANT PROFIT ON SALES PRICE

The Presidency put the three-book Riyazü’s Salihin set, which it had printed for 160 TL, on sale through the Diyanet Foundation's book sales website. As of January 6, it was stated that the discounted sales price of the set was 250 TL. Diyanet added a 56 percent profit margin to the sale of the Riyazü’s Salihin set.

A similar picture was seen with the book titled 'Kur’an Yolu Türkçe Meal ve Tefsir' (Quran Path Turkish Translation and Commentary). It was determined that the Presidency put the book, 30 thousand copies of which it had printed on February 15 for 7 million 579 thousand TL, on sale with an exorbitant profit. Within the scope of the agreement made with the printing house, the unit sales price of the books, which were printed at 252 TL each, was recorded as 450 TL. The profit margin on the sales price of the book was calculated as 79 percent.

THE 2022 FATWA HAD BEEN A SUBJECT OF DEBATE

The response given on July 20, 2022, to the question 'Is there a profit margin in trade?' on Diyanet's fatwa website sparked public debate. In the fatwa shared by the High Board of Religious Affairs in response to the question, the expressions, 'There is no doubt that it is God who sets prices, provides scarcity and abundance, and provides sustenance,' were used.

News Source: 12punto