While the Pope drives a Renault, Gormez enjoys a 350,000 euro Mercedes

Mehmet Gormez, Turkey's highest religious authority, faced a wave of criticism on Saturday due to his decision to choose a luxurious Mercedes S 500 for an official vehicle, purchased with taxpayer money, at a price of 350,000 euros, writes the daily newspaper Hurriyet, reports the Patria News Agency.

Besides the controversial Mercedes, Diyanet, the religious affairs directorate funded by taxpayer money, also purchased 14 Toyota vehicles for its officials who previously drove more modest Renault Symbols (a variant of the Renault Clio).

Gormez's choice angered Turks who are pointing out on social media that such extravagance contradicts Islamic principles.

"Let's call the fatwa hotline (a binding opinion of Islamic theologians according to Islamic law) and ask if it is 'haram' (forbidden) according to Islam to buy a luxury vehicle for the president of Diyanet with citizens' money," wrote former footballer Hakan Sukur.

Others have called for Gormez's resignation. The Religious Affairs Directorate has not denied the purchase but claims the price is lower than reported in the media, that all vehicles were purchased with the approval of the Ministry of Finance, and that everything is transparent.

Mehmet Gormez was one of the religious officials who received Pope Francis during his visit to Turkey in November. An opponent of all luxury, Francis was driven in a Renault Symbol at the time.

Secular Turkey was unpleasantly surprised by the extravagance of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the Pope's visit, who showed the Pope and the public a new palace in Ankara with over a thousand rooms. That luxurious presidential palace cost taxpayers nearly 500 million euros.