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While all Muslim citizens of Turkey are entitled to free funeral services courtesy of the nation's top religious authority, Diyanet, the institution said Tuesday it would not offer services including funeral prayers for slain soldiers involved in the failed coup attempt.
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According to national newspaper Hurriyet, the statement argues that coup plotting soldiers do not deserve to receive the blessings granted by Muslim funeral prayers, as they “not only put individual laws under their feet but the whole nation’s with the actions they were involved in,” and so religious funeral services would not be provided for these people.
However, the statement said that funeral services will still be provided to soldiers and officers who were “dragged into the incidents forcibly and by threat, who found themselves in the clashes without knowing what was going on.”
The institution is one of the most pro-government bodies in the country as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development party, or AKP, expanded it and significantly increased its budget and influence in the country since coming to power in the early 2000s.
Erdogan has accused his former ally turned arch-enemy, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, of orchestrating the coup which has resulted in at least 265 deaths, more than 1,000 injuries and 6,000 arrests. However, no evidence has been provided to back up the claims.
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