Süleymancılar

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Süleymancılar (about: "follower of Süleyman") is the foreign name of an Islamic lay community from Turkey . The name "Süleymancılar" refers to the founder of the movement, the religious scholar Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan (1888-1959). He was the founder and is the spiritual leader of the current.

history

The community or congregation (Süleyman Efendi Cemaati) came into being in Istanbul in the 1940s through teaching the Koran and the sermons of Tunahan. In the 1950s in particular, the municipality quickly expanded to other cities thanks to changed political conditions. Tunahan's primary goal was the religious instruction of his students as a counterbalance to the secularization of the educational system in Turkey. Tensions arose with graduates of Imam Hatip schools , whom Tunahan initially disapproved of, and with the highest religious authority Diyanet . The name "Süleymancı" also comes from this time. After Tunahan's death, his son-in-law Kemal Kaçar followed him as the leader of the community. His successor was Ahmet Arif, who also died.

In 1966 parishioners founded a federation that set itself the goal of setting up and conducting Koran courses, the "Kur'an Kursları Kurma, Koruma ve İdame Ettirme Dernekleri Federasyonu". When, due to a changed regulation, the Diyanet was to be given the right to use the parish course facilities, the focus from then on was on promoting the training of individuals at the Imam Hatip schools and theological faculties. In 1980, the aid association “Kurs ve Okul Talebelerine Yardım Dernekleri Federasyonu”, conceived as an umbrella organization, was created in Turkey. After the military coup in Turkey in 1980 , community leaders were tried. In 1983, the Antalya public prosecutor's office accused them of wanting to establish the caliphate and a government in accordance with Sharia law and of taking illegal Koran courses. Kemal Kaçar and Ali Ak were each sentenced to two years in prison. The clubs were banned and their assets were confiscated. However, the sentence was overturned a year later.

From 1973 the community founded the Islamic Cultural Centers, first in Cologne and then in other European countries. In Germany the supporters are organized in the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ). In Germany, the so-called Süleymancılar are mostly inconspicuous and hardly convey their teaching to the outside world. However, they emphasize their Sunni orthodoxy and reject the term Süleymancılık as derogatory.

After 2000, Ahmet Denizolgun, a grandson of Tunahan, became the leader of the community. After Ahmet Denizolgun's death in September 2016, Alihan Kuriş, a 37-year-old architect, was elected as his successor.

perception

The state viewed uncontrolled religious movements with suspicion and as a political act. According to this line, the Büyük Larousse described the community as an “extremely conservative political current with a religious appearance”. The Süleymancılar rejected innovations, contemporary sciences and schools like the Imam Hatip School, where positive sciences are also taught.

According to Milliyet , in 1986 cemaat had more than 1000 buildings for Koran courses in Turkey and 215 Islamic cultural centers abroad. The newspaper described the Süleymancılar as legalistic and modern. Their clubs fulfilled the legal requirements and the men dressed in modern clothes and did not have beards. Furthermore, the church is disciplined and obedient. Obedience and discipline and the unconditional belief that Tunahan is a true mürşid without any blemish are the reasons why Ruşen Çakır characterizes the Süleymancılar as an authoritarian, even fascist organization.

source

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerdien Jonker: One wavelength to God: The "Association of Islamic Cultural Centers" in Europe. Transcript, Bielefeld 2002, ISBN 978-3-933127-99-0 , p. 76.
  2. ↑ Uğur Mumcu : Rabıta. Ankara 1987, p. 122 ff.
  3. ↑ Gerdien Jonker: One wavelength to God: The "Association of Islamic Cultural Centers" in Europe. Transcript, Bielefeld 2002, ISBN 978-3-933127-99-0 , p. 83.
  4. ↑ Büyük Larousse Sözlük ve Ansiklopedisi . Meydan Yayınevı, Istanbul 1986, DNB 1024591611 , vol. 21, p. 10912, sv Süleymancılık.
  5. ↑ Türkiye'de Mezhep ve Tarikatlar . In: Milliyet, May 17, 1986.
  6. ↑ Ruşen Çakır: Ayet ve slogan. Türkiye'de İslami Oluşumlar. Istanbul n.d., p. 129.