Rock 'n roll imam allowed to continue performing in Turkey

A Turkish Imam was on Tuesday given the go ahead by Turkey’s religious authorities to continue playing in a rock band, after a controversial nine-month investigation.

The Diyanet, the state body which regulates Turkey’s 80,000 mosques, had been debating whether Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer, a religious leader in a small village on the mediterranean coast and front man for the band Firock, was in violation of the organisation's rules.

The investigation was partly held to look into whether the group clashed with Islamic values, and whether it could be a considered a commercial enterprise that could compromise his job as a hired civil servent of the Diyanet.

On Wednesday, they came to the conclusion that Firock, which combines pop rock and Sufi mysticism, would be allowed to continue performing.

“The decision of the institution to which I am proud to be a member of is in line with basic human rights, the law and the beauty of our religion.” said Tüzer in response to the decision, according to the Dogan news agency.

“Legal litigation is not something proper for us, who are dedicated to faith and Islam. I hope that this approach and tolerance will continue in the future.”

The controversy began last August after Firock performed for the first time at a local festival in his hometown, sparking off a public debate about the mixing of Islam and popular entertainment.

"I want to celebrate Allah in every place," he told Turkey's Anadolu news agency at the time. "I don't think I have caused the slightest damage to my institution. On the contrary, I have won the love, respect and admiration of millions of people."

“I want to show that you can be a Muslim, listen to rock music and be modern at the same time,” he told AFP.

The band’s biggest hit, Mevlaya Gel (Come to God) has had over 50,000 hits on YouTube and extolls its listeners to “come to God, search for the meaning in your heart, come to God”.

Tuzer also provoked some controversies after marrying a Christian tourist - who later converted to Islam - in 1997.

The combination of rock music and Sufism is nothing new - in the early 1990s in Pakistan, Sufi rock became a sensation after the fusion was pioneered by the Punjabi band Junoon, a group referred to be the New York Times as the “U2 of Pakistan”.

Yusuf Islam, the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens before his conversion to Islam, was also known to perform in the style.

Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer is planning to play the coastal city of Antalya on June 22, during which he assured AFP "the authorities will keep a close eye on me".

"Before, I wasn't able to act like myself because of pressures. But this time, you will see a different imam, both in terms of looks and the repertoire," he said, saying at least 50,000 people are expected to attend the concert.

"I'll be a real rock star!"