18.09.2025 09:30
The Istanbul Provincial Mufti, Prof. Safi Arpaguş, has been appointed as the President of Religious Affairs. Born in 1967, Arpaguş graduated from the Faculty of Theology at Marmara University and rose to the rank of professor in his academic career.
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Following the expiration of the term of the President of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbaş, an appointment was made. Erbaş, who was appointed as the General Director of Educational Services of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in 2011, served in this position for 6 years before being appointed as the President of Religious Affairs on September 17, 2017. Erbaş's term ended yesterday according to the relevant regulations.
Safi Arpaguş CURRICULUM VITAE Born in 1967 in the Gümüşhacıköy district of Amasya, Arpaguş graduated from Gümüşhacıköy Imam Hatip High School in 1985 and from the Faculty of Theology at Marmara University in 1990.
Starting his academic career as a research assistant at the same faculty in 1992, Arpaguş completed his master's degree in 1994 and his doctorate in 2001.
After becoming an associate professor in 2008 and a professor in 2014, he served as the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Marmara University between 2011 and 2021.
Appointed as the Mufti of Istanbul by the Presidential Decree dated October 15, 2021, Arpaguş also served as a faculty member and the head of the Department of Sufism.
Arpaguş's area of expertise includes the concepts and institutions of Islamic Sufi History, and he has works on Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, the Masnavi, and Mevlevi order.
Some of Arpaguş's works are as follows:
"Mevlana and Islam, Spiritual Education in Mevlevi Order, Hüseyin Azmi Dede; Treatises, Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi, Conversations; Ahmed Avni Konuk, Commentary on the Masnavi-i Sherif, -Heyet-, I-XIII; İsmail Rüsuhi Ankaravi, Minhacü'l-Fukara; Tahirü'l-Mevlevi, Sheikh Celaleddin Efendi, the Postnişin of the Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi."
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