'Giving muftis authority to register marriages is a secular move', says Turkey's deputy PM

As reactions from the opposition grew in regards to a recent proposal by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to grant ‘muftis’ - Islamic legal experts working under Presidency of Religion Affairs - the role and authority to officially authorize and register marriages, deputy PM Bekir Bozdağ responded to criticism on Sunday (July 30) with a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

‘The proposed rule will make it easier and faster to go through the official marriage process and actually protect the women’s rights’, Bozdağ said.

Stating ‘everyone has the right to get their official solemnization the way they wish, in accordance with the laws’, Bozdağ also claimed this is a practice that is actually ‘needed in a secular system’.

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/chp-li-zeynep-altiok-tan-bekir-bozdag-a-muftu-nikahi-yanit-172454.html