Ömer Tuğrul İnançer

Ömer Tuğrul İnançer — Biography

Turkish lawyer and Sufi Ömer Tuğrul İnançer was known for three things: his law career, his Sufi music and the books drawn from his talks. From 1999 until his death he led the Istanbul Jerrahi Lodge as the 21st shaykh of the Jerrahi branch of the Halveti order, and he was also described as a bendir and kudüm player and a vocalist. He died at his home in Üsküdar on September 4, 2022; Ahmet Özhan succeeded him. President Erdoğan attended the funeral.

His father was a forest manager, and İnançer grew up in Bursa. A music teacher sent him to Western music lessons, after which he studied privately with master muezzins at Bursa's mosques. In Istanbul he joined the Üsküdar Music Society, studied under Emin Ongan and turned to Sufi music. After graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Law he worked as a legal consultant; in 1991 he became founding general director of the Istanbul Historical Turkish Music Ensemble under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and retired from that post. He was a former chairman of the board of trustees of a foundation for researching and preserving Turkish Sufi music and folklore. From 1971 he sat in the ensemble at the Şeb-i Arus ceremonies held in Konya each December.

His talks were published as books, among them Gönül Sohbetleri (2006), Dinle Neyden & Mesnevi Sohbetleri (2009), Vakte Karşı Sözler (2012) and Kalb-i Selim (2021). He made Şarkılar Seni Söyler with Ahmet Özhan and appeared in the programs Seyir Defteri, Mesneviden and Gönül Dünyamız. A new volume compiled from his talks came out in summer 2026.