Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selim ARGUN / Deputy President of Religious Affairs
Born in 1971 in Düzce, Selim Argun completed his memorization of the Qur’an (ḥifẓ) and began his education at the İmam-Hatip High School in Bolu, which he later completed in Istanbul. After studying for one year at the Faculty of Theology at Selçuk University, he voluntarily froze his enrollment and continued his education at the Islamic University of Madinah, where he graduated with high honors from the Faculty of Da‘wah and Fundamentals of Religion.
He completed his master’s degree in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the University of Johannesburg. His thesis, titled “The Contributions of Abubakr Effendi, a Fiqh Scholar Sent by the Ottoman State in the Second Half of the 19th Century to Cape Town, to Islamic Thought and Culture in South Africa,” was awarded with distinction.
He earned his PhD in Montreal, Canada, at McGill University with a dissertation titled “The Ottoman Ilmiye Class, Waqfs, and Elite Struggles (1789–1839).” During his doctoral studies, he also taught at McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies.
Alongside his academic career, he served as a member of the Montreal Islamic Council, the Advisory Board for Citizens Abroad at the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), and volunteered in various civil society organizations serving the Turkish community in Montreal.
After years abroad, he returned to Turkey in 2013 and was appointed as Assistant Professor at the Department of Islamic History at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Theology. On June 13, 2017, he was appointed Director General for Foreign Affairs at the Presidency of Religious Affairs, and on October 4, 2017, he became Deputy President of Religious Affairs.
He currently serves as Deputy President responsible for the Directorate General of Foreign Affairs and the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Services. Since November 5, 2021, he has also been serving as a Full Member of the Scientific Board of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).
Dr. Argun also teaches part-time at various universities in Ankara and continues his scholarly work in the fields of Islamic History, the Waqf Institution, Religious Diplomacy, the Ottoman Scholarly Class (Ilmiye), and Islam in Africa.
Fluent in English, Arabic, and French, he is also a certified diver and an amateur ney (reed flute) player.