List of Famous people born in Bitlis Province
Said Nursî
Said Nursi, also spelled Said-i Nursî or Said-i Kurdî and commonly known with the honorific Bediüzzaman, or simply Üstad was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim theologian who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. Believing that modern science and logic was the way of the future, he advocated teaching religious sciences in secular schools and modern sciences in religious schools. Nursi inspired a religious movement that has played a vital role in the revival of Islam in Turkey and now numbers several millions of followers worldwide. His followers, often known as the "Nurcu movement" or the "Nur cemaati".
Zaro Aga
Zaro Aga was a Kurdish man who claimed to be one of the longest-living humans ever. He claimed birth in 1774, and died on 29 June 1934 in Istanbul, Turkey. He was aged 160 when he died, and thus claimed to be one of the longest-living humans ever.
Fuat Sezgin
Fuat Sezgin was a Turkish orientalist who specialized in the history of Arabic-Islamic science. He was professor emeritus of the History of Natural Science at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany and the founder and honorary director of the Institute of the History of the Arab Islamic Sciences there. He also created museums in Frankfurt and Istanbul with replicas of historical Arabic-Islamic scientific instruments, tools and maps. His best known publication is the 17-volume Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums, a standard reference in the field.
Metin Yüksel
Metin Yüksel, was an Islamist political and social activist from Turkey. One of the main leaders of Turkey's political Islam movement during the 1970s, he also led the Akıncılar Organization, an Islamist political organization.
Edip Yüksel
Edip Yüksel is a Kurdish American author and philosophy professor of Sunni Muslim background. He is an exponent of the modern Islamic reform and Quranism (Quraniyoon) movements and is known for his criticism and rejection of both Sunni and Shiite versions of Islam. Author of several books on the Qur'an and Islam, he gained attention through his works and speeches.
Ihsan Nuri
Ihsan Nuri, also known as Ihsan Nuri Pasha, 1892 or 1893, Bitlis – 25 March 1976, Tehran) was a Kurdish soldier and politician, former officer of the Ottoman and Turkish Army, and one of the leaders of the Ararat rebellion as the generalissimo of the Kurdish National Forces.
Kâmran İnan
Kamran Inan, Turkish politician, statesman of Kurdish origin, diplomat and scholar. He was born in Hizan, Bitlis Province. Representative in Parliament from Van and Bitlis numerous times. Graduate of Ankara University Faculty of Law, and Ph.D. in Law from University of Geneva. At various times Turkish UN Ambassador, permanent UN representative, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister of State, Senator from Bitlis and member of Foreign Affairs Commission. He published numerous books on Turkish politics and history.
Zeki Ergezen
Zeki Ergezen was a Turkish politician.