Though not an official cleric, İhsan Eliaçık drew public attention when he led the funeral prayer for Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a prominent member of the İmralı delegation.
He explains his role by pointing to their long-standing friendship, which dates back to a time before Önder entered active politics. Eliaçık recalls that Önder had shown deep interest in his views on Islam and even wanted to make films inspired by those ideas—leading to many exchanges and a lasting companionship.
Does this make it merely a “personal” gesture?
No, it doesn’t. Because in Turkey, nothing is ever truly coincidental. There is always a background—and a meaning.
Let’s take a closer look at that background.
AUTHORITARIANISM AND ENRICHMENT
Eliaçık became known in the 2010s as debates intensified around authoritarianism and the enrichment of AKP elites. In 2011, as a counterpoint to extravagant iftar dinners held at five-star hotels, he launched the “Earthly Tables” initiative—open-air fast-breaking meals held on the street during Ramadan.
People laid out tablecloths on the ground and shared home-cooked food in a collective fast-breaking. Eliaçık emphasized that these gatherings were “flagless, bannerless, sponsorless, and without hierarchy,” calling them a “coalition on the street.” Most notably, he invited even those who did not fast.
When Eliaçık and his group appeared in the 2013 Gezi Park protests under the name “Anti-Capitalist Muslims,” their visibility surged.
In the following years, the Earthly Iftar Gatherings began to attract growing interest from secular and non-religious segments of society. But, inevitably, they also drew the attention of the authorities. In 2019, one such gathering was disrupted by police intervention—Eliaçık and several of his companions were forcefully detained.
JUSTICE MARCH
In media appearances, Eliaçık is often introduced as a “theologian and author.” But that hardly does him justice. While he is indeed a theologian, Eliaçık is also an activist who stands firmly against injustice—whether in religion or in state affairs. In 2017, he and his companions joined the “Justice March” organized by then-CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, rallying under the slogans of “rights, law, justice.” Eliaçık walked every step of the 25-day journey from Ankara to Istanbul.
WHEN HIS BOOK WAS BANNED
In 2023, Eliaçık published a book titled “The Living Qur’an: Turkish Interpretation and Commentary.” Acting at the request of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, a penal court banned the book and ordered all copies to be seized, citing “views that contradict the fundamental principles of Islam.” Eliaçık’s response was fully consistent with his critical stance: “This decision shows how one-man rule is increasingly turning into a religious dictatorship.”
ABU DHARR: THE MODEL OF JUSTICE
Eliaçık and the Anti-Capitalist Muslim movement hold Abu Dharr al-Ghifari—one of the earliest Muslims—in high regard, particularly for his fierce criticism of wealth accumulation. Abu Dharr’s rebuke to the then-governor of Syria, delivered in front of an opulent newly-built palace—“If you built this with your own money, it is extravagance; if with the people’s money, it is betrayal and forbidden”—captures the very essence of the Islam Eliaçık and his companions seek.
THE OTHER RECEP
In public records, he appears as R. İhsan Eliaçık. The “R.” is never officially explained—but in fact, it stands for “Recep,” making him a namesake of President Erdoğan.
