Turan Dursun

Turan Dursun (1934 – 4 September 1990) was a Turkish author and atheist who was a critic of Islam. A former Muslim cleric and scholar of Shia Islam, he became an atheist during his study of the history of monotheistic religions. Influenced by the 9th-century Iranian skeptic philosopher Ibn al-Rawandi, Dursun wrote a number of books about religion which included interpretations of Islamic texts, heavily criticizing Islam and the founders of its major branches.

Dursun was frequently threatened by Islamic fundamentalists, and on 4 September 1990 was assassinated outside his home in Istanbul, after which his books sold tens of thousands of copies in Turkey.

Biography

Dursun's father was an ethnic Turk and his mother was an ethnic Kurd. His parents were from the Ja'fari Twelver sect. From his childhood on, he was encouraged by his parents to be an Islamic scholar. In 1996, İrfan Çağırıcı was arrested, suspected of being involved in the assassination of Dursun, as well as the killing of journalist Çetin Emeç in March 1990 and the kidnapping of Akbar Ghorbani (the People's Mujahedin of Iran's representative in Ankara). It was reported at Çağırıcı's trial that he had links with the Iranian government and was trained in Iranian camps. However, the gunman who carried out the order, Muzaffer Dalmaz, is still at large abroad.

Books Allah (Turkish: Allah) This is Religion 1: God and the Quran (Turkish: Din Bu 1: Tanrı ve Kur'an) This is Religion 2: Muhammad (Turkish: Din Bu 2: Hz. Muhammed) This is Religion 3: Society and Secularism in Islam (Turkish: Din Bu 3: İslamda Toplum ve Laiklik) This is Religion 4: Taboo Lingers (Turkish: Din Bu 4: Tabu Can Çekişiyor) Religion and Sexuality (Turkish: Din ve Cinsellik) Prayer (Turkish: Dua) Is the Universe a Joke? (Turkish: Evren Bir Şaka mı?) Qullatayn (Turkish: Kulleteyn) Quran (Turkish: Kur'an) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 1: Aba-Mind (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 1: Aba-Akıl) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 2: Accra-Arab (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 2: Akra-Arab) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 3: Arabu-Debt (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 3: Arabu-Borç) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 4: Vain-Prayer (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 4: Boşa-Dua) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 5: Pray-Hijra (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 5: Dua-Hicret) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 6: Hijra-Infidel (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 6: Hicret-Kafir) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 7: Kalb-Doubt (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 7: Kalb-Kuşku) Encyclopaedia of the Quran 8: Power-Miracle (Turkish: Kur'an Ansiklopedisi 8: Kuvvet-Mucize) Sources of Sacred Books 1 (Turkish: Kutsal Kitapların Kaynakları 1) Sources of Sacred Books 2 (Turkish: Kutsal Kitapların Kaynakları 2) Sources of Sacred Books 3 (Turkish: Kutsal Kitapların Kaynakları 3) Islam and Nurculuk (1971) (Turkish: Müslümanlık ve Nurculuk (1971)) Such is Sharia (Turkish: Şeriat Böyle) Letters to Celebrities (Turkish: Ünlülere Mektuplar)

Translations Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah his work (2 volumes) (Turkish: İbn-i Haldun'un Mukaddime adlı eseri (2 cilt))