Ali Bardakoğlu

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Ali Bardakoğlu in autumn 2009

Ali Bardakoğlu (* 1952 in Tosya in the province of Kastamonu ) is an Islamic theologian. He was President of the Office for Religious Affairs (Diyanet) in Turkey from May 28, 2003 to November 2010 .

Life

In 1970 he graduated from the Imam Hatip School . Four years later he graduated from the High Islamic Institute and in 1975 from the Law Faculty of Istanbul's Marmara University . He later became an assistant for Islamic law at the High Islamic Institute in Kayseri and received his doctorate in 1982 from Ataturk University in Erzurum . He then worked as an assistant professor at the theological faculty of Erciyes University in Kayseri, where he received his habilitation in 1986 . From 1991 to 1992 he was a visiting professor in Great Britain , after which he moved back to the Turkish Marmara University in 1993 and became professor of Islamic law there in 1994 . In the same year he also stayed in the USA .

In May 2003 he became President of the Religious Affairs Office, the highest authority on the Islamic religion in Turkey. Bardakoglu and his wife have three children and speaks Turkish nor Arabic and English .

Positions

Bardakoğlu represents a "moderate" Islam and a corresponding interpretation of the Koran . Among other things, in March 2005 he appointed two women as vice muftis in Kayseri and Istanbul . In February 2006 he participated as a guest of honor at the opening ceremony of a Protestant church in Alanya .

Controversy over Pope quote

During the controversy over the so-called Pope quote from Regensburg in 2006, he initially criticized the Pope harshly and called the utterances “one-sided, biased, hostile and provocative”, but admitted that when he first reacted, he did not know the exact wording of the speech.

With reference to the quotation put forward by the Pope by Emperor Manuel II ( “Show me what new Mohammed has brought, and there you will only find bad and inhumane things like this, that he prescribed the faith that he preached through the Spreading the sword ” ) said Bardakoğlu about forced Islamizations : “ Forcing someone to believe by force is not acceptable in Islam. In Islam there is no teaching that violence as a legitimate means looks to convert people, nor is there in Islamic history such an example " .

The newspaper Die Welt asked him on Sept. 17, 2006 about Koran verses 9: 5 ( "And when the holy months have now expired, then kill the heathen wherever you find them, seize them, surround them and lie in wait for them everywhere" ) . In his answer, Bardakoğlu emphasized that one must know the historical context in order to interpret it correctly: “The sura means that Muslims should defend themselves equally against those who wanted to prevent the natural expansion of Islam and were bellicose. This is self defense. The Koran prescribes that one should convince people through reason and speech. But if the pagans want to prevent this, then the Koran allows one to fight against them too ” .

In a contribution to the 80th birthday of Pope Benedict XVI. he thanked him for his visit to Turkey, which had made clear the shared responsibility of religions for peace and justice.

Comments before his resignation

In November 2010, Bardakoğlu surprisingly resigned from his office. Observers doubt the voluntariness and suspect that it was too liberal for then Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan , to whom he was directly subordinate. A few days earlier, Bardakoğlu wrote in the liberal daily Radikal that whether a woman wears a headscarf or not is not decisive for whether she is a good Muslim woman. Before the beginning of the festival of sacrifice, he had suggested that money could be donated for the poor instead of slaughtering. Bardakoğlu also has a critical position on the role of the authority he heads and indicated that it would be better if the Diyanet were autonomous. His successor was Mehmet Görmez .

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ Ali Bardakoğlu ( Memento from September 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) European Council of Religious Leaders
  2. ↑ Ali Bardakoglu: Modern FAZ, February 29, 2004
  3. ^ Pope in Bavaria: Muslims outraged by Benedict's criticism of Islam, Der Spiegel, September 14, 2006
  4. ↑ quoted from: Statement ( memento of October 27, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) of the Central Council of Muslims on islam.de, September 16, 2006
  5. ^ "The Koran must be interpreted in a historical context" , interview in DIE WELT, September 17, 2006
  6. ↑ Vatican Radio : Turkey: Bardakoğlu, Pope = Striter for Peace and Values ( Memento of October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) April 11, 2007
  7. ↑ Head of over 80,000 mosques: Head of religious office resigns from JÜRGEN GOTTSCHLICH on November 11, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Bardakoğlu, Ali
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish President of the Office for Religious Affairs (Diyanet) in Turkey
DATE OF BIRTH 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Tosya