Turkey's top cleric has said that equating all religious nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) would "not be right."

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Görmez, head of the Pres'dency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), told reporters that holding meetings with NGOs that contribute toward religious education and services in the country were part of the directorate's agenda.

Görmez said the meetings were aimed at preventing harm in the aftermath of the July 15 defeated coup and to prevent any possible mistakes about religion by cooperating with these nongovernmental organizations.

"It is not right to evaluate any of the structures [NGOs] that serve sincerely in the most difficult times of the nation over the betrayal of FETÖ and it is necessary that every structure that aims to provide religious education and religious services should question itself. Voluntary organizations must [carefully] observe their politics and trade relations as well as their relations in the international arena and must be sincere about how they present themselves to society," he said.He said the directorate was holding talks with not only religious sects and communities, but also with all the legal entities contributing to religious education and religious services in Turkey.

Gormez said some of the questions the directorate was tackling include, "How can we ensure that the structures delivering religious service and religious education will stay within the framework they have promised?" and "Can we find a better solution with an internal control without interfering with their autonomy?"