Turkey's official religious ministry, the Directorate of Religious Affairs, often called Diyanet, has issued a report about the Islamic State. Titled “The Basic Philosophy and Religious References of Daesh,” the 40-page document explains how IS deviates from Islamic norms, wreaks carnage on innocent people and defames the name of Islam. It also underlines the differences between the more moderate tradition of Islam practiced in Turkey and the fanaticism of IS. The report is currently available only in Turkish, but English, Arabic and Kurdish versions are reportedly coming soon.
The Diyanet conspicuously uses the term Daesh, which is the Arabic equivalent of the English acronym ISIS and Turkish ISID. The latter is in fact the most commonly used term in Turkey, but the Turkish government has lately opted for Daesh, probably to avoid repeating a reference to Islam to which Turkish society may immediately relate. It is also notable that the report came out at a time when the Turkish government has finally joined the military intervention led by the United States.
The basic thesis of the report is that IS “lacks the appropriate methodology” in interpreting Islam and “instrumentalizes religion” for its own political purposes. It underlines that the group is based on “political Salafism,” which it criticizes as lacking the wisdom of mainstream Sunni Islam enriched by theology and Sufism. The report also argues that IS displays a dogmatic militancy akin to that of the Khawarij, a fierce sect in early Islam that excommunicated and targeted fellow Muslims.
In a key paragraph, the report summarizes what is wrong with the literalist and dogmatic strains that have appeared at different times since the beginning of Islam, finally culminating in IS:
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