Edip Yüksel

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Edip Yuksel
Edip Yuksel

Edip Yüksel is a former member of the United Submitters International. The resume on his website states that he is a part-time legal researcher and a part-time community college instructor living in Tucson, Arizona. He also teaches classes at Accelerated Learning Laboratory; Turkish, Technology, and Math.

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[edit] Biography

Mr. Yuksel was born in Turkey in 1957. His father, Sadreddin Yuksel, an Islamic scholar, taught Arabic at a Turkish university. Yuksel says that he was an outspoken Islamist as a youth, and spent years in prison for his views. Yuksel says that he broke with Islamism in 1986 and adopted the Qur'an Alone philosophy as preached by Rashad Khalifa, a notable member of the United Submitters International whose beliefs include: the dedication of all worship practices to God alone, upholding the Quran alone, and rejecting the Islamic traditionalist hadith and sunnah attributed to Muhammad.

In 1989, he was sponsored for immigration to the US by Khalifa. Yuksel moved to Tucson, entered college, got a legal degree, and became a prominent member of the United Submitters International.

Since Khalifa's death, Yuksel seems to have broken with the USI, and to have defined himself simply as a Qur'an alone Muslim. Yuksel is not forthcoming with this information, but it can be deduced from these two quotes on his webpage:

  • "Abdullah Arik, the official leader of the cult, is a very nice fellow who is trying hard to keep the unity of the congregation, unfortunately at the cost of compromising with idol-carvers" [1].
  • "Friday noon we meet with a small group of believers in a house and pray the congregation prayer. Leading the prayer is by turn. When their turn comes every participant, including women, gives a short speech and leads the Friday prayer. Sunday evenings we usually participate in Qur'anic studies. Again, with active participation of every person" [2].

Mr. Yuksel has been extremely active in promoting his Qur'an Alone ideology and has achieved some minor Internet celebrity by virtue of assiduous self-promotion. As he says on his website:

  • "As a convicted "dissident," as a condemned and excommunicated "apostate," now I can communicate with the entire world without even getting out of my office. Thesis a miracle!" [3]

He now teaches Turkish, as well as some other subjects, at Accellerated Learning Labratory (A.L.L.), A tucson Charter School

[edit] Publications

Yuksel claims to be the author of over twenty books on religion, politics, philosophy and law in Turkish; however, it is not clear if they were put out by major publishers, or by small religious or vanity presses. He has at times claimed to have been a "bestseller." It is not clear if there is any way to validate this claim, since the Turkish publishing industry does not seem to publish best-seller statistics.

He has published many pamphlets and essays in English, all of them put out by the United Submitters press -- that is, by his former congregation. However, he is listed as a co-author on a book forthcoming from Palgrave-Macmillan [4].

[edit] Turkish publications claimed by Edip Yuksel

  • The Message: Qur'an’s Translation/Mesaj: Kuran Cevirisi. A Turkish translation of the Qur'an. (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 2000, 3 editions, 600 pp.)
  • Purple Letters/Mor Mektuplar. Essays on religion, politics, law, philosophy, women, human rights. (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 2000, 2 editions, 232 pp.)
  • Democracy, Oligarchy, Theocracy/Demokrasi, Oligarsi, Teokrasi. A discussion of Turkish democracy and secularism (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1998; 133 pp.).
  • On It Is Nineteen/Uzerinde Ondokuz Var. A study of the mathematical structure of the Bible and the Qur'an. (Milliyet Publishing, Istanbul, 1997, 320 pp.).
  • The Prime Argument/Asal Tartisma (E; T). A two-round argument with Prof. Carl Sagan regarding claims for a mathematical structure in the Qur'an. (The Monotheist International, Tucson, 1995, 64 pp.); Turkish translation (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1998, 92 pp.).
  • Errors In Translations of the Quran/Kuran Cevirilerindeki Hatalar. A book comparing eleven Turkish translations of the Qur'an. (Gosterge, Istanbul, 1992, 164 pp.; Milliyet Publishing, Istanbul, 1998, 182 pp.)
  • Nineteen Questions for Christian Clergy/Hristiyan Din Adamlarina Ondokuz Soru. An examination of modern Christianity. (Monotheist International, Tucson, 1993-1999, 3 editions, 100 pp); Turkish translation (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1998).
  • Nineteen Questions for Muslim Clergy/Musluman Din Adamlarina Ondokuz Soru. A book challenging Muslim clerics. (Renaissance Institute, Tucson, 1991, 66 pp.; The Monotheist Productions Int., Tucson, 1992, 80 pp.); Turkish version (Gosterge, Istanbul, 1992, 72 pp.; Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1997-2001, 5 editions, 110 pp.). The English version is currently revised for a possible publication.
  • Censored Essays/Sakincali Yazilar. A rebuttal of published articles critical of "Interesting Questions-2." (Devlet, Istanbul, 1989, 2 editions,100 pp.)
  • Books Are Dangerous/Kitap Okumanin Zararlari. A book urging the reader to become a critical thinker. (Beyan, Istanbul, 1988, 106 pp.)
  • Interesting Questions-2/Ilginç Sorular-2. (Yuzondort, Istanbul, 1987, 190 pp.; Beyan, Istanbul, 1988, 2nd-3rd editions, 190 pp; A revised version was later published by Ozan, Istanbul, 5th edition, 1999, 184 pp.)
  • Interesting Questions-1/Ilginc Sorular-1. Essays on religion, philosophy, and politics. (Inkilab, Istanbul, 1985-1987, 8 editions, 214 pp.; Beyan, Istanbul, 1988, 9th edition, 214 pp.)
  • Chemical Properties of Iron in the Quran/Kuran'da Demirin Kimyasal Esrari. A booklet on Qur'an 57:25. (Timas, Istanbul, 1984, 48 pp.)
  • Is The Bible God's Word?/Kitab-i Mukaddes Allah Sözü müdür? Critical evaluation of the Bible. (Inkilab, Istanbul, 1984, 2 editions, 164 pp.)
  • The 40th Commandment of Joseph/Yusuf'un 40. Emri. Poems (Madve, Istanbul, 1984, 72 pp.)
  • Quran, the Ultimate Miracle|Kuran En Buyuk Mucize. A book co-authored with Ahmad Deedat re Islam and science. (Inkilab, Istanbul, 1983-88, 16 editions, 204 pp.).
  • The Interrogation/Sorusturma. A novel about police interrogation and torture of a political detainee (XYZ, Istanbul, 1982, ??? pp.).

[edit] English publications claimed by Edip Yuksel

All published by the United Submitters own press.

  • The Prime Argument/Asal Tartisma (English; Turkish). A two-round argument with Prof. Carl Sagan regarding claims for a mathematical structure in the Qur'an. (The Monotheist International, Tucson, 1995, 64 pp.); Turkish translation (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1998, 92 pp.)
  • Running Like Zebras (English). An Internet debate with Abdurrahman Lomax. (The Monotheist International, Tucson, 1995, 114 pp.)
  • Unorthodox Essays (English). Essays on usury, domestic violence, and abortion. (The Monotheist International, Tucson, 1994, 28 pp.)
  • Nineteen Questions for Christian Clergy/Hristiyan Din Adamlarina Ondokuz Soru (English; Turkish). An examination of the teachings and practices of modern Christianity. (Monotheist International, Tucson, 1993-1999, 3 editions, 100 pp); Turkish translation (Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1998).
  • Nineteen Questions for Muslim Clergy/Musluman Din Adamlarina Ondokuz Soru (English; Turkish). Criticism of the Muslim clergy. (Renaissance Institute, Tucson, 1991, 66 pp.; The Monotheist Productions Int., Tucson, 1992, 80 pp.); Turkish version (Gosterge, Istanbul, 1992, 72 pp.; Ozan Publishing, Istanbul, 1997-2001, 5 editions, 110 pp.).
  • The Quran: A Reformist Translation (Upcoming 2007) Pre-order from Amazon

[edit] External links

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