Ahmet Muhsin Tüzer is the Imam in the Turkish village of Pinarbasi.
He's calling the locals to Friday prayers.
If it were up to Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs – the Diyanet – Tüzer would no
longer be allowed to lead prayers in the village's small mosque.
He's been suspended without pay.
But since a new imam hasn't been assigned to the village so far, Tüzer continues to
conduct services.
Authorities in the capital Ankara say that his behaviour is "un-Islamic".
"If those who judge me would only try to understand me a little and invite me to Ankara to familiarize
themselves with my views and philosophy -- my beliefs, my goals, my visions ... If only
they'd tried to understand me, none of this would've happened.
But unfortunately, this is the work of people who do not understand justice and truth, the
real universality of Islam and its glory."
Tüzer is a fan of "Anadolu" rock music.
That has made him famous across the country as the "rockin' Imam."
That hasn't gone down well with the religious authorities, however -- who are also the EMPLOYERS
of Turkey's muslim preachers.
But Tüzer refuses to be sidelined.
My grandfather was a Koran teacher and my father was an Imam, so I've been confronted
with religious tones since I was a child.
My brothers and I were the first people in Turkey to release an album with prayers put
to music.
Islamic sounds, verses from the Koran, prayers and hymns have been a fundamental part of
me since childhood.
The first time the Diyanet sent an inspector to question Tüzer was after he performed
a concert five years ago in the nearby coastal town of Kaş.
Then after a concert in spring 2018 he was suspended.
He then launched an appeal.
While he continues to rehearse, Tüzer says he won't actually perform concerts while the
case is pending.
Many people in Kaş are frustrated with the religious authorities' conduct, and say there
is no justification for Tüzer's suspension.
"If the Imam does his job properly, where's the problem?
And he does do his job -- and music is his hobby.
He also could have had scuba-diving as a hobby.
But because he's an Imam, he also definitely has a strong voice.
And he uses it.
In my opinion, the ideology that has been popular in Turkey for the past 16 or 17 years
has nothing to do with true Islam.
It puts pressure on people.
But so far all seems well in Tüzer's village, Pinarbasi -- even if the "Rockin' Imam" knows
he also has a lot of adversaries in Turkey.
People who think that their idea of faith is the only true one act very negatively towards
me.
In other words, it's particularly the extremists who keep threatening me -- sad as it may be
to say.
Nevertheless, Tüzer wants to continue being both an Imam and musician, and hopes the court
won't be too hard on him.
Should the appeal against his suspension be rejected, Tüzer will no longer be able to
call the villagers to prayer in the local mosque ...