ISTANBUL,
July 11 (IslamOnline.net) - Turkey has decided to allow women to apply
for religious jobs, including deputy mufti, in an unprecedented move
that is part of measures recently taken by the secular country to put
women on an equal footing with men to consolidate its European Union
bid.
Deputy
Director of the Religious Affairs Association (RAA) Fikrat Karman said
the decision will enter into force in major cities, such as Istanbul
and Ankara, first after necessary amendments are introduced in the
by-laws of the state-run body.
Job
applicants will have first to take obligatory tests starting Monday,
July 12, and running for two days.
They
will be vying for 147 religious jobs, including 98 for teaching the
Noble Qur'an.
The
move is part of a government plan to appoint 594 female employees in
religious guidance jobs.
A
four-year higher education in a related field and five years
experience are a must to get the job.
Massoud
Sabri, a researcher in IslamOnline.net's Fatwa Section, said that
Shari`ah does not ban women from holding such religious posts as long
as they have mastered jurisprudence and can opine on religious
intricacies.
Turkey
has not appointed a Mufti since 1923, when Kamal Ataturk declared the
republic and toppled the Ottoman emperor.
It
has only set up fatwa departments in each province that are all
affiliated with the RAA.
The
move is part of recent reforms introduced by the governing Justice and
Development party (AK) to adapt to the EU accession yardsticks.
