The Turkish regime leader Erdoğan has fully supported the homophobic state imam Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş. The statements of the head of the Turkish religious authority Diyanet, in which homosexuality is described as "fornication from which mankind must be protected, which corrupts whole generations and is responsible for the death of thousands of people from AIDS”, were described by Erdoğan as "absolutely right". He said that any attack on Erbaş is an attack against the state.

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor's office in Ankara has opened an investigation against the Ankara Bar Association for "insulting religious values". The Bar Association had said: "The head of Diyanet, Ali Erbaş, receives his reward for closing both eyes to child rapists during his term of office and for trying to legitimise hostility towards women through religious discourse. He remains in office despite his statements on the earthquake, LGBTI+, women and children. It would not be surprising if, after his last speech, he called on the people to go out into the streets with torches and burn women as witches."

The Bar Association of Diyarbakır, which similarly criticized the sermon of Erbaş, is also subjected to an investigation opened by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The bar association had denounced a violation of the constitutional prohibition of discrimination with hate speeches.

The Islamic association DITIB, which is active in Germany, among other places in schools, and cooperates closely with state agencies, is part of Diyanet and spreads the same reactionary and inciting discourses as its parent organization in Turkey.