You’d almost think that Hayrettin Karaman, leading theologian and issuer of fatwas, thought that democracy and Islam were incompatible, but that would be “Islamophobic.”
“Erdoğan cleric says voting ‘yes’ in referendum is Islamic obligation,” Turkish Minute, April 13, 2017 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Hayrettin Karaman, a leading theologian and issuer of fatwas, or religious edicts, for ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) circles and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wrote in a column on Thursday that casting a “yes” vote in a referendum on April 16 is a fard, the Islamic term for a religious obligation.
Turkey will vote on a constitutional reform package in the referendum which will introduce an executive presidency if approved. The reforms will greatly increase Erdoğan’s powers while weakening Parliament.
“If we say, ‘yes,’ the process which began under Erdoğan’s leadership in 2002 will continue. If a ‘no’ vote is cast, there will be a gradual return to the old, which is bad. … Taking a step that will bring us closer to our goal by saying, ‘yes’ falls within the principle of ‘every action which completes a fard and makes someone get closer to it is a fard’,” wrote Karaman….
Karaman had also said that the “no” voters in the April 16 referendum are opponents of Islam.