He graduated from Selçuk University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature in 1992. He completed his master's degree in 1994 and his doctorate in 1998 at Selçuk University Institute of Social Sciences. In 1993, he started to work as a research assistant at Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature. In 1999, he was appointed as a faculty member at Balıkesir University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature. In 2003, he became an Associate Professor and in 2008 he became a Professor. In 2017, he was appointed to Marmara University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and is still working here.
 

Gianfranco Bria is Assistant Professor of History of Islamic Countries at Roma Tre University and an Associate Member of CETOBaC-EHESS in Paris. He has been a Visiting Scholar and has conducted research at Columbia University, New York University, Bard College, Boğaziçi University, and the University of Tirana.

His research focuses on Islam and Sufism in Southeastern Europe, with particular attention to Islamic authority, sainthood, doctrines, and Muslims networks from the late Ottoman period to the present. A central part of his work is devoted to Bektashi communities in the Balkans, especially their devotional literature, ritual practices, transnational connections, and role in the religious and cultural history of Southeastern Europe.