Johannes Avetaranian

Mullah in Turkey (descendent of Prophet Muhammad)

Johannes Avetaranian (Erzurum, Ottoman Empire, June 30, 1861 – Wiesbaden, Germany on December 11, 1919), born Muhammad Shukri (Turkish: Mehmet Şükri), was, according to his autobiography, a Turkish descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Avetaranian was originally a mullah in Turkey who converted from Islam to Christianity, and later became a missionary for the Swedish Mission Covenant Church in Southern Xinjiang (1892–1938).

He translated the New Testament into the Uyghur language.He preached Christianity in Xinjiang and at a Swedish Protestant mission.

He died in 1919, aged 58, in Wiesbaden.