Recep İhsan Eliaçık (born December 23, 1961) is a Turkish Islamic theologian and writer. He is the founder of the Turkish Islamic socialist organisation Anti-Capitalist Muslims. He has over 20 books, including a translation of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

into Turkish.

Biography

Having completed his primary, secondary and high school education in different schools in Kayseri and Kırşehir, Eliaçık studied at

Erciyes University Erciyes University ( tr, Erciyes Üniversitesi) is a Turkish institute of higher education located in Kayseri, Turkey. As of 4 April 2019, a total of 64,194 students were studying for their bachelor's degree and postgraduate studies. Background ...

Faculty of Theology between 1985 and 1990. He is married and has five children. He speaks Arabic and lives in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. He is known as the "taboo breaker". During the

Gezi Park protests A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park prote ...

, he used expressions such as "dictator, harasser, provocateur, insolent, liar" for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Twitter, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a lawsuit for compensation of 50,000 TL against him.

Views

Eliaçık believes that it is mandatory per Quranic verse 4:136 for all Muslims to donate everything they do not use. He stated in an interview that he believes the Islamic duty is not just caring for the poor, but overthrowing the "capitalist devilish system" that he thinks makes them poor, "just like the

Islamic prophets Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets a ...

overthrew the devilish systems of their times". He continued by saying that they want a world without exploitation and privileges. He claimed that many use Islam to advance their interests, and countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan all interpret Islam with an " extreme understanding". When asked him about

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

, he stated that "classical secularism" excludes the holy book, and an alternative way can be found. He advocates for a "borderless world of peace". On evolution, he commented that it is a matter for science to discuss, not religion, and that Islam will never be proven wrong anyways. On polygamy, he stated that the verses about polygamy are widely misunderstood and that Islam is strictly against the practice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliacik, Ihsan Living people 21st-century Turkish writers 20th-century Turkish writers Turkish theologians Muslim reformers Quranist Muslims 1961 births Erciyes University alumni