Arif Şirin, commonly known as Ozan Arif ("Arif the Bard"; June 10, 1949 – February 13, 2019), was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

lyricist, composer, singer, and

bağlama The ''bağlama'' or ''saz'' is a family of plucked string instruments, long-necked lutes used in Ottoman classical music, Turkish folk music, Turkish Arabesque music, Azerbaijani music, Kurdish music, Armenian music and in parts of Syria, Iraq ...

performer, foremost known for his songs with lyrics propagating the

Turkish nationalist Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic, or linguistic group. The term "ultranationalism" is often used to describe Turkish nationalis ...

cause.

Life

Şirin was born in his father's village Yükselen (Hapu) in Alucra district. By 1970, he had graduated from the Male Teacher's School in

Ordu Province Ordu Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, Sivas to the south, and Giresun to the east. Its license-plate code is 52. The capital ...

and worked as a primary school teacher in

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun reco ...

from 1970 to 1979. Following the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état ( tr, 12 Eylül Darbesi), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by ...

, he moved to Germany where he lived until his return to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in 1991. He and fellow folk singer İsmail Türüt had been on trial for a song allegedly praising the assassination of

Hrant Dink Hrant Dink ( hy, Հրանդ Տինք; Western ; 15 September 1954 – 19 January 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of ''Agos'', journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspa ...

. Şirin and Türüt were acquitted in December 2009. Şirin died on February 13, 2019, of throat cancer in Samsun Ondokuz in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Mayıs.

References

External links

Ozan Arif website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirin, Arif 1949 births 2019 deaths Turkish composers Turkish lyricists Turkish folk singers Turkish nationalists People from Alucra 20th-century Turkish male singers 21st-century Turkish male singers