Kenʾan Rifâî (1867–1950)

In 2009, the Turkish Women’s Cultural Association in Istanbul, represented by Cemalnur Sargut, launched a campaign to establish an endowed professorship to attract or retain a teacher and scholar of Islamic studies in the department of religious studies. The professorship is named after Kenan Rifai, a Sufi master, writer and translator who was recognized as a prominent intellectual among his contemporaries. Rifai, who died in 1950, encouraged the education and professional development of women in Turkey in the early 20th century, when women were denied involvement in public life.