Turkey may remove Koran class age limit

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Turkish minister of labor and social security says the country's law against children under 12 taking courses on the Koran may be abolished.

Minister Faruk Celik said placing an age restriction on classes about the sacred book of Muslims was not appropriate, Bianet reported Wednesday. Under the Turkish Constitution, religious education in schools is compulsory .

"Apart from that, religious education and teaching is up to the individual preference and to the request of the minor's legal guardian," he said of the constitutional requirement. "There is no such thing as age limitation."

Data shows that more than 1 million students took Koran courses in 2002, up from 715,000 in 2000.

The initial proposal to change the Turkish law on class age limits, which has been in place for 10 years, was made in February by Great Union Party official Muhsin Yazıcıoglu, who died in a March helicopter crash.

The proposal will go before the Constitutional Court Thursday, Bianet said.