Page 119 - The Importance of the Ahl Al-Sunnah

ADNAN OKTAR

Mahmud Sami Ramazanoglu
M. Sami Ramazanoglu was born in 1892 in Adana and even-
tually became the shaykh of the Erenkoy congregation. After
obtaining his degree from the Dar al-Funun Law School, he
concentrated on tasawwuf. He preached for a while in
mosques and became involved with commerce. After living for
some time in Damascus, he went to Zihni Pasha Mosque in
Erenkoy, Istanbul where he endeavored to guide the people. In
1979, he went to Saudi Arabia, where he eventually died after
dedicating his long life to spreading Islam.

Mehmet Zahid Kotku
In 1897, Mehmet Zahid Effendi was born into one of Bursa’s
Caucasian families. Zahid Kotku, who was 18 years old during
the World War I, was drafted and spent six years in the army:
three at the front and three in Istanbul. Following his tour of
duty, he went to the Gumushane lodge and received a certifi-
cate to teach at the age of 27. After the lodges were closed, he
married and became an imam in Bursa.
He preached in Fatih’s Iskenderpasha Mosque for twenty-
two years and died in 1980. A great crowd of people from
throughout Turkey and Europe attended his funeral service in
Istanbul’s Sulaymaniyyah Mosque. The number of his followers
continued to increase even after his death. In distant cities of
Turkey and even outside Turkey, many people loved him.
Mehmet Zahid Kotku’s services to Islam were mainly in the
form of conversations, during which he enlightened his stu-
dents about religious matters and daily issues concerning
Muslims. Through his sermons, books, and conversations, he
played an important role in imparting Islamic values to Turkish
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