Tayyar Altıkulaç (born 1938) is a Turkish Islamic scholar and former politician who served as the 12th president of the

Presidency of Religious Affairs A presidency is an Administration (government), administration or the Executive (government), executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of President (government title), president of a state or na ...

from 1978 to 1986. He also served as a member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

for two consecutive terms from 1995 to 1999 and was re-elected from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 2002. He also conducted research on a manuscript of the Quran attributed to

Uthman ibn Affan Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until Assassination of Uthman, his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable Companions of the Prophet, companion of ...

, the third

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. Altıkulaç wrote articles in academic journals and contributed to the İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Turkish

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

for

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

published by Türkiye Diyanet Foundation.

Early life and education

Altıkulaç was born in 1938 in

Kastamonu Kastamonu, formerly Kastamone/Castamone () and Kastamon/Castamon (), is a city in northern Turkey. It is the seat of Kastamonu Province and Kastamonu District.

, Turkey. He completed his

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

in his hometown and later pursued secondary and

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. He memorized the Quran by the age of nine and graduated from the Higher Islamic Institute in 1963. Afterward, he taught at the Istanbul Imam-Hatip High School until 1965 and subsequently worked as an assistant and faculty member at the Kayseri Higher Islamic Institute. From 1967 to 1968, he specialized in

Arabic Language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

at Baghdad University and later completed his doctorate in Quranic exegesis (

tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

Career

Altıkulaç served in administrative positions in Turkey's religious and educational sectors. He served as the vice president of the

from 1971 to 1976, general director of Religious Education Department at the Ministry of National Education from 1976 to 1977, and as a member of the Board of Education from 1977 to 1978. He was appointed president of the Presidency of Religious Affairs on 9 February 1978, a position he held until his voluntarily retirement on 10 November 1986. After his retirement, Altıkulaç engaged in academia, lecturing at Marmara University and Baku State University, Faculty of Theology. He also served as the president of the Turkish Religious Foundation's Islamic Research Center (ISAM). In recognition of his contributions to education sector, he was awarded the title of professor by the Azerbaijan National Academy. After contributing to the Islamic education field, he moved into politics in the mid-1990s, serving as a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly from 1995 to 1999. He was re-elected as a member of parliament for İstanbul in the 2002 general elections. One of the founding members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he also founded Istanbul 29 May University in 2010.

Awards and recognition

In 2022, Altıkulaç was awarded the

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Islamic Studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

Early life and education

Career

Awards and recognition

References

Further reading