In May 2013, the Turkish media highlighted an unusual religious figure: Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer, who is a full-time imam at a small mosque in southwestern Turkey, but also a part-time singer in a rock band. Dubbed the “Rocker Imam,” Tuzer, 44, quickly became famous but also controversial. The Directorate of Religious Affairs, the state ministry that controls all mosques and employs all imams, soon initiated an internal “investigation” about his work. Meanwhile, the fame of the Rocker Imam spread, leading to slick video clips and concerts in Turkey and even New York City. Just last week, a novel based on his life story, titled "Rock’n Imam: An Unusual Life," was published by writer Selcuk Alkan.

Tuzer spoke to Al-Monitor last weekend in Istanbul not only about his life and work but also what it means to be a religious figure and musician in Turkey. While the Rocker Imam may be a disturbing figure for some of Turkey’s self-declared “conservative” or “Islamist” Muslims, he is an inspiring icon for others who are open to more liberal voices of Islam.

Tuzer’s story began in Kas, which is a coastal town that borders Turkey’s touristy Mediterranean shore. He was born and raised there, and still serves as the imam of the small mosque in a village called Pinarbasi. He went to the “imam-hatip” school in the same area, which is the government-funded school system that educates future imams and “muezzins,” the reciters of the ezan, or the call to prayer. In the late 1990s, he briefly worked in Istanbul as the muezzin of the famous Sultanahmet Mosque, a position he acquired apparently thanks to his powerful voice.

That was the time Tuzer also met his future wife, Oana Mara, an immigrant from Romania. They married in 1999, and she remained a church-going Christian for many years, before willingly converting to Islam. They made an unusual couple, for sure, but not an un-Islamic one: Islamic law allows Muslim men to marry Christian or Jewish (but not pagan) women. In the meantime, Tuzer remained an unusual cleric, wearing jeans, sporting long hair and riding a Kawasaki motorcycle.