Memur-Sen Kurucusu: Mehmet Akif İnan’ın Biyografisi
“Kudüs Poet” engraved in memories, the master writer Mehmet Akif İnan was born on the 12th of July, 1940 in Şanlıurfa as the son of a customs officer, Hacı Müslim İnan. İnan started his education in this city and went to Kahramanmaraş, where his uncles lived and which became the turning point of his life, to finish his final year of high school in 1958. İnan, who spent his student life actively, published his first experience, Derya newspaper, with a group of friends in the same year.
Inclined towards literature, İnan won the Turkish Language and Literature department of Ankara University’s Faculty of Language, History and Geography in the same year he graduated, but dropped out of school two years later.
“One of the Seven Magnificent Men”
Mehmet Akif İnan met the poet, writer, and intellectual Necip Fazıl Kısakürek in Kahramanmaraş in 1960.
İnan became one of the renowned poets and writers who left their mark on Turkish literature with their ideas and literary works, including Nuri Pakdil, Sezai Karakoç, and Cahit Zarifoğlu, known as the “Seven Magnificent Men”, whom millions admire.
Returning to the university he left, İnan continued his education through literature, magazines, poetry, and writing. During this time, İnan, who served as the Hilal Foundation Director between 1962 and 1964, got married in 1965. İnan’s only child Şakire Banu was born in 1967.
Years Filled with Works
After serving as the Turkish Hearth Central President between 1964 and 1969, İnan founded the Literature Magazine with Nuri Pakdil in 1969. Then İnan, who served as an expert at the Turkish Vehicle Employers Union between 1969 and 1972, published his first book, titled “Literature and Civilization” in 1972. The master writer, who published his first poetry book with the title “Hicret” in 1974, served in various positions at the Mavera Magazine, which he founded, between 1976 and 1990.
İnan, who taught literature at Gazi Education Institute in Ankara between 1977 and 1980, prepared the course book called “New Turkish Literature” for education institutes with the writer Oktay Çağlar during this time. Later, İnan was transferred to Ankara Science High School as a teacher and worked there until his passing away.
The master writer published his essay book called “Religion and Civilization” in 1985 and “Tenha Sözler” in 1991.
Immortal Work “Mescid-i Aksa” Poem
Mehmet Akif İnan, who was devoted to national and spiritual values, wrote his immortal work, the “Mescid-i Aksa” poem in 1979. The poem, which was first published in the Akıncılar Magazine by journalist Akif Emre, gained great admiration across the whole country in a short time.
Mehmet Akif İnan, who expressed his deep sorrow towards the attacks of Israel on Jerusalem, the pupil of Islam and the first Qibla of Islam, with his verses 42 years ago, and the fact that his words have not aged and are still relevant, constitutes the main evidence of him leaving an immortal work.
Appealing to the soul of all Muslims with this poem, İnan showed his success in becoming the common language of the whole Islamic geography and won the hearts of people as the “Kudüs Poet”-Poet of Jerusalem.
Brought Civil Servants Together with Unions
İnan brought his expertise in trade unionism and founded the Education Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) in 1992, which he served as the general president. İnan, who gathered hundreds of civil servants around him in a short time, founded Turkey’s largest confederation organization, Memur-Sen, and served as its chairman until his passing away.
İnan had been diagnosed with pneumonia after catching a cold following a rally held by the union in Ankara in 1999. After a while, it turned out that he got lung cancer and İnan, who lost hope after treatment stopped, returned to his hometown, Şanlıurfa, which he always called the “Land of Prophets” because he loved his hometown so much. İnan passed away during the Ramadan on the 6th of January 2000.
Mehmet Akif İnan, who was an educator, poet and writer, is commemorated every year with ceremonies and events organized by the union that he founded, Memur-Sen, and various cities across the country.
