Ali Bulaç

Ali Bulaç (born 1951 in Mardin) is a Turkish sociologist, Islamic scholar, journalist and writer.

During the founding period of the newspaper Zaman, he organized the newspaper's Istanbul bureau and served as its head for about one year. He left the newspaper at the end of 1987 after a change in ownership. In 1993–1994 he briefly returned to Zaman, but left again after a short time. In 1998 he resumed writing for the newspaper.

In addition to his work for Zaman, Bulaç's articles and research have appeared in various magazines and newspapers including Millî Gazete and Yeni Şafak.

In 1988 his work İnsanın Özgürlük Arayışı received the Fikir Ödülü (Idea Award) from the Turkish Writers' Union.

He wrote columns for Today's Zaman and Özgün Duruş, and hosted weekly discussion programs on Mehtap TV and Hilal TV. He also lectured at Fatih University and presented the weekly discussion program Konuşmak Lazım on TVNET together with Ekrem Kızıltaş and Cevat Özkaya.

Arrest and trial

Following the investigations related to the Gülen movement after the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, an arrest warrant was issued for Bulaç. On 31 July 2016, he was arrested on charges of “membership in an armed terrorist organization”. After approximately 22 months in detention, he was released on 11 May 2018. In a later trial, he was convicted of “knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” and sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

Personal life

Bulaç is married and has five children.

Works

İslâm Dünyasında Toplumsal Değişme Bir Aydın Sapması İnsanın Özgürlük Arayışı Din ve Modernizm İslam ve Fanatizm Modern Ulus Devlet İrtica ve Sivilleşme Kutsala, Tarihe ve Hayata Dönüş Avrupa Birliği ve Türkiye Tarih, Toplum ve Gelenek Din-Felsefe Vahiy-Akıl İlişkisi (2006) Kur'an Meali Çağdaş Kavramlar ve Düzenler İslâmcılık Kutlu Ağaç Bilgi Neyi Bilmektir? İslâm ve Fundamentalizm Ortadoğu'dan İslâm Dünyasına Nuh'un Gemisi'ne Binmek İslâm Dünyasında Düşünce Sorunları İslâm ve Demokrasi İslâm Düşüncesinde Din-Felsefe Din, Devlet ve Demokrasi Din, Kent ve Cemaat Modernizm, İrtica ve Sivilleşme Göçün ve Kentin Siyaseti: MNP'den SP'ye Millî Görüş Partileri Ortadoğu Gerçeği Postmodern Kaosta Kıble Arayışı Din ve Siyaset