Mufti Ahmet İzzet Efendi (Çalgüner)

Müftü Ahmet İzzet Efendi was born in the village of Süller in Çal district, as the son of Mehmet Hamdi Efendi and Emine Hanım. After receiving his primary education from his father, he went to Istanbul for his further education. Upon completing his education, he went back to the village of Süller and was occupied with educating students in the madrasa of his father. On May 17, 1911, he became the müftü of Çal district. Müftü Efendi, who gained the love and respect of his students and the people, made important contributions during the National Struggle. He worked for the establishment of the National Committee in Çal. Mufti Efendi made significant contributions during the War of Independence. He worked for the establishment of the Heyet-i Milliye in Çal. He served as the head of the established Heyet-i Milliye and maintained close relations with the Heyet-i Milliye of Denizli. On May 17, 1919, he gathered the people in front of Çal Bazaar Mosque and urged them not to remain silent against the occupation of Izmir and the occupations in other cities. After that, he never gave up his call against the occupations. After the occupation of Izmir, he became the symbol name of the resistance movement in Çal. He fought hard for the establishment of the Çal Committee of Nationality and took action to gather the necessary volunteers for the struggle. In order to strengthen the Kuvâ-yı Milliye movement in Denizli, he traveled to the villages in and around Çal and tried to collect volunteers by visiting accidents such as Dinar. He armed the volunteers he collected, took the lead of the volunteers and went to the Aydın-Köşk front with them and fought with the Greek forces. He showed great devotion in arming his volunteers and meeting their shelter and food needs. When the Greek forces came to the Çal region after the June 22 attack, Mufti Ahmet İzzet Efendi became the person sought by the Greeks for revenge. His madrasah in Suller was burned down by Greek soldiers and his house was turned into a headquarters. Mufti Ahmet İzzet Efendi, who played a role in the National Struggle from the beginning until the establishment of the regular army at the cost of his life, was among the muftis who did not hesitate to sign the Ankara Fatwa issued against the fatwa of the Istanbul Government. Mufti Efendi, who led and led the people, continued to teach in his madrasah in Süller after the National Struggle as the mufti of Çal. He retired as mufti in 1952 and died on June 6, 1952.

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