Arif Şirin

Arif Şirin, commonly known as Ozan Arif ("Arif the Bard"; June 10, 1949 – February 13, 2019), was a Turkish lyricist, composer, singer, and bağlama performer, foremost known for his songs with lyrics propagating the Turkish nationalist cause.

Life
Şirin was born in his father's village Yükselen (Hapu) in Alucra district. By 1970, he had graduated from the Male Teacher's School in Ordu Province and worked as a primary school teacher in Samsun from 1970 to 1979. Following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, he moved to Germany where he lived until his return to Turkey in 1991.

He and fellow folk singer İsmail Türüt had been on trial for a song allegedly praising the assassination of Hrant Dink. Şirin and Türüt were acquitted in December 2009.

Şirin died on February 13, 2019 in the hospital of Faculty of Medicine of Ondokuz Mayıs University of throat cancer.