Johannes Avetaranian

Johannes Avetaranian
Born(1861-06-30)30 June 1861
Died11 December 1919(1919-12-11) (aged 58)

Johannes Avetaranian, born Mehmet Şükri (Erzurum, Ottoman Empire, 30 June 1861 – Wiesbaden, Germany, 11 December 1919) 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.

According to his autobiography, he was a sayyid, meaning a direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.