Having begun in 2006, Turkey's three-year project to review hadith is nearing end by late 2008. Thirty-five scholars have reportedly been involved with the study.

Hadith refers to the sayings of the Prophet, the Prophet's acts or the Prophet's tacit approval of an action or practice. In the Islamic tradition, their understanding is an integral part of the understanding of the Quran.

Mehmet Gormez, the deputy director of Diyanet, Turkey's state body for religious affairs, which supervises the project informed numerous press agencies that "The main idea is to make the hadith more understandable by today's people with a new interpretation, which is the correct term for what we are doing."

The British media has shown considerable interest in the statements of Prof. Gormez and gone so far as to label the project "revolutionary".