Turan Dursun (1934 – 4 September 1990) was a Turkish author and atheist who was a critic of Islam. A former Muslim cleric and scholar of Shia Islam, he became an atheist during his study of the history of monotheistic religions. Influenced by the 9th-century Iranian skeptic philosopher Ibn al-Rawandi, Dursun wrote a number of books about religion which included interpretations of Islamic texts, heavily criticizing Islam and the founders of its major branches. Dursun was frequently threatened by Islamic fundamentalists, and on 4 September 1990 was assassinated outside his home in Istanbul, after which his books sold tens of thousands of copies in Turkey. Biography Dursun's father was a Kurdish Ja'fari Muslim from the Twelver Shi'a madhab. From his childhood on, he was motivated by his father to be an Islamic scholar. With this purpose, he worked hard and mastered major Islamic texts. Years as a mufti After passing the necessary exams to become a mufti, Dursun was unable to officially become one as he did not have a primary school diploma. He had to complete primary school exams without attending school and did so with understandable speed. He achieved mufti status in 1958. Whilst the mufti of Sivas, Dursun began establishing himself as a mufti of a different kind. Using his position, he initiated a number of projects for the development of the area and its imams: Organised 50 tree plantations in the different villages of Sivas. Forced plans for a mufti accommodation center to be changed for hospital to be built, with success. Collected wheat from villages as aid for the hospital project. Gave importance to the non-religious education of imams, through cinema and attendance of conferences. Facilitated issue of school diplomas for imams through the Ministry of Education. Put pressure on the mayor of Sivas for exhausting water supplies to be addressed. Dursun gained a lot of followers and enemies at Sivas and was threatened on numerous occasions. He was exiled to the city of Sinop and stayed in what he called a "broken down shack". He received help from Ali Şarapçı, a teacher who was tormented and falsely labeled as communist, as Dursun was. His mufti career ended in 1966. First atheistic thoughts In an interview with Şule Perinçek, Dursun recounted one of the first instances, where he began doubting the existence of God. During a time when he was in love at the age