Turkey: Controversy over religious views on volleyball celebrations

A controversy has emerged in Turkey regarding religious views on celebrating the success of the women's national volleyball team. Following the team's second consecutive European Championship victory, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted and congratulated the players at the Presidential Palace.

This event has reignited discussions surrounding a previous religious ruling (fatwa) made by Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü, known as ‘Cübbeli Ahmet’. In 2021, Ünlü claimed that congratulating female volleyball players is religiously forbidden (haram) and suggested that such actions could lead to a person leaving the faith.

İsmail Kılıçarslan, a columnist for the pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak, questioned the consistency of this stance during a television program. Kılıçarslan highlighted the contradiction between the religious claim and the President's official reception and public congratulations of the athletes, asking how the President's actions align with Ünlü's previous assertions.