Murat Belge (born March 16, 1943) is a Turkish academic, translator, literary critic, columnist,

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

, and occasional tour guide.

Career

Belge was a member of the organizing committee for a two-day academic conference that started on September 24, 2005, held at Istanbul Bilgi University in Istanbul, titled "Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy". The conference offered an open dispute of the official Turkish account of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

, and was denounced by

nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

as treacherous. Belge's remarks led to his facing a ten-year jail sentence for criticizing the judicial ban; he was acquitted. He also commented, "We have a very unhealthy relation with our history … It’s basically a collection of lies." A leaked Turkish military memo, dated November 2006 (reported by ''

Nokta ''Nokta'' ("Point" in Turkish) was a leading Turkish weekly political news magazine. Founded in 1983, it was closed down by its owner in 2007 under military pressure after revealing several coup plots. Revived in 2015, it was closed again in th ...

'' in March 2007, prior to being shut down), lists journalist deemed "trustworthy" and "untrustworthy" by the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

. Murat Belge was listed as "untrustworthy." Since 1996 he has been a professor of

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Personal life and education

He is the son of

political journalist Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Political journa ...

Burhan Asaf Belge Burhan Belge (February 1, 1899 – January 12, 1967) was a Turkish politician and diplomat, who was a prominent figure among the young intellectuals during the early periods of Republic of Turkey and served as the representative of Muğla prov ...

(who was married to Hungarian-American socialite

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...

from May 1935 to December 1941), nephew of

Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (also rendered Yakub Kadri; ; 27 March 1889 – 13 December 1974) was a Turkish novelist, journalist, diplomat, and member of parliament.Edebiyatogretmeni.net ''Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu'' Google translated' Biograp ...

, and the grandson of a former governor of Bursa. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from Istanbul University in 1969 on leftist criticism in English literature.Academic profile
, Istanbul Bilgi University From his student years in the 1960s, until the early 1980s, he had been an active participant of a close-knit left-wing group of scholars at Istanbul University's Department of English Language and Literature; he used to be a Marxist himself. His fellow scholars of those years included Berna Moran, Mina Urgan, Cevat Capan, Aksit Gokturk and Vahit Turhan. After the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

s of 1971 and 1980, he was compelled to leave academic life and began publishing left-wing classics with Iletisim Press in Istanbul. Since the early 1980s, he has been guiding tours of Istanbul's '' yalılar'' (waterfront mansions). He is married to actress Hale Soygazi.

Writing

Belge is one of the founders of '' Birikim'', a leftist cultural magazine. For several years he wrote columns for the daily ''

Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally considered ...

'', before shifting to ''

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circulati ...

'' in June 2008. On December 14, 2012, Belge stepped down from his post at ''Taraf'' together with editor-in-chief

Ahmet Altan Ahmet Hüsrev Altan (born 2 March 1950) is a Turkish journalist and author. A working journalist for more than twenty years, he has served in all stages of the profession, from being a night shift reporter to editor in chief in various newspape ...

, assistant editor Yasemin Çongar and columnist Neşe Tüzel, and he has written occasionally for

openDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...

since 2001. Belge has translated works of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

and

John Berger John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...

into Turkish. He is an active member of the

Helsinki Citizens Assembly The Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa) is an organization of citizens dedicated to peace, democracy and human rights in Europe. It is a non-governmental organization, working on the notions of fundamental rights and freedoms, peace, democracy and p ...

References

External links

Columns for ''Taraf''

Columns for ''Radikal''

Articles for ''openDemocracy''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belge, Murat Turkish atheism activists 20th-century Turkish historians Turkish literary critics 21st-century Turkish historians Literary critics of English Turkish translators 1943 births People from Ankara Istanbul University alumni Istanbul Bilgi University faculty Living people Turkish activists Turkish former Muslims Taraf people Turkish magazine founders