Turan Dursun
| Turan Dursun | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1934 Şarkışla, Sivas Province, Turkey |
| Died | 4 September 1990 (aged 56) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Citizenship |
 Turkey
|
| Occupation | Former mufti, author |
Turan Dursun (1934 – 4 September 1990) was a Turkish Shia Islamic scholar and an author. His work, which is influenced by the 9th-century Persian skeptic philosopher Ibn al-Rawandi, heavily criticizes Islam and the founders of its major branches.
Dursun, originally a Ja'fari Muslim from the Twelver Shi'a madhab, first worked as an Islamic cleric before becoming an atheist during his study of the history of monotheistic religions. Dursun wrote a number of books about religion, which included interpretations of Islamic texts. He was an open critic of religion and was frequently threatened by Islamic fundamentalists.
He was eventually assassinated on September 4, 1990, outside his home in Istanbul. After this event, his books sold tens of thousands of copies in Turkey.
Dursun's father was a devout Ja'fari Muslim from the Twelver Shi'a madhab. From his childhood on, he was motivated by his father to be an Islamic scholar, unprecedented in terms of knowledge, even in Basra and Kufa. With this purpose, he worked very hard and mastered all major Islamic texts.
After passing the necessary exams to become a mufti, Dursun was unable to officially become one as he did not have a primary school diploma. Dursun had to complete primary school exams without attending school and did so with understandable speed. He achieved mufti status in 1958.
Whilst the mufti of Sivas, Dursun began establishing himself as a mufti of a different kind. Using his position, he initiated a number of projects for the development of the area and its imams:
Dursun gained a lot of followers and enemies at Sivas and was threatened on numerous occasions. He was exiled to the city of Sinop and stayed in what he called a "broken down shack". He received help from Ali Şarapçı, a teacher who was tormented and falsely labeled as communist, as Dursun was. His mufti career ended in 1966.
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