Ayverdi, Samiha (1906—)

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Ayverdi, Samiha (1906—)

Turkish novelist and author of political and spiritual essays. Born in 1906 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Selected works:

So This Is Love (1939); A Night in the Temple (1940); The Fire Tree (1941); Living Dead (1942); The Chaplain (1948).

Though she was raised in a traditional old Turkish family and attended public school, when Samiha Ayverdi was 15 she left formal education to pursue self-directed scholarship. Ayverdi has written essays on politics and religion, including explications of the Islamic Jihad, which condone war as a basis for advancing the Muslim religion. Her publishing career flourished in the 1930s and 1940s with several novels.

Crista Martin , Boston, Massachusetts