johannes avetaranian (erzurum, ottoman empire, june 30, 1861 – wiesbaden, germany on december 11, 1919), born muhammad shukri (), 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.