and the National Youth Organisation in 1999. Kavakcı is a consultant for the U.S. Congress on the Muslim world and a columnist for the conservative Turkish daily newspaper Vakit. She also sits on the editorial board of the Mediterranean Quarterly. Additionally, she is the author of six books and numerous articles. She has two children, Fatima Abushanab and Mariam Kavakcı. In 2012, a book entitled The Day Turkey Stood Still: Merve Kavakci's Walk Into the Parliament by Richard Peres was published. References External links Official site 1968 births Living people People from Ankara Turkish people of Georgian descent Turkish Sunni Muslims Virtue Party politicians Deputies of Istanbul Turkish emigrants to the United States American Sunni Muslims Ambassadors of Turkey to Malaysia University of Texas at Dallas alumni Harvard University alumni George Washington University faculty Islam-related controversies Howard University faculty Hijab 21st-century Turkish women politicians 21st-century Turkish politicians