Acclaimed Islamic scholar Sheikh Mahmud Osta Osman, known as Mahmoud Effendi, passed away at dawn on Thursday, while receiving treatment for kidney diseases in hospitals in the Turkish city of Istanbul. He was 93.
Sheikh Mahmoud Effendi is one of the most prominent Sufi religious figures in Turkey, with an estimated number of followers, in millions. He is the leader of the Naqshbandi Ismail Agha Jamaat, known as the Mahmoud Effendi Jamaat.
The official account of the Foundation for Science and Services at the Ismail Agha Mosque on Twitter published a statement saying, “Sheikh Mahmoud Effendi has gone to the home of the hereafter, our condolences to the entire nation of Muhammad, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him.”
On Friday, June 24, Hundreds of thousands of people participated in Sheikh Effendi’s funeral and farewell from Al-Fateh Mosque in the Turkish city of Istanbul, along with a group of Arab and Turkish scholars, sheikhs, thinkers and science students, and a large crowd of Turkish and Arab political figures, led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan mourned the scholar Sheikh Mahmud Effendi, saying, “I pray to God for mercy for Sheikh Mahmoud Osti Osmanoglu, one of the spiritual leaders of our country, who dedicated his life to Islam. I wish patience and solace to his family, students and all those who love him… May he rest in peace.”
Thousands of sheikhs and scholars around the world, in addition to the Syrian Islamic Council, mourned Sheikh Mahmoud Effendi, offering their deepest condolences to the Islamic and Arab nation, the Turkish people and the government. They prayed for God to have mercy on the deceased and to inspire his family, lovers, students and followers with patience and solace.
Meanwhile, social networking sites in the Islamic world abounded with millions of posts, tweets and statements condoling Sheikh Mahmoud, and praising his scientific career.
Who is Mahmoud Effendi?
Sufi Sheikh Mahmoud Usta Osmanoglu, known as “Mahmoud Effendi”, the leader of the Ismail Agha group, which is the largest and most influential religious group in Turkey, was born in 1929 in Uf, in the Turkish province of Trabzon, to a Muslim family.
He grew up under the guidance of those inclined towards religion and received Arabic and Persian language sciences at the hands of Sheikh Tsbihizadeh.
Effendi was appointed imam of the Ismail Aga Mosque in Istanbul in 1954 and remained there until he retired in 1996. He taught and preached in Istanbul and attracted many students and followers.
Sheikh Mahmoud is considered one of the religious leaders and its senior sheikhs and a teacher to many of the sheikhs in Turkey. He was distinguished by intelligence and acumen. He was a memorizer of the Holy Quran and was licensed to speak since his childhood.
The Sheikh was subjected to much harassment, especially with the 1960 coup, when the military administration at that time sentenced him to exile to the Eskişehir region, but the decision was not implemented. In 1985 he was referred to the State Security Court on the pretext that his speeches and lessons threatened the principle of state secularism, but the court ruled his innocence.
Mahmoud Effendi was subjected to an assassination attempt in 2007 by shooting at his car in Istanbul, but he was unhurt. He was then rushed to the hospital for treatment and was subjected to another failed attempt to shoot him.
