Türkiye Diyanet Foundation faces 48% fund-loss allegation

Türkiye Diyanet Foundation faced an allegation in an Oct. 18 Haber Ekspres article that donations and zakat, religious almsgiving, for Palestinians and other beneficiaries lost 48% after being placed in investment funds.

For Türkiye Diyanet Foundation, the report raises governance and religious-compliance questions because the High Board of Religious Affairs said in a March 23, 2022, decision that zakat should not be invested for yield before reaching recipients.

Haber Ekspres said its account relied on reporting by Yavuz Alatan of Sözcü. The article said Safi Arpaguş, president of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, had instructed that the foundation exit the funds.

The article said the foundation wanted to withdraw all invested money, but official procedures allowed only part of it to be recovered. It did not give the total amount invested, the sum left in funds or the method used to calculate the alleged 48% loss.

Haber Ekspres said Diyanet sources, in the report it cited, described the money as being evaluated in another fund and denied that a loss had occurred. The article also said money that could be withdrawn was transferred to a participation bank.

The board decision quoted by Haber Ekspres said such use of zakat before distribution is “caiz değildir,” or not religiously permissible. The article said the alleged fund placements were linked to a recommendation by the General Directorate of Foundations to protect money from inflation.

The article said Anahtar Party Deputy Chair Özcan Gündör discussed the issue with Türkiye Diyanet Foundation President İzani Turan. It said the discussion confirmed that funds allocated for Palestine and other urgent-need areas had been evaluated in investment funds, but it did not report a detailed public statement from Türkiye Diyanet Foundation or Diyanet on the amounts involved.

Source: News article, Haber Ekspres, Oct. 18, 2026.