Chaplain Erdoğan Bilgin

Chaplain Bilgin Erdoğan is a Muslim chaplain, author, and researcher who has served in the United States correctional system for more than two decades. Since relocating to the United States in 2002, he has provided Islamic spiritual care, counseling, and rehabilitation services to incarcerated individuals, working at the intersection of faith, restorative justice, and community reintegration. His extensive experience has given him unique insight into the transformative role of spiritual guidance in correctional settings. 

Born in Biga, Çanakkale, Türkiye, Erdoğan earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Eastern Mediterranean University and a master's degree in the same field. Before moving to the United States, he wrote on religion and politics for Yeni Türkiye magazine. He is also a founding member of several Islamic educational and community organizations in the United States and has been active in interfaith dialogue, community education, and public engagement. 

Erdoğan is the author of several books, including Unconditional Love (Koşulsuz Aşk), Mabedde Yangın Var, Kelime Tefekkürleri, Duvarların Ardında Anlam Arayışı (Searching for Meaning Behind the Walls), Ey Vefa, and Fıtrat. His writings explore spirituality, faith, moral development, and the search for meaning, drawing on years of pastoral experience within American prisons. 

As a speaker, Chaplain Erdoğan shares practical and thought-provoking perspectives on prison chaplaincy, restorative justice, religious freedom, inmate rehabilitation, conversion to Islam in correctional institutions, and the role of faith in personal transformation. His presentations combine academic insight, lived experience, and compelling stories from more than twenty years of frontline ministry in the American correctional system.