Septar Mehmet Yakub

Mehmet Yakub Septar (known in Romanian as Mehmet Iacub Septar) (1904–1991) was a Crimean Tatar lawyer, thinker, spiritual leader of Tatars and Turks in Dobruja, Mufti of the Muslim community in Romania. He was a promoter of harmony and peace.

Biography Septar was born in 1904 in Azaplar, situated in the Tatar countryside west of Mangalia, a village known today by its official name Tătaru. He studied law at the University of Bucharest and he served in Constanța Bar Association. He backed the emigration to Turkey.

He served as Mufti through the entire Communist era in his country, between 31 December 1947 and 1990, being preceded by Mitat Rifat and succeeded by Ablakim Ibrahim. As head of the Muslim Cult, he was placed by Securitate under secret surveillance in operation "The Sultan" under allegations of insulting USSR and attempting to establish in 1950 a Muslim World Peace Organization.

During Nicolae Ceaușescu's years in office he represented the community in the Great National Assembly, now Parliament of Romania. He was friends with fellow religious leaders such as Justinian and Teoctist, Patriarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church and also Dr. Moses Rosen, the longtime Chief Rabbi of Romanian Jewry.

He had a good acquaintance with the Romanian culture and became one of Romania's important speakers on the international scene, a non official "ambassador" during his visits in Arab and Muslim countries. He thought that "Israel and the Arabs must come together and talk peace directly."

In 1990, when the editors of Renkler Journal in Bucharest led by historian Tahsin Gemil created the Tatar movement based on ideas of cultural and linguistic uniformity, Septar opposed this project creating a movement with cultural diversity conservation views activating under the motto Tek niyet, mútenevviyet ("Unity in diversity").

Septar died in 1991, in Constanța. His body was laid to rest next to his wife, Zeyneb (1902–1975), in Constanța Muslim Central Cemetery at: 44.173046, 28.622309.