Love and Essence of Human Being

LOVE
AND

THE ESSENCE OF BEING HUMAN
by

Fethullah Gülen
Prepared for publi a!io" by

Ö. Faruk Tuncer
Tra"#la!ed by

Mehmet Ünal

Nilüfer Korkmaz

Ufuk Books: 3 !ctualit" Books #eries: 3 !ll ri$hts reser%e&. '())* +a ,a"-nc-l-k No .art of this /ook ma" /e re.ro&uce& or transmitte& in an" from or /" an" means0 1ithout .ermission in 1ritin$ from the 2u/lisher. 2u/lishe& /": +a ,a"-nc-l-k 3umhuri"et 3a&. No: ()45*6B 7)(3) 8ar/i"e69stan/ul Tel: :;4)< :(=(< (3( => ?= Fa@: :;4)< :(=(< (3= 7( 3* A#BN. 2rinte& an& /oun&: Brkam Mat/aas- 6 Turke"

Table of Co"!e"!#
!uthorCs Bio$ra.h" Fore1or&: Tolerance an& Deconciliation 3ha.ter =: 3limate of Eo%e an& Tolerance
Eo%e 3om.assion For$i%eness Tolerance Tolerance an& Ei/eralit" True Eife an& True 8umanit" Eine of 2eace an& Deconciliation 8umanism an& Eo%e of 8umanit" Aslam As a Deli$ion of Tolerance Aslam !s a Deli$ion of Uni%ersal Merc"

3ha.ter (: The 3ountr" of Tolerance +esire& /" !ll
Fariet" in #ociet" Minimum 3ommon Groun& Tolerance +esire& /" !ll Tolerance from Theor" to 2ractice Unit"0 !ccor& an& !$reement

3ha.ter 3: Ne1 Gorl& Hr&er an& Bein$ a 8ero of Eo%e
A&eal #.irits an& 8eroes of Eo%e The Un/reaka/le Ties amon$ Hur 2eo.le +ifferences in #t"le an& Metho& A&eal Belie%er0 A&eal Muslim 8an&less to Those Gho 8it ,ou0 Ton$ueless to Those Gho 3urse ,ou Hur Metho& a$ainst 8ostilit" #ufism as a Eifest"le

3ha.ter *: T1o Doses on Hur Bmeral& 8ills: +ialo$ue an& Tolerance
Tolerance an& +ialo$ue in the 2ers.ecti%e of the IurCan an& the #unnah The Delationshi. /et1een Go&Cs !..ro%al an& Tolerance

The Balance /et1een Eo%e6Tolerance an& Jiha& in the Eife of the 2ro.het of Merc" 8uman Di$hts in Aslam Tolerance in the Eife of the An&i%i&ual an& #ociet" Makin$ the !tmos.here of Tolerance 2ermanent +ialo$ue in the Muhamma&an #.irit an& Meanin$

3ha.ter ?: T1o Doses on the Bmeral& 8ills: +ialo$ue an& Tolerance
Not 3losin$ the +oor of +ialo$ue #.orts an& the 2rocess of +ialo$ue Tolerance an& the Me&ia Bein$ 8eroes of Tolerance

3ha.ter : To1ar&s Glo/al Tolerance
Ne1 Gorl& Hr&er +e%elo.ment of 3i%ilizations De$ar&in$ the Anformation !$e an& the 3lash of 3i%ilizations +ialo$ue 1ith the 2eo.le of the Book Je1s an& 3hristians in the IurCan KA Trust in the Beaut" in 8umanit"Cs Make6U.L Messa$e for the == #e.tem/er Terrorist !ttacks To Make the Barth into a 3ra&le of Brotherhoo& an& #isterhoo&

An&e@

Au!$or%# Bio&rap$y
Fethullah Gülen0 affectionatel" calle& Kho&Maefen&i0 is a thinker an& scholar. 8e 1as /orn in Brzurum0 eastern Turke"0 in =4*=. U.on $ra&uation from &i%init" school0 he o/taine& his license to .reach an& teach. 8is social reform efforts0 /e$un &urin$ the =4 )s0 ha%e ma&e him one of Turke"Cs most 1ell6kno1n an& res.ecte& .u/lic fi$ures. Thou$h sim.le in out1ar& a..earance0 he is ori$inal in thou$ht an& action. 8e em/races all humanit"0 an& is &ee.l" a%erse to un/elief0 inMustice0 an& &e%iation. 8is /elief an& feelin$s are .rofoun&0 an& his i&eas an& a..roach to .ro/lems are /oth 1ise an& rational. ! li%in$ mo&el of lo%e0 ar&or0 an& feelin$0 he is e@traor&inaril" /alance& in his thou$hts0 acts0 an& treatment of matters. 8e is ackno1le&$e&0 either tacitl" or [email protected]"0 /" Turkish intellectuals an& scholars as one of the most serious an& im.ortant thinkers an& 1riters0 an& amon$ the 1isest acti%ists of t1entieth6centur" Turke" or e%en of the Muslim 1orl&. 8o1e%er0 he al1a"s &escri/es his aim as stri%in$ to /e no more than a hum/le ser%ant of Go& an& a frien& to all. +esire for fame is the same as sho1 an& ostentation0 a K.oisonous hone"L that e@tin$uishes the heartCs s.iritual li%elinessN is one of the $ol&en rules he follo1s. Gülen has s.ent his a&ult life %oicin$ the cries an& laments0 as 1ell as the /elief an& as.irations0 of Muslims in .articular0 an& of humanit" in $eneral. 8e is a/le to /ear his o1n sorro1s0 /ut those of others crush him. 8e feels each /lo1 &eli%ere& to humanit" as &eli%ere& first to his o1n heart. 8e feels himself so &ee.l" an& in1ar&l" connecte& to creation that he once sai&: KGhene%er A see a leaf fall from its /ranch in autumn0 A feel as much .ain as if m" arm ha& /een am.utate&.L Gülen &reame& of a $eneration that 1oul& com/ine intellectual Kenli$htenmentL 1ith .ure s.iritualit"0 1is&om0 an& continuous acti%ism. Bein$ %er" kno1le&$ea/le in reli$ious an& social sciences an& familiar 1ith the .rinci.les of KmaterialL sciences0 he instructe& his stu&ents in most of these areas. The first stu&ents 1ho atten&e& his courses in 9zmir /ecame the %an$uar& of a re%i%e& $eneration 1illin$ to ser%e his i&eals. The $eneration ca.ti%ate& /" his tears an& sincerit"0 altruism an& lo%e0 continues to ser%e 1ithout thou$ht of material re1ar&. The" .reach0 teach0 an& esta/lish .ri%ate e&ucational institutions all o%er the 1orl&N the" .u/lish /ooks0 ma$azines an& ne1s.a.ersN the" .artici.ate in tele%ision an& ra&io /roa&casts0 an& fun& scholarshi.s for .oor stu&ents. Gülen is 1ell6kno1n for his ar&ent en&ea%or to stren$then /on&s amon$ .eo.le. 8e maintains that there are more /on&s /rin$in$ .eo.le to$ether than those se.aratin$ them. Base& on this /elief0 he 1orks 1ithout rest for a sincere0 soun& &ialo$ue an& tolerance. 8e 1as one of the foun&ers of the Foun&ation of Journalists an& Griters0 a $rou. that .romotes &ialo$ue an& tolerance amon$ all social strata an& 1hich has recei%e& a 1arm 1elcome from almost all 1alks of life. 8e re$ularl" %isits an& recei%es lea&in$ Turkish an& international fi$ures: the Fatican !m/assa&or to Turke"0 the 2atriarch of the Turkish Hrtho&o@ 3ommunit"0 the 2atriarch of the Turkish !rmenian 3ommunit"0 the 3hief Da//i of the Turkish Je1ish 3ommunit"0 as 1ell as lea&in$ Mournalists0 columnists0 tele%ision an& mo%ie stars0 an& thinkers of %ar"in$ %ie1s. Fethullah Gülen maintains0 K!s a .olitical an& $o%ernin$ s"stem0 &emocrac" is the onl" alternati%e left in the 1orl&.L K+o not &es.air in the face of a&%ersit"0 an& &o not "iel& to anarchists an& terrorists0L he em.hasizes0 lest 1e $i%e u. ho.e. To him0 ho.elessness is a Ouicksan& that /uries human .ro$ress an& kills the 1ill to succee&0 a noose that chokes an& &ro1ns .eo.le. Gith his acute .erce.tion0 Gülen .ercei%es that the 1orl&Cs s.iritual climate is un&er$oin$ a .ositi%e chan$e. 8e en%isions a t1ent"6first centur" in 1hich 1e 1ill see the s.routin$ of a s.iritual &"namic that 1ill re%i%e the no16&ormant moral %alues. 8e en%isions an a$e of tolerance an& un&erstan&in$ that 1ill lea& to the coo.eration of ci%ilizations an& their ultimate fusion into one /o&". The human s.irit shall trium.h in the form of interci%ilizational &ialo$ue an& the sharin$ of %alues.

Throu$hout his life0 Fethullah Gülen has .ursue& nothin$ of 1orl&l" .leasure. 8e has s.ent his /achelor life stu&"in$0 teachin$0 tra%elin$0 1ritin$0 an& s.eakin$. 8e al1a"s feels the sufferin$s of .eo.le comin$ from the s.iritual ari&it". 8e has more than *) /ooks 1hich ha%e so far sol& more aroun& three millions. 8e continues to 1rite. Man" of his /ooks ha%e /een translate& into se%eral lan$ua$es such as Bn$lish0 German0 !ra/ic0 Dussian0 #.anish0 French0 an& Ja.anese. An a&&ition to his /ooks0 Gülen contri/utes to se%eral Mournals an& ma$azines. 8e 1rites the e&itorial .a$e for #izinti0 ,eni Ümit0 ,a$mur0 an& The Fountain ma$azines. 8is sermons an& &iscourses ha%e /een recor&e& on thousan&s of ta.es an& %i&eo cassettes. #ome of Fethullah GülenCs /ooks ha%e /een com.ile& from his articles0 sermons0 an& the ans1ers to the Ouestions he has /een aske& o%er the "ears. The one in "our han& is one of these. T$e Publi#$er

Fore'ord

TOLE(ANCE AND (ECONCILIATION
B%er"/o&" &ra1s out their o1n meanin$ from &emocrac". #ome .eo.le claim that &emocrac" is carr"in$ their i&eas to .o1er /" .ersua&in$ othersN some claim &emocrac" means /ein$ a/le to [email protected] their i&eas freel". Ghen it is time to s.eak0 e%er"/o&" &efen&s &emocrac". But the num/er of .eo.le 1ho are sincere enou$h to o..ose a &ictator 1ho /ack their 1a" is e@tremel" limite&. #ome of the &is.utes 1hich starte& 1hen Mr. Necmettin Br/akan /ecame the 2rime Minister ha%e continue& until to&a" 1ith an increasin$ zeal an& the" seem to continue. The essence of these &is.utes is the a..rehension that in Turke" there are some centers of .o1er in fa%or of #hariCah. The" %ie1 &emocrac" as a means to come to .o1er an& once the" ha%e come to .o1er0 the" 1ill &estro" our laic an& li/eral De.u/lic. !ccor&in$ to this assum.tion0 these centers conceal their real intentions. The" are makin$ &issimulation. Hn m" .art0 A &o not think that it is .ossi/le to /e a/le to sa" somethin$ certain concernin$ to 1hat e@tent .eo.le are sincere in their s.eeches or acts an& to 1hat e@tent the" are makin$ &issimulation. But if there is somethin$ of 1hich A am certain0 it is the fact that the .ro/a/ilit" of a #hariCah $o%ernment comin$ to .o1er in the 7) th "ear of our De.u/lic is %er" 1eak. 8o1e%er0 some social an& economic in&icators such as hu$e ineOualities in economic life0 /i$ $a.s amon$ incomes0 an& an increase of immoralit" a&& to this t".e of a..rehensions. But A /elie%e that our De.u/lic is /ase& on foun&ations formi&a/le enou$h to /rin$ an" &esire or attem.t to this en& to nothin$. That is 1h" A al1a"s tell .eo.le 1ho are an@ious a/out this matter: KAf a free election like to&a"Cs ha& /een ma&e in =43)s0 the .ro.ortion of .eo.le 1ho 1ante& Aslamic #hariCah 1oul& ha%e /een %er" hi$h. But to&a"0 .olitical .arties 1hich ha%e similar &eman&s are not a/le to take e%en ()P of %otes. An m" o.inion0 &emocrac" is a re$ime of KtoleranceL an& Kreconciliation.L At is eas" to .ut for1ar& K&is.arities.L But it is much more essential to .ut for1ar& Kcommon .oints.L At is e%en %ital. M" a..roach an& attitu&e to K#hariCahL &istur/ some of m" frien&s. Ghere%er A make a s.eech or .artici.ate in a .anel0 A am .estere& 1ith a /om/ar&ment of Ouestions concernin$ this issue. A ha%e to ans1er such Ouestions as0 K2rofessor0 ho1 can "ou /e so close to reactionariesQLN K8o1 &o "ou /ear that kin& of .eo.leQLN K!re "ou too chan$in$ min&QL etc. A ha%e either 1ritten or %er/all" [email protected]& hun&re&s of times: A am in &ialo$ue 1ith se%eral reli$ious an& #hariCah6oriente& .eo.le not /ecause A .ursue an a$reement 1ith them in thou$ht /ut 1ith the aim of ho.e of /ein$ a/le to fin& an ans1er to the Ouestion0 K8o1 can 1e li%e to$ether &es.ite our &ifferences in thou$htQL. !ctuall"0 A alrea&" kno1 the ans1er of this Ouestion. But A am rather tr"in$ to fin& out the ans1er to the Ouestion0 K8o1 can 1e .ractice it in lifeQL At is this same ans1er 1hich Mr. Fethullah Gülen is searchin$ in his /ook in "our han&. The ans1er to this Ouestion can /e summarize& as KB" /elie%in$ in &emocrac" an& /ein$ tolerant.L An fact0 most .eo.le kno1 this ans1er /ut 1e ha%e &ifficult" in realizin$ it in the .ractical life /ecause 1e ha%e serious fears. Ge are afrai& that others 1ill [email protected] Kour $oo& intention.L There are some other .ro/lems too. B%er"/o&" amon$ us is in fa%or of &emocrac". But e%er"/o&" &efen&s &emocrac" onl" 1hen .eo.le or thou$hts that the" re$ar& in their fa%or come to .o1er. Ghen the" come across a term 1hich the" &o not like0 the" for$et all a/out &emocrac". Most of our .eo.le think that some ri$hts that the" &esire for themsel%es are su.erfluous or lu@urious for others. Hur societ" can ne%er free itself from a K&ou/le stan&ar&L 1hich is like a conta$ious &isease.

KToleranceL is not a conce.t outsi&e &emocrac" /ut 1hile e%er"one [email protected] tolerance for their o1n thou$hts0 faiths an& %alues0 the" cannot a..roach othersC thou$hts0 faiths an& %alues 1ith the same tolerance. The reason 1h" the" &o so is Ouite sim.le: the &ou/le stan&ar& &isease0 1hich A ha%e Must mentione&. Tolerance means ha%in$ a Kfrien&l"L attitu&e to1ar&s .eo.le 1ho ha%e &ifferent s"stems of %alues an& life st"les than oneCs o1n. More .recisel"0 it means /ein$ in a state of Kfrien&l"L en&urance. A think to realize this is not %er" &ifficult. Tolerance is the result of a .ersonCs confi&ence in his or her o1n thou$hts0 /eliefs0 an& s"stem of %alues. 2eo.le 1ho lack confi&ence in their thou$hts an& %alue s"stem0 are usuall" a$$ressi%e an& intolerant. A am confi&ant of m" o1n thou$hts an& /eliefs0 so A ha%e no fear of /ein$ tolerant to1ar&s othersC thou$hts an& /eliefs. A am also aske&: K2rofessor0 are "ou a1are that there are some .eo.le 1ho 1ant to esta/lish an Aslamic #hariCah $o%ernmentQL Hf course0 A amN A am not /lin&. Furthermore0 A am tr"in$ to o/ser%e them as closel" as A can. But A am also tr"in$ to &istin$uish .eo.le 1ho .ursue a conser%ati%e life st"le from those 1ho 1ant to esta/lish an Aslamic #hariCah $o%ernment0 1ithout feelin$ an" fear. There are0 of course0 similar ten&encies in e%er" &emocrac"N this must /e Ouite natural. But in m" o.inion0 our .u/lic %ie1 1ill not $i%e cre&it to an" ten&enc" 1hich 1ill harm &emocrac". A &o not su..ose that .eo.le 1ho ha%e alrea&" acOuire& the ri$ht to make &ecisions a/out themsel%es0 that is0 K1ho are so%erei$nL0 1ill not 1ant to renounce their so%erei$nt". Besi&es0 A kno1 that it is .ossi/le neither to era&icate such ten&encies nor to e@terminate the .eo.le 1ho ha%e them. Ge are tra%elin$ on the same shi.. Af it sinks 1e 1ill sink all to$ether. 8o1e%er0 our aim is that the shi. shoul& not sink. !&&itionall"0 an internal conflict 1ill mean the /i$$est &isaster 1hich 1e must a%oi& at all costs. No one shoul& e%er think that a K2"hrus %ictor"L 1ill /rin$ /enefit. Tolerance is nee&e& for the reasons a/o%e. A assume that the reasons 1h" Mr. Fethullah Gülen has felt the nee& to 1rite this /ook are the same. Besi&es tolerance0 1e shoul& also sa" a fe1 1or&s a/out KreconciliationL. #ome of m" frien&s are in fa%or of reconciliation. The" sa" to me0 K,our attitu&e of reconciliation is correct. ,ou ha%e to .ut u. 1ith a $reat &eal of trou/le /ut "ou &o the ri$ht thin$.L But some others of m" frien&s are %er" &istur/e& /" this attitu&e. The" a..roach m" i&ea in the same 1a" the" a..roach the matter of tolerance. The" sa": K8o1 can it /e .ossi/leQ 8o1 &o "ou come to$ether 1ith .eo.le 1ith 1hom "ou ha%e that man" &ifferencesQL #till some others amon$ m" frien&s claim that it is not .ossi/le to reconcile 1ith e%er"one un&er e%er" con&ition. Hf course0 the" are ri$ht. ,ou cannot reconcile 1ith e%er"one un&er e%er" con&ition. An or&er to /e a/le to reconciliation0 "ou must /e in Kconsensus.L A mean "ou shoul& ha%e some Kcommon .ointsL 1ith the .erson 1ith 1hom "ou seek reconciliation. 3ertainl"0 "ou cannot reconcile on e%er" issue either. There are some issues on 1hich it is im.ossi/le to reconcile. ,ou cannot /ear an" chan$e in them. There are three elements for me to /e tolerant an& to reconcile on an" matter 1ith someone: R To .reser%e the unit" an& the unitarian structure of the Turkish De.u/lic 1ithin the .resent national /or&ers of Turke". R To tr" to actualize &emocrac" in life 1ith all its rules an& institutions. This also means the .reser%ation of laicism in an in&is.uta/le 1a".

R To 1ork har& in the lea& of mo&ern science for a mo&ern Turke" 1here the /asic human ri$hts an& free&oms0 inclu&in$ .rimaril" the free&om of thou$ht0 ha%e /een .ut into .ractice 1ithout restraint. This effort constitutes the essence of the Turkish or !tatürk nationalism in m" min&. A can reconcile 1ith an" .erson 1ith 1hom A share the same stan& 1ith res.ect to these /asic issues or 1ith 1hom A am not in a serious &isa$reement on them. A can also a..roach them 1ith tolerance. Moreo%er0 A /elie%e in the necessit" of such a reconciliation an& tolerance. As &emocrac" not a Kre$ime of reconciliationLQ Af 1e &o not ha%e the intention0 nor the effort0 to reconcile0 can it /e .ossi/le to maintain &emocrac"Q +emocrac" has tens of &efinitions. A like an& use the ones amon$ these &efinitions 1hich $i%e .riorit" to the .artici.ator" as.ect of &emocrac". M" &efinition is: K+emocrac" is .eo.leCs .artici.atin$ in the .rocess of makin$ &ecisions on an" su/Mect 1hich ma" interest them.L Af a reconciliation is not reache& as a result of K.artici.ation0L there can /e no &emocrac" nor can the aim of .artici.ation /e realize&. Bein$ shar. can sometimes $i%e .eo.le a feelin$ of satisfaction. 8o1e%er0 in m" o.inion0 1hat is im.ortant is not to search for satisfaction in such chea. 1a"s. An this /ook0 Mr. Fethullah Gülen .resents rea&ers 1ith the &istille& form of the feelin$s an& thou$hts that ha%e /een acOuire& an& a&%ocate& for a 1hole life 1hich has .asse& on the roa& to tolerance an& reconciliation. A ho.e it 1ill achie%e its aim.

Prof) Dr) To*!a+,- A!e-

CLIMATE OF LOVE AND TOLE(ANCE

LOVE1
=

Yitirilmiş Cennet’e Doğru :KTo1ar&s the Eost 2ara&iseL<0 ... 4 647. :The article 1as 1ritten in March =47>.<

Love is the most essential element in every being, and it is a most radiant light and a great power which can resist and overcome every force. Love elevates every soul which absorbs it, and prepares it for the journey to eternity. Souls that have been able to make contact with eternity through love, exerts themselves to implant in all other souls what they get from eternity. They dedicate their life to this sacred duty, for the sake of which they endure every kind of hardship to the end, and just as they pronounce “love in their last breath, they also breathe “love while being raised on the !ay of "udgment. Souls without love are impossible to be elevated to the hori#on of human perfection. $ven if they lived hundreds of years, they could not make any advances on the path to perfection. Those who are deprived of love, since being entangled in the nets of selfishness, are unable to love anybody else and die unaware of love which is deeply implanted in the very being of existence. % child is received with love when he&she is born, and grows up in a warm atmosphere composed of affectionate, loving souls. $ven if they may not enjoy the same love in the same degree in later phases of their life, they always long for it and pursue it throughout their life. There are impressions of love on the face of the sun, water evaporates high towards those impressions, and after it has been condensed in drops high above, the drops come down joyfully onto the earth on the wings of love. Then, thousands of kinds of flowers burst through love and offer smiles to their surroundings. !ew drops on leaves glitter with love, and twinkle with amusement. Sheep and lambs bleat and skip about with love, and birds and chicks chirp with love and form choruses of love. $ach being takes part in the grand orchestra of love the universe with its own particular symphony and tries to demonstrate, by free will or through its disposition, an aspect of the deep love in existence. Love is implanted in a person's soul so deeply that many people leave their home for its sake, many families are ruined and, in every corner, a (ajnun groans with the love and longing for a Layla. ) %s for those who have not been able to uncover the love inherent in their being regard such kinds of manifestations of love as madness* %ltruism is an exalted human feeling, and what generates it is love. +hoever has the greatest share in this love is the greatest hero of humanity who has been able to uproot any feelings of hatred and rancor in him&herself. Such heroes of love continue to live even after their death. These lofty souls, who, by kindling each day a new torch of love in their inner world and making their hearts a source of love and altruism, were welcomed and loved by people, got the right of living eternally from such an $xalted ,ourt that, let alone death, even !oomsday will not be able to remove their traces.

(

MaMnun an& Ea"la are le$en&ar" lo%ers in the Bastern literature. :Tr.<

% mother who can die for her child's sake is a heroine of affection- an individual who dedicates his&her life to the happiness of others is a self. sacrificing member of his&her community, is a monument of immortality who deserves to be enthroned in hearts. /or them, love is a weapon with which to overcome every obstacle, and a key to open every door. Those who possess such an elixir and key will sooner or later open the gates to all parts of the world and spread everywhere the fragrance of peace from the “censers of love in their hands. The most direct way leading to the hearts of people is the way of love. This way is the way of the 0rophets. Those who follow it are not rejected- even if they are rejected by one or two people, they are welcomed by thousands. 1nce they are welcomed through love, nothing can prevent them from attaining their object. 2ow happy and prosperous are those who follow the guidance of love. 2ow unfortunate, on the other hand, are those who, unaware of the love deeply innate in their souls, lead a “deaf and dumb life* 1 3od, (ost $xalted* Today when hatred and rancor have invaded everywhere like layers of darkness, we take refuge in 4our infinite Love and entreat at 4our door that 4ou may fill the hearts of 4our mischievous, pitiless slaves with love and human feelings*

COMPASSION3
,ompassion is the beginning of being- without it everything is chaos. $verything has come into existence through compassion and by compassion it continues to exist in harmony. The earth was put in order by messages coming from the other side of the heavens. $verything from the macrocosm to the microcosm has achieved an extraordinary harmony thanks to compassion. %ll aspects of this life are a rehearsal for the afterlife and every creature is engaged in action to this end. 5n every struggle, order is evident- in every achievement, compassion is present. 5t is not possible that this effusion of compassion should go unnoticed. ,louds hover above our heads on wings of compassion, from the centre of which rain comes down to our aid. Lightning and thunder bring us good tidings of rain with an uproar from the secret domain of compassion. The whole universe, in every particle of its being, ceaselessly sings the praises of the %ll. ,ompassionate. %ll creatures together extol compassion with voices peculiar to each. ,onsider the worm. 5t is in much need of compassion being under foot, but itself displays compassion. %ffectionate soil enfolds it- in turn it deposits thousands of eggs in each handful of the earth. The soil through this operation is aerated, swells, and reaches a state propitious to the sowing of seeds. +hile the soil is a means of compassion for worms, worms are a mercy for the soil. +ords fail us to describe such careless ones who burn grass and roots to obtain manure. 0oor humanity* They are unaware of being merciless to both soil and worms. ,onsider the bee approaching flowers, or the silkworm burying itself in its cocoon* +hat difficulties do they not encounter to take part in the symphony of compassion. 5s it possible for us not to notice the pains those creatures suffer in order to provide man with honey and silk6 That is not all. 2ave you ever considered how heroic the chicken is that allows its head to be bitten off by a dog in order to save its young, and how praiseworthy the wolf is which, forgetting about its own hunger, offers its young the food it has found6 $verything speaks of compassion and promises compassion. 7ecause of this, the universe can be considered a symphony of compassion. %ll kinds of voices proclaim compassion so that it is impossible not to be aware of it, and impossible
3

Çağ ve Nesil :KThe !$e an& Ne1 GenerationsL<0 ... ?36? . :The article 1as 1ritten in =47).<

not to feel the wide mercy encircling everything. 2ow unfortunate are the souls who do not perceive this. % person has a responsibility to show compassion to all living beings as a re8uirement of being human. The more a person displays compassion, the more exalted he&she becomes, while the more he&she resorts to wrongdoing, oppression and cruelty, the more he&she is disgraced and humiliated, becoming a shame to humanity. +e hear from the 0rophet of the truth that a prostitute went to 0aradise because, out of compassion, she gave water to a poor dog dying of thirst, whilst another woman was condemned to the torments of 2ell because she left a cat to die of hunger. (ercy begets mercy. 5f one is compassionate on earth, then many good tidings come from heaven. 2aving perceived this secret, our ancestors founded a great many homes of compassion everywhere including foundations for protecting and feeding animals. % man of compassion was so deeply touched by a bird with broken legs, and a stork with damaged wings, that he established a sanctuary for injured birds- this kind of behavior was entirely usual with the 1ttoman Turks. +e ought to be as compassionate to human beings as our ancestors were to animals. %las* "ust as we have not been compassionate to ourselves, so too we have ruined the next generation by showing complete indifference and pitilessness to the earth. +e have actually caused the deterioration of the environment, in which it is ever more difficult to live. +e should point out, however, that abuse of the feeling of compassion can be as harmful as being devoid of compassion altogether. 1xygen and hydrogen, when mixed in the proper ratio, form one of the most vital of substances. 1n the other hand, when this ratio changes, each element resumes its original combustible identity. Likewise, it is of great importance to apportion the amount of compassion and to know who deserves it. ,ompassion for a wolf sharpens its appetite, and not being content with what it receives, it demands even more. ,ompassion for a rebel makes him much more aggressive, encouraging him to offend against others. 5t is not fitting to have compassion for the one who takes pleasure in poisoning like a snake- compassion for such a one means leaving the administration of the world to cobras. ,ompassion for a bloodstained, bloodthirsty one is tyranny of the most terrible kind to all the oppressed and wronged people. Such an attitude is like being neglectful of the rights of lambs out of compassion for the wolves- it causes the whole of creation to sigh and moan, however much it might please the wolves.

FORGIVENESS4
2umanity is a creature with both exceptional 8ualities and faults. 9ntil they appeared, no living creature carried such opposites in its nature. The same time they flap their wings in the firmaments of heaven, with an unexpected deviation they can become monsters descending to the pit of hell. 5t is futile to look for any relation between these frightening descents and ascents that have become extreme in them because cause and effect take place on a very different plane in them. %t times they are like a field of crops bending in the wind- at other times, although they appear as dignified as a plane tree, they topple over and cannot rise again. "ust as the times the angels envy them are not few, neither are the times they are a shame even to devils. /or humanity whose nature contains so many ups and downs, even if doing evil is not essential to their nature, it is inevitable. $ven if becoming stained is accidental, it is probable. /or a creature that is going to soil their nature, forgiveness is everything. 2owever valuable it is regarding consciousness to ask for and expect forgiveness and to moan and groan for the things that have escaped us, forgiving is that much greater an attribute and virtue. 5t is wrong to think of forgiveness as separate from virtue or of virtue as separate from forgiveness.
*

Çağ ve Nesil :KThe !$e an& Ne1 GenerationsL<0 ... ?>6 ). :The article 1as 1ritten in =47).<

$veryone knows the adage, “errors from the small, forgiveness from the great, and how well said it is* 7eing forgiven is comprised of a repair, a return to an essence and finding oneself again. /or this reason, the most pleasing action in the view of the 5nfinite (ercy is the activity pursued amidst the palpitations of this return and search. %ll of creation, animate and inanimate, became introduced to forgiveness through humanity. "ust as 3od showed 2is attribute of forgiveness through humanity, 2e put the beauty of forgiving in humanity's heart. +hile the first man dealt a blow to his essence through falling, which is somehow a re8uirement of his human nature, it was forgiveness that came from the heavens to the remorse he felt in his conscience and pleading. 2umanity have preserved for centuries as hope and consolation the gift that they obtained through their father. +henever a person has erred, mounting on the magic transport of seeking forgiveness and surmounting the shame of his&her sins and the despair they cause, he&she has attained to infinite mercy and showed the generosity of veiling his&her eyes to the sins of others. Thanks to his hope of forgiveness, humanity can rise above the dark clouds invading their hori#on and reach the opportunity to see light in their world. Those fortunate ones who are aware of the uplifting wings of forgiveness live throughout their lives amidst melodies that give their spirits joy. 5t is impossible for a person who has given his&her heart to seeking forgiveness not to think of forgiving others. "ust as he&she likes to be forgiven, he&she also likes to forgive. 5s it possible for a person not to forgive who knows that salvation from the fire of suffering that his&her mistakes have caused in his&her inner world is possible by drinking deeply from the river of forgiveness, especially if he&she knows that the road to being forgiven passes through forgiving6 Those who forgive are honored with forgiveness. 1ne who does not know how to pardon cannot desire to be pardoned. Those who close the road to tolerance for humanity are monsters that have lost their humanity. These brutes who have never once inclined to take themselves to task for their sins will never experience the high solace of forgiveness. "esus ,hrist said to a crowd with rocks in their hand that were taking a sinner to be stoned: “Let he who has never sinned throw the first stone. ,an anyone who understands this binding, fine point incline to stoning someone else when there is already a head to be stoned6 5f only those unfortunate ones who spend their lives today putting the lives of others to litmus test could understand this* 5n fact, it is not possible to say that there is a sentence for stoning the people whom our malice and hatred have passed judgment upon. The truth is, unless we destroy the idol in our ego as courageously as %braham destroyed the idols, we will never be able to make a correct decision in the name of our ego or in the name of others. /orgiveness emerged with humanity and reached perfection through them. 5n this respect, we witness in the greatest of human beings the greatest forgiveness and impeccable tolerance.

(alice and hatred are the seeds of hell scattered among people by devils. 5n contrast to those who encourage malice and hatred and turn the land into a pit of hell, we should run with forgiveness to the rescue of our people who have a thousand and one troubles and are being continually pushed into abyss. The past one or two centuries have been made the dirtiest and most unpleasant by the excesses of those who do not know forgiveness or recogni#e tolerance. 5t is impossible not to be chilled by the thought of these unfortunate ones ruling the future. /or this reason, the greatest gift today's generation could give to their children and grandchildren is to teach them to forgive, even in view of the crudest behavior and most upsetting events. 2owever, thinking of forgiving the monstrous, ill.natured people who enjoy making others suffer would be disrespect to the idea of forgiveness. %s we have no right to forgive them, forgiving them would be a disrespect for humanity. 5 do not believe there's any probability that anyone would see or present as acceptable an act that is disrespectful of forgiveness. % generation raised in a particular past under the constant pressure of hostility always saw horror and brutality in the arenas of the dark world they were pushed into. They saw blood and pus even at the breaking of dawn. +hat could be learned from a society whose voice, breath, thought and smile were tainted with blood6 The things that were presented to them were exactly opposite and contrary to what they needed and desired. This generation took on a second nature due to years of neglect and wrong suggestions and the disorder and sedition they made has become a flood. 5f only at this moment we could understand them. %las* +here is such insight6 +e believe that forgiveness and tolerance will heal most of our wounds if only this celestial instrument is in the hands of those who understand its language. 1therwise, the incorrect methods of treatment that we have used until now will cause many complications and only confuse us from now on. ;now the illness, then set out to treat it medically: !o you think any ointment is a cure for any wound. <iya 0asha=

TOLERANCE6

?

Si"a 2asha :&. =77)<: 8e 1as amon$ the first to 1rite in a less tra&itional i&iom an& to com.lain in his .oetr" a/out the .itia/le con&itions of Muslims. To$ether 1ith #inasi :&. =7>=< an& Nam-k Kemal :&. =777<0 he foun&e& an influential Turkish Mournal0 Taswir-i Efkar :2icture of A&eas<. The essential themes of their articles0 no%els0 .oems0 an& &ramas are motherlan& :vatan<0 free&om of thou$ht0 &emocrac"0 an& constitutionalism. 8e also 1as a mem/er an& a&%ocate of the ,oun$ Httomans0 a secret nationalist or$anization forme& in Astan/ul in June =7 ?. Yeşeren Düşünceler :KThe Thou$hts Gro1in$ to ,iel& FruitL<0 ... =46((. The article 1as 1ritten in =44 .

%s a nation we are experiencing an intense fervor of recovery and revival. 5f a wind of opposition does not hinder us, the coming years will be our “years of becoming. 2owever, there are differences in methods of recovery and revival, and regarding renewals in our intellectual and cultural life in the last one or two centuries there is the difficulty of arriving at mutual agreement as to which of these to accept and which of them to reject. %lso there is a difference in styles and methods to be used in blowing a new spirit into the society. >uances in the consideration to build bridge between the past and future fill us with hope, while at the same time it appears that we are going to live some troubled days as well. Thus while walking towards the future as a whole nation, tolerance is our safest refuge and fortress against the handicaps deriving from schism, factionalism and difficulties of mutual agreement that lie in wait for us at every corner. 5t should be such a broad tolerance that we can close our eyes to others' faults, show respect for different ideas, and forgive everything that is forgivable. 5n fact, even in view of violations of our undeniable rights, we should remain respectful of human values and try to establish justice. $ven before the coarsest thoughts and crudest ideas that are impossible to share and, with the caution of a 0rophet and without boiling over, we should respond with a mildness that the ?ur'an presents as “gentle words for the sake of touching others' hearts, which includes a tender heart, gentle approach and mild behavior. +e should have such broad tolerance that we benefit from contradictory ideas because they force us to keep our heart, spirit and conscience in good shape even though these ideas do not directly or indirectly teach us anything. Tolerance, which we sometimes use in place of respect, mercy, generosity and forbearance, is the most essential element of moral systems, a very important source of spiritual discipline and a celestial virtue of perfected people. 9nder the lens of tolerance the merits of believers attain a new depth and extend to infinity- mistakes and faults become shriveled and shrink so much that they can be s8uee#ed into a thimble. %ctually the treatment of 2im +ho is beyond time and space always passes through the prism of tolerance, and we wait for it to embrace us and all of creation. 7ecause of the broadness of this embrace, when a street woman who had given water to a thirsty dog touched the knocker of the “!oor of (ercy , she found herself in a corridor extending to chastity and 2eaven. Similarly, due to the deep love he felt for 3od and 2is (essenger, a drunk suddenly shook himself free and attained companionship of the 0rophet. 5n another example, with the smallest of !ivine favors, a bloody murderer was saved from his monstrous psychosis and turned toward the highest rank that far surpassed his natural ability and, in fact, he reached it. +e all want everyone to look at us through this lens and we expect the bree#es of forgiveness and pardon to constantly blow in our surroundings. %ll of us want to refer our past and present to the climate of tolerance and forbearance that melts and transforms and cleans and purifies and then walk towards the future securely without anxiety. +e do not want our past to be critici#ed nor our future to be darkened because of our present. %ll of us expect

love and respect a whole life.time, hope for tolerance and forgiveness and want to be embraced with feelings of liberality and affection. +e expect tolerance and forgiveness from our parents in response to our mischievousness at home, from our teachers in response to our naughtiness at school, from those innocent victims whom we have acted unjustly towards and oppressed, from the judge and prosecutor in court, from our army commanders, from police officers and from the "udge of "udges @3odA in the 2ighest Tribunal. 2owever, deserving what we expect is very important. %nyone who does not forgive has no right to expect forgiveness. $veryone will see disrespect to the degree that he&she has been disrespectful. %nyone who does not love is not worthy of being loved. Those who do not embrace all of humankind with tolerance and forgiveness have lost their worthiness to receive forgiveness and pardon. %n unfortunate one who curses others does not have the right to expect respect from others. Those who curse will be cursed and those who beat will be beaten. 5f true (uslims would continue on their way and tolerate curses in their deep bosoms with such ?ur'anic principles as: “+hen they meet empty words or unseemly behavior, they generously pass them by and “5f you behave tolerantly and overlook their faults, then some others would appear to implement justice of !estiny to cursers. 5n countries programmed for corruption, intolerance, and mercilessness, such things as freedom of thought, polite criticism and exchange of ideas according to norms of e8uity and fair.minded debate, it would be meaningless to speak of products of logic and inspiration. 5n my opinion, this must be the real reason that no progress has been attained for years in spite of plenty of meaningless boasting. /or years in this country there have been myriad examples of immoralityB my values do not allow me to speak about them openlyBalthough their perpetrators have received their share of tolerance. !espite this, attempts continue to be made to label innocent people as “backward fanatics, supporting theocratic regime. “/undamentalism is another fashionable term to smear them. 7esides, 5slam is accused of not keeping up with time. +e fre8uently observe with sorrow that today those who do nothing else than expressing their religious feelings can be branded as reactionaries, fanatics and fundamentalists. +e can unfortunately distinguish between being truly religious from blind fanaticism. 5t is not possible to talk about common ideas and collective consciousness in communities where individuals do not look at each other with tolerance and in countries where the spirit of forbearance has not fully become entrenched. 5n such a country, ideas will eat up each other in the web of conflicts. The work of thinkers will be futile and in such a country it is not possible to establish sound thought and freedom of belief and thought. They will not be allowed to flourish. 5n fact, it cannot be said that the state is based on a true system of justice in such a country- even if it appears so, it is nothing but a sham. %ctually, in a place where there is no tolerance it is also not possible to talk about a healthy media, scholarly thought and pertinent cultural activities. +hat we see in the

name of such things are only some sterile, one.sided efforts made according to certain thoughts and a certain philosophy- expecting something fresh, beneficial and promising for the future from these is futile.

TOLE(ANCE a"d LIBE(ALIT.7
Be so tolerant that "our heart /ecomes 1i&e like the ocean. Become ins.ire& 1ith faith an& lo%e for others. Hffer a han& to those in trou/le0 an& /e concerne& a/out e%er"one. !..lau& the $oo& for their $oo&ness0 a..reciate those 1ho ha%e /elie%in$ hearts0 an& /e kin& to them. !..roach un/elie%ers so $entl" that their en%" an& hatre& melt a1a". Eike a Messiah0 re%i%e .eo.le 1ith "our /reath. Demem/er that "ou tra%el the /est roa& an& follo1 the 2ro.het0 an e@alte& $ui&e. Be min&ful that "ou ha%e his $ui&ance throu$h the most .erfect an& [email protected]%e re%elation. Be fair6 min&e& an& /alance& in "our Mu&$ment0 for man" .eo.le &o not enMo" these /lessin$s. Deturn $oo& for e%il0 an& &isre$ar& &iscourteous treatment. !n in&i%i&ualCs character is reflecte& in his or her /eha%ior. 3hoose tolerance0 an& /e ma$nanimous to1ar& the ill6 mannere&. The most &istincti%e feature of a soul o%erflo1in$ 1ith faith is to lo%e all t".es of lo%e that are [email protected]& in &ee&s0 an& to feel enmit" for all &ee&s in 1hich enmit" is [email protected]&. To hate e%er"thin$ is a si$n of insanit" or of infatuation 1ith #atan. !cce.t ho1 Go& treats "ou. Make it the measure /" 1hich "ou treat others0 so that "ou ma" re.resent the truth amon$ them an& /e free of the fear of loneliness in either 1orl&. Hnl" those 1ho &o not use their reason0 or 1ho ha%e succum/e& to .lain stu.i&it" an& &esires of the flesh0 are con%ince& that /elie%ers mi$ht harm them. !..l" to a s.iritual master to stir u. "our heart0 an& fill "our e"es 1ith tears. Ju&$e "our 1orth in the 3reatorCs si$ht /" ho1 much s.ace 8e occu.ies in "our heart0 an& "our 1orth in .eo.leCs e"es /" ho1 "ou treat them. +o not ne$lect the Truth e%en for a moment. !n& "et0 K/e a man or 1oman amon$ other men or 1omen.L

>

Ölçü ve a Yol!aki "ş#klar :K2earls of Gis&omL<0 %ol.0 (N ... =)76===. :The article 1as 1ritten in =47*.<

Take note of an& /e attenti%e to an" /eha%ior that causes "ou to lo%e others. Then remin& "ourself that /eha%in$ in the same 1a" 1ill cause them to lo%e "ou. !l1a"s /eha%e &ecentl"0 an& /e alert. +o not allo1 "our carnal self to /e a referee in an" contention0 for it 1ill rule that e%er"one /ut "ou is sinful an& unfortunate. #uch a Mu&$ment0 accor&in$ to the 1or& of the 2ro.het0 the most truthful0 si$nifies "our &estruction. Be strict an& im.laca/le 1ith "our carnal self0 an& /e relentin$ an& lenient to1ar& others. To .reser%e "our cre&it0 honor0 an& lo%e0 lo%e for the sake of the Truth0 hate for the sake of the Truth0 an& /e o.en6hearte& to1ar& the Truth.

T(UE LIFE AND T(UE HUMANIT./
#ince KrealL life is .ossi/le onl" throu$h kno1le&$e0 those 1ho ne$lect learnin$ an& teachin$ are consi&ere& K&ea&L e%en thou$h the" are still ali%e. Ge 1ere create& to learn an& to communicate 1hat 1e ha%e learne& to others. True life is li%e& at the s.iritual le%el. Those 1hose hearts are ali%e0 conOuerin$ the .ast an& the future0 cannot /e containe& /" time ) #uch .eo.le are ne%er e@cessi%el" &istresse& /" .ast sorro1s or an@ieties of the future. Those 1ho cannot [email protected] full e@istence in their hearts0 an& thus lea& /anal0 shallo1 li%es0 are al1a"s $loom" an& incline& to ho.elessness. The" consi&er the .ast a horrif"in$ $ra%e0 an& the future an en&less 1ell. At is torment /oth if the" &ie an& if the" li%e. !ll of us are tra%elers0 an& the 1orl&s are multicolore& e@hi/itions an& rich an& colorful /ooks. Ge 1ere sent to stu&" these /ooks0 increase our s.iritual kno1le&$e0 an& u.lift others. This colorful an& .leasura/le Mourne" is a one6time e%ent. For those 1hose feelin$s are alert an& 1hose hearts are a1ake0 this Mourne" is more than enou$h to esta/lish a 2ara&ise6like $ar&en. But for those 1hose e"es are co%ere&0 it is as if the" ha%e li%e& /ut one /reath. The hum/le an& mo&est are hi$hl" re$ar&e& /" the create& an& the 3reator. The hau$ht" an& self6conceite&0 1ho /elittle others an& .ut on arro$ant airs0 are al1a"s &islike& /" the create& an& .unishe& /" the 3reator. 8umilit" is a si$n of %irtue an& maturit"0 1hile hau$htiness an& self6conceit in&icate an im.erfect0 lo1l" s.irit. The most .erfect human /ein$s are those 1ho are at ease an& intimate in the com.an" of others. B" contrast0 those 1ho are too .rou& to Moin in 1ith others an& form 1arm frien&shi.s 1ith them are the most im.erfect human /ein$s an& onl" earn notoriet".

7

Ölçü ve a Yol!aki "ş#klar :K2earls of Gis&omL<0 %ol.0 =(N ... 40 ?=0 >=0 430 44. :The" 1ere 1ritten in =47(6 =47*.<

8umilit" is a si$n that .eo.le has /ecome trul" human. Hne si$n of humilit" is that such .eo.le &o not chan$e after o/tainin$ a hi$h .osition or 1ealth0 learnin$ or fame0 or 1hate%er is .u/licl" esteeme&. Af an" of these circumstances causes them to alter their i&eas0 attitu&es0 an& /eha%ior0 the" cannot /e re$ar&e& as ha%in$ attaine& true humanit" or true humilit". Ghen interactin$ 1ith others0 al1a"s re$ar& 1hate%er "ou fin& .leasin$ an& &is.leasin$ as the measure. +esire for others 1hat "our o1n e$o &esires0 an& &o not for$et that 1hate%er con&uct &is.leases "ou 1ill &is.lease others. Af "ou &o this0 "ou 1ill /e safe from miscon&uct an& /a& /eha%ior0 an& 1ill not hurt others. Maturit" an& .erfection of s.irit is /ein$ Must in "our treatment of others0 es.eciall" 1ith those 1ho ha%e &one "ou an inMustice. !ns1er their e%il 1ith $oo&. +o not sto. &oin$ $oo& e%en to those 1ho ha%e harme& "ou. Dather0 treat them 1ith humanit" an& no/ilit"0 for harmin$ someone is /rutish /eha%ior. Deturnin$ e%il 1ith e%il im.lies a &eficienc" in characterN returnin$ $oo& for e%il is no/ilit". There is no limit to &oin$ $oo& to others. Those 1ho &e&icate themsel%es to the $oo& of humanit" can /e so altruistic that the" e%en sacrifice their li%es for others. 8o1e%er0 such altruism is a $reat %irtue onl" if it ori$inates in sincerit" an& .urit" of intention0 an& if it &oes not &efine the KothersL /" racial .reference. Those 1ho re$ar& e%en the $reatest $oo& the" ha%e &one for others as insi$nificant0 1hile $reatl" a..reciatin$ e%en the least fa%or &one to themsel%es0 are .erfecte& ones 1ho ha%e acOuire& the +i%ine stan&ar&s of /eha%ior an& foun& .eace in their conscience. #uch in&i%i&uals ne%er remin& others of the $oo& the" ha%e &one for them0 an& ne%er com.lain 1hen others a..ear to /e in&ifferent to them.

LINE OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION9
Today there are in the country various currents of ideas and social convulsions. This should be regarded as natural because our people are in a crisis. %ctually, just as doubts that lead to investigation are the basis of knowledge, in a sense, crises give rise to currents of ideas, but the relative value of crises should be measured by what they promise. There is very little difficulty for societies that have procured all their needs according to the times and that have continued their natural development along logical lines. 2owever, in the societies that have not met their material.spiritual needs and that have not continued their natural development, crises deepen in parallel to the increase of internal and external pressure. ,rises and economic turmoil resemble snow, bli##ards and storms. 5n respect to their results they are fre8uently good. ,rises force a society to new birth and form, and as a result of crises a society better comprehends the age it is living in. 5f a community does not know the period it is living in, and if its actions and reactions are not a part of that period's events, then it is not possible to count that as a living society for it is on the way to certain decline. There's no doubt that behind the agitation humankind is experiencing today there is preparation for new birth and formation, which will be aided by internal and external pressure shaking the walls of indolence. % nation that can come out of these disturbances without harm will get its share of what has been promised by this process and it will build a new world. 5n all probability, it is unthinkable that our nation remains outside of such a development. 5t will be subjected to crisis after crisis, suffer troubles after
4

At 1as 1ritten as .reface to $ul% Çi&'isi :KThe Eine of 2eaceL< /" 2rofessor 9/ranim 3anan in =4>7.

troubles and pains after pains and, conse8uently, it will take its place in the stage to receive its reward. 5n reality, the matter of unity and division is among the matters that continue to maintain their importance today. %lthough it is important in every period, at a time when varied dissent is rampant, the seriousness of this matter is increasing and its importance surpasses all other social issues. The division and internal conflicts, the cost of which the nation has paid for centuries, have reached alarming dimensions during this time when sentimental attitudes are predominant. +e can clearly say that it is not possible to imagine a greater danger for our rebirth than this. /or some time our society has been very shallow in respect to its intellectual and scientific structure, very poor in respect to its spiritual life and pitiable in respect to leadership. 9ntil this environment in which bigotry and intolerance are bred is completely eliminated, it is difficult to even think about concord and union. 7ecause, before everything else, agreement and reconciliation are works of reason and logic. 1nly a union which is based on reason and logic can endure shocks and be long.lasting, whereas today it is the union and brotherhood based on sentiments and fancies which are mostly observed. Such a union is weak and inade8uate and will be short.lived. 3athering for the sake of opposition to a certain group, coming together with hostile feelings or assembling in an offensive spirit or as victims of offence is nothing more than a passing wave of sentimental union. Today, taking into account internal and external divisive factors, there is an intense need to consult on our common points of union and take this matter into consideration, again with reason and logic. Ceviewing our purpose and means and determining our goal and objectives, we need to surrender to an agreement based on conscience. /or the sake of union, which is the foundation stone of our material&spiritual and worldly&other.worldly happiness, we have a compelling need for a union. !ifferent ideas and approaches are results of different natures. 1ur ,reator desired it to be this way and without doubt there is mercy and wisdom in this. 2owever, humankind is responsible for establishing with its own will the harmony, order and continuity of natural law. 5t is absolute predestination in the macro.cosmos while humanity enjoys free choice in their own realm. 5f coming into existence is a blessing, every blessing after that comes as the result of a cause or action. The reason for the bestowal of the blessing of social cohesion must be for the sociali#ation of consciences and the fermentation of generosity and love of humankind in the hearts. /or this reason, until such types of crudity and bigotry as seeing the truth always on one's own side coming from ego. centeredness- showing no respect for the truth and goodness reali#ed at the hands of others, as if saying, “if it is not by my hand, 5 do not want goodness brought by others or the means to it- and seeing the truth in obedience to oneself and seeing those who are not obedient as outside of religion or as

traitorsBuntil such types of crudity and bigotry are removed from our consciences or hearts, agreement and reconciliation are impossible. 7efore anything else, differences of opinion about subjects not related to irrevocable principles should be accepted as normal. Those who think differently must receive at least an artificial politeness- this will mean a welcome and greeting to a peaceful order in the society. 5n any case, it is a fact that there are a significant number of factors to incite division in the society. The following are those that come to mind first: D. Celigious service being made by different individuals and groups and there being no leader or guide accepted by all of these groups have caused each group to pursue a different path. They have all planned to serve their nationB some by opening ?ur'anic courses, others by reading books that were prepared for reviving religion, others by training people on the intellectual level and still others by participating in political activities. 5n this respect, they are all serving their religion and the country in relation to their ideas and intentions, but they do so separately. ). $ach of these groups seeing their guides and leaders as revivers of the religionBeven if they are innocent of such a claimBis another reason of division. 7ecause as long as (uslims have the idea of religious revival and expect religious revivers, in times when opposition to religion increases there will be those who attain popularity through their knowledge and accomplishments with those who follow them. These people who have a part in the mental and spiritual formation of the masses, and breathing new life into the dead aspects of society, will be looked upon as revivers of the religion. Though this can be viewed as harmless in itself, there is always the possibility that it can become a factor for internal divisions in the hands of the common people and novices who are not fully cogni#ant of the matter. E. The same thing can be said for the institution of the (ahdi @(uslim Savior expected to come towards the end of timeA as is true for revivers of the religion. The belief related to the (ahdi has been a life.saving hope for the individual and the society against the currents of unbelief and dissention reported in relevant books to be extremely terrible. 5n a period when bonds of belief are weakened and 5slamic rules of daily life are disobeyed, masses tend to expect a “superman who can in one breath and attempt make all the reforms necessary and put an end to all atrocities. $xcept for its utopian aspects, such an understanding should not be ridiculed. 2owever, due to the greatness attributed to the individual and the social egoism, it definitely causes divisions. F. 1ther than the reasons just given, we must add the external incitement of disagreement among us. 5t cannot be denied that some foreign powers will try to cause dissentions and conflicts in our society. =. 5n addition to the division among groups that are giving service to the country through religious channels, our society has been broken into pieces or is close to being broken into pieces by the influence of many other factors. 1ur country in which many tribes have settled and from which many others have migrated has been a cradle of many civili#ations. %ctually, while certain ethnic,

religious and sectarian differences should be a source of enrichment, they have been incited and have become factors for tearing our society apart internally. This situation constitutes a great danger for our present and future. 1ther factors that strengthen internal divisions are the imbalances in the economic field, unfilled gaps in earning and distribution of income and the absence of institutions that can serve as a bridge between groups and individuals. The reasons for the pain we are suffering as a society can be better understood in view of such factors as there being no established separation of powers in the administration, democracy not functioning well and the balance of law.power.wisdom not being established at a desirable level. 1ther factors are partisanship and arbitrariness in party administration, many things being designed according to the impulses of individuals and deficiencies and mistakes in administrative and political fields. %part from all of these, divisions especially in the form of secular&non.secular, and certain fundamental elements of our political system like secularism not being shaped and implemented in accordance and harmony with its genuine standards, are other essential reasons for our present suffering. 5n spite of certain appreciable developments in some fields, it is difficult to say that the danger is less than it was formerly. +hen the danger comes externally, it is easier to oppose it- when it comes from within, it is difficult to resist. Today, moral erosion, which is like a contagious disease that has engulfed all communities, is moving along at a level capable of destroying all the principles that keep a society on its feet. The segments of society that have been brought to a state of disrespect for sacred values by this erosion are in a position of becoming the victims of the absence of intellectual and spiritual bases. %nd we are not even aware that we are amidst a confusion of comprehension, terminology and methodology. 5t is difficult to claim that this confusion and uproar has not affected the believing segments of the society. Sectarian tendencies, differences of disposition and temperamentBeven if they are 8uite naturalBand ethnic separatismBall of these re8uire attention with respect of their being fields of manipulation and intervention. %ctually there's no serious indication that groups serving religion have been influenced and managed by foreign powers. 2owever, it is a fact that these groups have not yet reached the desired intellectual and spiritual maturity. 5n Turkey particularly and in the (uslim world in general, there are always the following dangers for groups aiming to serve the religion and the country: D. (anipulating the love of position of some great persons, inciting them to compete with other groups. ). 5n activities done in the way of 5slam, acting on the basis of trying to ruin other groups. E. $ven though the time and place for getting the reward of religious service and virtues are in the next world, expecting here the reward of even every small effort and endeavor.

F. 0roducing another group to break the influence of an attractive team of service and, by bringing about internal strife and dispersal in that team, melting down and dissolving it. =. $ven though it should be a basic principle that groups dedicated to service should be occupied with love of their own way, busying themselves, instead, with hostility towards others and thus turning their backs on an important dynamic of unity. 5n addition to these, we can observe that our people are satisfied neither intellectually nor spiritually, that they are experiencing an emotional and spiritual emptiness and blindly get caught up by a number of fantastic ideas and systems in this age and so become estranged from their hearts and consciences. Sociologists and anthropologists agree that no tribe has ever lived on this earth without religion. 9ntil now on no point of this earth has been a community without religion. The need for religion is innate in humanity. !epriving people of it means opening the way to depression for both the individual and society. 5n almost every period those who have seen the roads closed to their hearts and consciences have looked for systematic or unsystematic ways to @spiritualA contentment and tried to fulfill this natural need. +hat kind of confusion will be caused by different temperaments and dispositions trying to open roads of contentment each particular to itself needs no explanation. %n anarchy of values in the community resulting in bloody conflict and fighting: this is the inevitable conse8uence of a life philosophy put forward without taking essential human nature into consideration* %nother point worth noting is the situation of those who insist on remaining unconscious imitators of foreign ideologies. 5t is rather difficult to know what those want who understand backwardness and reactionism when they hear the word “religion . 1ur strange mannered “intellectuals who once tied all roads to the +est, went to +estern “slopes for education and amusement and sought the solution to every problem on the “shores of the +est, later put the +est under fire with all their might for “imperialism and “capitalism. >ow feverishly, in the name of a new type of westerni#ation they have seemingly rediscovered, they are taking services rendered in the name of religion as their target. This gang of jokers who have not yet found their real course of ideas and work oppose every manifestation of religion on account of their phobia about “reactionism , and it is not certain what they will do tomorrow. This means then that +esterni#ation for us is not the result of a conscious choice reached after a scrutiny of circumstances, and our turning our backs on it and its system is again not the result of planning and taking all circumstances into account- rather, everything is a fantasy and every attempt is no more than a fancied adventure. %s a result, we can say that the need for religion not being fulfilled sufficiently and in the necessary way has led, on the one hand, to the raising of a heretical and materialist group. 1n the other hand, it has led to the emergence of many separate groups, uninformed of each other, each taking on themselves fields of service and activity in an unsystematic way in order to meet that legitimate need. /rom time to time we have witnessed rough arguments,

anxiety.ridden oppositions and serious frictions among these groups. (oreover, when insincerity, love of the ego and a monopoly of ideas intervene in the services done, disorder can reach uncontainable proportions. The instinct to form groups is innate in humanity and as long as it continues, it will take its course. The essential matter is to make it harmless, in fact, beneficial. +hen this instinct is not well channeled, it can develop in a direction opposite to humanity's nature and become harmful. %s long as social illnesses like ignorance, rudeness and bigotry hold that instinct in their orbit, it means there can be a bloody fight any time. 1n the contrary, to the degree that knowledge and insight, tolerance, understanding and forbearance are widespread, positions for agreement and reconciliation will emerge and a “line of peace on which groups can come together will appear. 1nce the e8uity of purpose and unity of goals and basic principles are respected, well.rooted and sound enough to make differences of methods and means unimportant, urging dissension at the slightest excuse is an expression of a childish nature, injustice and inconsiderateness. ,onsidering differences of temperament and disposition, there are “as many roads to 3od as there are breaths of 2is creatures. 5s it necessary at all to see others in unbelief, perversion and sin6 $veryone should be busy with serving along their own road and live in love of it. "ust as this is what is re8uired by reason, it is also what is demanded by faith and the ?ur'an. $veryone should act with love of their own way and never nurtures hostility towards other groups. The criticisms they direct towards them are not destructive, offensive or irritable. They do not try to gain respect for their group by showing others as false. They see and treat the others as brothers and sisters. +hen they see in them any virtues and success, they commend them and become happy. 5n the age of the 0rophet, upon him be peace and blessings, just as commands issued in this direction, practice followed this line of understanding as well. 7esides reconciliatory factors being observed consciously and everyone regarding others as dear brothers and sisters, different aptitudes were encouraged each to give its own fruit. !ifferent opinions and different views on secondary matters between people of different temperaments and dispositions like %bu !harr and G%bd al.Cahman ibn G%wf and 7ilal and G9thman were never considered to be strange. %s long as social unity was not harmed, tribal and family ties and the differences between these were never touched. "ust as the two separate honorable titles of Muhajir @the 5mmigrantsADH and Ansar @the 2elpersADD always received respect, the reputations of %ws and ;ha#raj continued to exist. +hile the 0rophet said to the clan of Sa'd ibn (u'a#, the chief of the %ws, “Stand up for your master* , human nature was affirmed. 5n fact, even one's taking pride in belonging to one's tribeB
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The Ammi$rants 1ere the Makkan Muslims 1ho emi$rate& to Ma&inah to$ether 1ith or after the 2ro.het until the conOuest of Makkah in 3)0 1hich 1as the 7th "ear of (i)ra% :the Bmi$ration<. :Tr.<
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The 8el.ers 1ere the Muslims of Ma&ina 1ho 1elcome& the Bmi$rants. :Tr.<

on condition that no conflict ensuedBwas overlooked. $xpressions of pride such as “those who memori#ed the ?ur'an are from us, those who did that are from us... were tolerated. 1ne of the most dangerous kinds of separatism in our time is racism. !uring a period when the world is increasingly becoming a global village and countries come together to form unions, such a separatism is extremely strange and baseless. $specially viewing people possessing the same sociological structure and living in the same region as belonging to various ethnic groups is ridiculous and as dangerous as it is ridiculous when a possible turmoil is considered. 5t is ridiculous because especially in our country, which for centuries has been a stage for the mixing of many tribes, seeking what is called “pure blood would necessitate one reading 3od's “Supreme 0reserved Tablet . 5n any case, there are very different communities that have settled in the east, west, north and south of %natolia. %nd there are groups in each of these composed of what are claimed to be different “races . +e must not move excited by impulses and emotional factors but according to the re8uirements of a social contract. That will be by reviewing once again all our common points and preferring them over the factors that separate us. ,ompared with the common points among us, the things that re8uire separation are extremely insignificant. 0utting the issue forward like this, with what faith and intelligence can it be reconciled not to come to agreement regardless of differences of opinions, color, sects, and etc., and even worse, to see others as unbelievers, perverts and sinners6 2ow can such an attitude be reconciled with religion at a time when we should ignore the differences between us and the followers of other heavenly religions6 5t is of benefit to once more remind all political and non.political leaders who guide and show the way to others regarding a point concerning the repair of the collective conscience: (ay your love, your hate and your anger be for 3od's sake* %lways give precedence to the interests of all* $nd servanthood to your ego* 7ecause it is not possible for one who worships one's ego to love the Truth or the people. Love your friends and do not abandon generosity towards them* 7e alert before the intrigues of enemies and the heedless* %nd do not be fooled by them* Cemembering that malice and hatred have not solved anything until now, believe that your relation with civili#ed people can only be through dialogue and persuasion. 5f you are going to try a way, definitely try this one* Like a hero of unity, do not say, “come, let us get together , to every individual you meet, and when you do say it, do not express it in the manner of an invitation to your group. 7ecause until now this behavior has not done anything except to incite group #ealotry even in the most just and balanced ones. $specially praise the good works of others and always show respect to whoever does a good thing. %s a believing person, look at the universe as a “cradle of brotherhood and sisterhood , and seek a way to build a relationship with every creature

regardless of their views or ideas. %lways be mild toward your friends and ready to embrace them* !o not critici#e the wisdom of the 2and of 2elp that prepared the way to serve others and guided you to this way. Let everyone come and, throwing aside criticism, let them experience from you some degree of appreciation and courtesy. (ay 3od be your friend and helper.

HUMANISM a"d LOVE OF HUMANIT.
Eo%e is one of to&a"Cs most uttere& an& nee&e& issues. !ctuall" lo%e is a rose in our /elief0 a realm of the heart that ne%er 1ithers. Before e%er"thin$ else0 Must as Go& 1o%e the uni%erse like lace on the loom of lo%e0 the most ma$ical an& charmin$ music in the /osom of e@istence is al1a"s lo%e. The stron$est relationshi. amon$ in&i%i&uals formin$ the famil"0 societ"0 an& nation is lo%e. Uni%ersal lo%e sho1s itself throu$hout the cosmos in each .articleCs hel. an& su..ort for e%er" other .article. This is so true that the most &ominant factor in the s.irit of e@istence is lo%e. !s an in&i%i&ual of the uni%ersal chorus0 almost e%er" creature acts an& /eha%es in its o1n st"le0 accor&in$ to the ma$ical tune it has recei%e& from Go&0 in a melo&" of lo%e. 8o1e%er0 this e@chan$e of lo%e from e@istence to humanit"0 an& from one creature to another0 takes .lace su/consciousl"0 /ecause +i%ine Gill com.letel" &ominates those creatures that ha%e no 1ill :.o1er<. From this .ers.ecti%e0 humankin& consciousl" .artici.ates in this s"m.hon" of lo%e in e@istence. B" &e%elo.in$ the lo%e in their true nature0 human /ein$s in%esti$ate the 1a"s to &emonstrate it in a

human 1a". Therefore0 1ithout misusin$ the lo%e in their s.irit an& for the sake of the lo%e in their o1n nature0 e%er" .erson shoul& offer real hel. an& su..ort to others. The" shoul& .rotect the $eneral harmon" that has /een .ut in the s.irit of e@istence0 consi&erin$ /oth the natural la1 an& the la1 ma&e to $o%ern the human life. 8umanism is an a..roach to lo%e an& humanness0 1hich is uttere& recklessl" to&a"0 an& so it is a&a.te& easil" here an& there. #ome circles tr" to im.ose an a/stract an& un/alance& un&erstan&in$ of humanism /" confusin$ .eo.le a/out Aslam an& a1akenin$ sus.icion in their hearts. At shoul& /e &ifficult to0 sa"0 Kha%e .it"L on those 1ho are in%ol%e& in anarch" an& terror. At shoul& /e &ifficult to reconcile 1ith humanism the stran$e /eha%ior of /oth those 1ho mur&er innocent .eo.le an&0 e%en more horri/le0 &o that in the name of some reli$ious %alues0 an& those 1ho recklessl" accuse Aslam of allo1in$ terrorist attacks. B%er" /elie%er shoul& follo1 the 2ro.het0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 in communicatin$ the truth. The" shoul& ne%er $i%e u. con%e"in$ to .eo.le the .rinci.les of ha..iness in /oth 1orl&s. The 3om.anions0 1ho as a communit" 1ere a %i%i& [email protected] of the truth em/o&ie& /" the 2ro.het0 /ecame [email protected] of mo&eration an& /alance in e%er" matter. #ome remarka/le .eo.le from the fortunate $eneration that follo1e& the 3om.anions imme&iatel" 1oul& $o to the 3ali.h if the" acci&entall" ste..e& on a $rassho..er to learn 1hat their .unishment 1oul& /e. Ghen 1e look at the outer 1alls our mosOues an& minarets that ra&iate li$ht0 1e see tin" holes ma&e for the /ir&s to nest0 as [email protected] of the &e.th of our ancestorsC lo%e. Hur histor" is full" 1o%en 1ith such tremen&ousl" humane acts of .rotectin$ animals as 1ell as .eo.le. An the frame1ork of AslamCs uni%ersal .rinci.les0 the consi&eration an& i&ea of lo%e is %er" /alance&. H..ressors an& a$$ressors ha%e &enie& this lo%e0 /ecause Must as lo%e an& merc" sho1n to o..ressors makes them more a$$ressi%e0 it also encoura$es them to %iolate the ri$hts of others. For this reason0 merc" shoul& not /e sho1n to .eo.le 1ho threaten uni%ersal lo%e. Merc" sho1n to an o..ressor is the most merciless act to1ar&s the o..resse&. 8o1e%er0 1e shoul& sho1 merc" for those 1ho la.se unintentionall" or feel remorse for their 1ron$. The 2ro.het sai&: K8el. "our /rothers5sisters 1hether the" are o..ressors or %ictims. ,ou can hel. o..ressors /" makin$ them sto. their o..ression :to others<.L=(

ISLAM IS A (ELIGION OF TOLE(ANCE
Aslam is a 1or& &eri%e& from the roots silm an& salama%. At means to surren&er0 $ui&in$ to .eace an& contentment0 an& esta/lishin$ securit" an& accor&. Aslam is a reli$ion of securit"0 safet" an& .eace. These .rinci.les .ermeate MuslimsC li%es. Ghen the" stan& to .ra"0 the" cut their connection 1ith this 1orl&0 turn to their Eor& in faith an& o/e&ience0 an& stan& at attention in 8is .resence. 3om.letin$ the .ra"er0 as if returnin$ /ack to life0 the" $reet those on their ri$ht an& left /" sa"in$ $reetin$ an& 1ishin$ .eace: KDemain safe an& in .eace.L Gith a 1ish for safet" an& securit"0 .eace an& contentment0 the" return to the or&inar" 1orl& once a$ain. Gi%in$ $reetin$ an& 1ishin$ safet" an& securit" for others is consi&ere& one of the most /eneficial acts in Aslam. Ghen aske& 1hich act in Aslam is the most /eneficial0 the 2ro.het re.lie&: KFee&in$ others an& $i%in$ $reetin$ to those "ou kno1 an& &o not kno1.L A u#i"& I#la+ of Terrori#+
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$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 KMazalim0L *N $unan al-Tirmi!%i0 KFitan0L 7.

8o1 unfortunate it is that Aslam0 1hich is /ase& on this un&erstan&in$ an& s.irit0 is sho1n /" some circles to /e s"non"mous 1ith terrorism. This is a $reat historical mistake0 for 1ra..in$ a s"stem /ase& on safet" an& trust in a %eil of terrorism sho1s that AslamCs s.irit remains unkno1n. #eekin$ AslamCs true face in its o1n sources0 histor"0 an& true re.resentati%es sho1s that it contains no harshness0 rou$hness0 or fanaticism. At is a reli$ion of for$i%eness0 .ar&on0 an& tolerance0 as such saints an& .rinces of lo%e an& tolerance as Ma1lana Dumi0 =3 ,unus Bmre0=* !hme& ,asa1i0=? Be&iüzzaman0= man" others ha%e so /eautifull" [email protected]&. The" s.ent their li%es .reachin$ tolerance0 an& each /ecame a le$en& in his o1n time as an em/o&iment of lo%e an& tolerance. +e.en&in$ on circumstances0 Miha& is a matter of self6&efense or remo%in$ o/stacles /et1een Go& an& human free choice. Hur histor" is full of the [email protected] sho1in$ ho1 this .rinci.le has /een im.lemente& in life. Hf course there are an& shoul& /e occasions 1here 1ar is inesca.a/le. 8o1e%er0 the IurCanic %erses on Miha& that 1ere re%eale& for .articular con&itions ha%e /een $eneralize& /" some short6 si$hte& in&i%i&uals. Ghile 1ar is a matter of secon&ar" im.ortance0 it is $i%en .riorit" as an essential issue. #uch .eo.le &o not un&erstan& AslamCs true meanin$ an& s.irit. Their failure to esta/lish a .ro.er .rimar"Rsecon&ar" /alance lea&s others to conclu&e that Aslam a&%ocates malice an& hatre& in souls0 1hereas true Muslims are full of lo%e an& affection for all creation. De$ar&in$ this0 ho1 a.t is the follo1in$ cou.let:
Muhamma& 1as /orn out of lo%e0 Ghat can /e /orn out of lo%e 1ithout Muhamma&Q

Lo0e I# !$e E##e" e of Crea!io". The 2ri&e of 8umanit" 1as a man of lo%e an& affection. Hne of his names 1as (a+i+ulla% :the Belo%e& of Go&<. An a&&ition to meanin$ one 1ho lo%es0 %a+i+ means one 1ho is lo%e&0 one 1ho

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Ma1lana Jalal a&6+in al6Dumi :=()>6>3<: a famous #ufi an& .oet0 famous for his l"rics an& &i&actic e.ic ,at%nawi :#.iritual 3ou.lets<0 1hich 1i&el" influence& Muslim #ufi thou$ht an& literature. !fter his &eath0 his &isci.les 1ere or$anize& as the Ma1la1i"ah or&er :the Ghirlin$ +er%ishes<. :Tr.<
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,unus Bmre :c.=(376c.=3()<: ! .oet an& #ufi 1ho ha& a .o1erful influence on Turkish literature. 8e 1as 1ell %erse& in #ufi .hiloso.h"0 es.eciall" that of Dumi0 an&0 like Dumi0 /ecame a lea&in$ re.resentati%e of #ufism in !natolia :/ut on a more .o.ular le%el<. 8e 1as %enerate& as a saint after his &eath. 8is .oems0 &e%ote& mainl" to &i%ine lo%e an& human &estin"0 are characterize& /" &ee. feelin$. 8e 1rote in a strai$htfor1ar& an& almost austere st"le0 an& mainl" in the tra&itional s"lla/ic meter of !natolian folk .oetr".
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!hma& ,asa1i :==th centur"6== <: #ufi .oet an& earl" Turkish s.iritual lea&er 1ho ha& a .o1erful influence on the &e%elo.ment of m"stical or&ers throu$hout the Turkish6s.eakin$ 1orl&. 8e 1rote .oetr" for the .eo.le0 an& his m"stical or&er 1as a .o.ular /rotherhoo&. 8is &isci.les forme& man" affiliate& m"stical associations in the Turkish 1orl&.
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Be&iüzzaman #ai& Nursi :=7> 6=4 )<: !n Aslamic scholar of the hi$hest stan&in$ 1ith &ee. s.iritualit"0 a 1i&e kno1le&$e of mo&ern science an& the contem.orar" 1orl&. 8e /elie%e& that humanit" coul& /e sa%e& from is crises an& achie%e true .ro$ress an& ha..iness onl" /" kno1in$ its true nature0 an& /" reco$nizin$ an& su/mittin$ to Go&. 8is -isale-i Nur :Treatise of Ei$ht< &eals 1ith the Aslamic essentials of faith0 thou$ht0 1orshi.0 an& moralit"0 an& the IurCanic &escri.tions of +i%ine acti%it" in the uni%erse. 3ontainin$ rational an& lo$ical .roofs an& [email protected] of all IurCanic truths0 it is his re.l" to those 1ho &en" them in the name of science. An it0 he sho1s their man" &iscre.ancies an& illo$ical statements. :Tr.<

lo%es Go& an& is lo%e& /" Go&. #ufi masters like Amam Da//ani0 => Ma1lana Khali&0=7 an& #hah Gali""ullah=4 state that lo%e is the ultimate station of the s.iritual Mourne". Go& create& the uni%erse as a manifestation of 8is lo%e for 8is creatures0 es.eciall" humanit"0 an& Aslam /ecame the fa/ric 1o%en out of this lo%e. An the 1or&s of Be&iüzzaman0 lo%e is the essence of creation. Just as a motherCs lo%e an& com.assion allo1s a sur$eon to o.erate on her sick chil& to sa%e his or her life0 Miha& allo1s 1ar0 if nee&e&0 to .reser%e such fun&amental human ri$hts as the ri$ht to life an& reli$ious free&om. Jiha& &oes not e@clusi%el" mean 1ar. Hnce a frien& sai& to me: KGithout [email protected] an& re$ar&less of faith0 "ou meet 1ith e%er"one0 an& this /reaks the tension of Muslims. But it is an Aslamic .rinci.le to lo%e 1hat or 1ho must /e lo%e& in the 1a" of Go& an& &islike 1hat or 1ho must /e &islike& in the 1a" of Go&.L !ctuall" this .rinci.le is often misun&erstoo&0 for in Aslam all of creation is to /e lo%e& accor&in$ to the rule of lo%in$ in Go&Cs 1a". K+islikin$ in the 1a" of Go&L a..lies onl" to feelin$s0 thou$hts0 an& attri/utes. Thus0 1e shoul& &islike such thin$s as immoralit"0 un/elief an& .ol"theism0 not those 1ho en$a$e in them. Go& create& humanit" as no/le0 an& e%er"one shares in this no/ilit" to a certain &e$ree. 8is Messen$er once stoo& u. out of res.ect for humanit" as the funeral .rocession of a Je1 .asse& /". Ghen remin&e& that the &ecease& 1as a Je10 the 2ro.het re.lie&: KBut heCs a human /ein$0L there/" sho1in$ the %alue Aslam $i%es to human /ein$s. This sho1s ho1 hi$hl" our 2ro.het res.ecte& each .erson. Gi%en this0 the in%ol%ement of some self6.roclaime& Muslim in&i%i&uals or institutions in terrorist acti%ities is ne%er a..ro%a/le /" Aslam. The reasons shoul& /e sou$ht in themsel%es0 their false inter.retations0 an& other factors an& moti%es. Aslam &oes not su..ort terror0 so ho1 coul& a Muslim 1ho trul" un&erstan&s Aslam /e a terroristQ Githin this frame1ork0 if 1e e@clu&e certain .erio&s an& in&i%i&uals0 the TurksC inter.retation of 1hat Aslam allo1s to /e inter.rete& is correct an& .ositi%e. Af 1e can s.rea& $lo/all" the Aslamic un&erstan&in$ of such heroes of lo%e as Ni"azi6i Misri0 () ,unus Bmre0 an& Dumi0 if 1e can e@ten& their messa$es of lo%e0 &ialo$ue0 an& tolerance to those thirst" for this messa$e0 e%er"one 1ill run to1ar& the em/race of lo%e0 .eace0 an& tolerance that 1e re.resent. AslamCs &efinition of tolerance is such that the 2ro.het .rohi/ite& %er/al a/use of e%en un/elie%ers. For [email protected] !/u Jahl &ie& /efore em/racin$ Aslam &es.ite the 2ro.hetCs efforts. 8is un/elief an& enmit" to1ar& the 2ro.het 1as such that he &eser%e& the title !/u Jahl: Father of i$norance an& im.u&ence. 8is untirin$ o..osition to Aslam 1as a thorn in the si&e of Muslims.

=>

Amam Da//ani :#ha"kh !hma& al6#irhin&i< :=? *Q6= (*<: An&ian #ufi an& theolo$ian 1ho reasserte& an& re%i%e& the .rinci.les of Aslamic faith an& #ufi tra&ition in An&ia a$ainst the s"ncretistic reli$ious ten&encies .re%alent un&er the Mu$hal em.eror !k/ar. 8e 1as $i%en the .osthumous title: ,u)a!!i!-i .lf-i T%ani :Deno%ator of the #econ& TAslamicU Millennium<.
=7

Ma1lana Khali& al6Ba$h&a&i0 :&. =7(><: NaOsh/an&i master consi&ere& the mu)a!!i! :re%i%er< of =3th Aslamic centur". The Khali&i or&er0 a ne1 NaOsh/an&i /ranch0 arose un&er his lea&ershi. an& ha& acOuire& a lar$e follo1in$ /" the en& of the nineteenth centur".
=4

#hah Gali""ullah Muha&&ith of +elhi :=>)(6 (<: a $reat scholar of the =( th Aslamic centur". #ome 1riters call him /%atam al-,u%a!!it%een :the last of the ha&ith scholars<.
()

Ni"azi6i Misri := =764*<. ! #ufi .oet an& mem/er of the Khal1ati or&er.

+es.ite such hostilit"0 once in an assem/l" of 3om.anions 1here !/u JahlCs son Akrimah 1as .resent0 the 2ro.het a&monishe& a 3om.anion 1ho 1as hear& insultin$ !/u Jahl: K+o not hurt others /" criticizin$ their fathers.L(= !nother time0 he sai&:
K3ursin$ "our mother an& father is a $reat sin.L The 3om.anions aske&: KH Messen$er of Go&0 1oul& an"one curse their .arentsQL The 2rince of 2ro.hets re.lie&: KGhen someone curses anotherCs father an& the other curses his father in return0 or 1hen someone curses anotherCs mother an& the other &oes the same in return0 the" 1ill ha%e curse& their .arents.L((

Ghile the 2ro.het of Merc" 1as inor&inatel" sensiti%e 1hen it came to res.ectin$ others0 some Muslims to&a" Mustif" their a/rasi%e /eha%ior on the /asis of reli$ion. This sho1s that the" &o not un&erstan& Aslam0 1hich has no .lace for malice an& hatre&. The IurCan stron$l" ur$es for$i%eness an& tolerance. An one %erse0 it sa"s of .ious .eo.le: T%e swallow t%eir an'er an! for'ive 0eo0le1 2o! loves t%ose w%o !o 'oo! :3:=3*<. An other 1or&s0 Muslims &o not retaliate 1hen %er/all" a/use& or attacke&. Af .ossi/le0 as ,unus sa"s0 the" act as if the" ha& no han& an& ton$ue to res.on& or no heart to resent. The" s1allo1 their an$er an& close their e"es to othersC faults. The 1or&s selecte& in the %erse are %er" meanin$ful. /a&m0 translate& as s1allo1in$0 literall" means s1allo1in$ somethin$ like a thorn that cannot /e s1allo1e&N so it &enotes s1allo1in$ oneCs 1rath no matter ho1 &ifficult it is. !nother %erse0 1hile mentionin$ the characteristics of /elie%ers0 sa"s: 3%en t%e %a00en to 0ass + an t%in' vain an! useless4 0ass + it wit% !i'nit :(?:>(<. Ghen 1e look at the e@alte& life of Go&Cs Messen$er0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 1e see that he al1a"s .ractice& the .rece.ts .resente& in the IurCan. For [email protected] a 3om.anion once re.ente& of a sin an& a&mitte&: KA am $uilt" of fornication. Ghate%er m" .unishment is0 $i%e it an& cleanse me.L The 2rince of 2ro.hets sai&: KGo /ack an& re.ent0 for Go& for$i%es all sins.L !n& this e%ent 1as re.eate& for three times. !nother time0 a 3om.anion com.laine& to him a/out someone 1ho ha& stolen his /elon$in$s. But at the .unishment 1as a/out to /e carrie& out0 the 3om.anion sai&: KA ha%e chan$e& m" min& an& &o not 1ant to .ursue m" case. A for$i%e this in&i%i&ual.L The 2ro.het aske&: KGh" &i& "ou /rin$ this matter to courtQ Gh" &i&nCt "ou for$i%e him from the outsetQL Ghen such [email protected] are stu&ie& from their ori$inal sources0 it is clear that the metho& use& /" those 1ho act 1ith enmit" an& hatre&0 1ho %ie1 e%er"one else 1ith 1rath0 an& 1ho /lacken others as infi&els is non6Aslamic0 for Aslam is a reli$ion of lo%e an& tolerance. ! Muslim is a .erson of lo%e an& affection 1ho a%oi&s e%er" kin& of terrorist acti%it" an& 1ho has no malice an& hatre& for an"one or an"thin$.

ISLAM AS A (ELIGION OF UNIVE(SAL ME(C.
Eife is the foremost an& most manifest /lessin$ of Go& !lmi$ht"0 an& the true an& e%erlastin$ life is that of the 8ereafter. #ince 1e can &eser%e this life onl" /" .leasin$ Go&0 8e sent 2ro.hets an& re%eale& #cri.tures out of 8is 3om.assion for humanit". For this reason0 1hile mentionin$ 8is
(=

8akim0 al-,usta!rak0 3:(*=N MuttaOi al68in&i0 /an& al-’5mmal0 =3:?*). $a%i% al-,uslim0 KAman0L =*?N $unan al-Tirmi!%i0 KBirr0L *.

((

/lessin$s u.on humanit" in $urat al--a%man :the !ll6Merciful<0 8e /e$ins: .l--a%man1 (e tau'%t t%e 6ur’an4 create! %umanit 4 an! tau'%t it s0eec% :??:=6*<. !ll as.ects of this life are a rehearsal for the afterlife0 an& e%er" creature is en$a$e& to1ar& this en&. Hr&er is e%i&ent in e%er" effort0 an& com.assion resi&es in e%er" achie%ement. #ome KnaturalL e%ents or social con%ulsions ma" seem &isa$reea/le at first0 /ut 1e shoul& not re$ar& them as incom.ati/le 1ith com.assion. The" are like &ark clou&s or li$htnin$ an& thun&er that0 althou$h fri$htenin$0 ne%ertheless /rin$ us the $oo& ti&in$s of rain. Thus the 1hole uni%erse .raises the !ll6 3om.assionate. 2ro.het Muhamma&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 is like a s.rin$ of .ure 1ater in the heart of a &esert0 a source of li$ht in an all6en%elo.in$ &arkness. Those 1ho a..eal to this s.rin$ can take as much 1ater as nee&e& to Ouench their thirst0 /ecome .urifie& of their sins0 an& /ecome illumine& 1ith the li$ht of faith. Merc" 1as like a ma$ical ke" in the 2ro.hetCs han&s0 for 1ith it he o.ene& hearts that 1ere so har&ene& an& rust" that no one thou$ht the" coul& /e o.ene&. But he &i& e%en more: he lit a torch of /elief in them. The com.assion of Go&Cs Messen$er encom.asse& e%er" creature. 8e &esire& that e%er"one /e $ui&e&. An fact0 this 1as his $reatest concern: Yet it ma +e4 if t%e +elieve not in t%is ,essa'e4 ou will consume 7e8%aust9 ourself4 followin' after t%em4 wit% 'rief :=7: <. But ho1 shoul& he &eal 1ith those 1ho .ersiste& in o..ression an& .ersecutions not to allo1 him an& his follo1ers to /e a/le to 1orshi. Hne Go&0 an& took u. arms a$ainst him to &estro" themQ 8e ha& to fi$ht such .eo.le0 for his uni%ersal com.assion encom.asses e%er" creature. This is 1h"0 1hen he 1as 1oun&e& se%erel" at the Battle of Uhu&0 he raise& his han&s an& .ra"e&: KH Go&0 for$i%e m" .eo.le0 for the" &onCt kno1.L(3 The Makkans0 his o1n .eo.le0 inflicte& so much sufferin$ on him that he finall" emi$rate& to Ma&ina. B%en after that0 the ne@t ? "ears 1ere far from .eaceful. 8o1e%er0 1hen he conOuere& Makka 1ithout /loo&she& in the t1ent"6first "ear of his 2ro.hethoo&0 he aske& the Makkan un/elie%ers: K8o1 &o "ou [email protected] me to treat "ouQL The" res.on&e& unanimousl": K,ou are a no/le one0 the son of a no/le one.L 8e then tol& them his &ecision: K,ou ma" lea%e0 for no re.roach this &a" shall /e on "ou. Ma" Go& for$i%e "ou. 8e is the Most 3om.assionate.L (* #ultan Mehme& AA(? sai& the same thin$ to the &efeate& B"zantines after conOuerin$ Astan/ul 7(? "ears later. #uch is the uni%ersal com.assion of Aslam. The Messen$er &is.la"e& the hi$hest &e$ree of com.assion to1ar& /elie%ers: T%ere %as come to ou a ,essen'er from amon' ourselves: 'rievous to %im is our sufferin': an8ious is %e over ou4 full of concern for ou4 for t%e +elievers full of 0it 4 com0assionate :4:=(7<. 8e lo1ere& unto /elie%ers his 1in$ of ten&erness throu$h merc" :=?:77<0 an& 1as the $uar&ian of /elie%ers an& nearer to them than their sel%es :33: <. Ghen one of his 3om.anions &ie&0 he aske& those at the funeral if the &ecease& ha& left an" &e/ts. Hn learnin$ that he ha&0 the 2ro.het mentione& the a/o%e %erse an& announce& that the cre&itors shoul& come to him for re.a"ment. 8is com.assion e%en encom.asse& the 8".ocrites an& un/elie%ers. 8e kne1 1ho the 8".ocrites 1ere0 /ut ne%er i&entifie& them0 for this 1oul& ha%e &e.ri%e& them of the ri$hts of full citizenshi. the" ha& $aine& /" their out1ar& &eclaration of faith an& .ractice. #ince the" li%e& amon$ Muslims0
(3 (*

Ia&i VA"a&0 $%ifa’0 =:>764N 8in&i0 /an& al-’5mmal0 *:43.

A/n 8isham0 $irat al-Na+awi a%0 *:??N A/n Kathir0 .l-*i!a a% wa al-Ni%a a%0 *:3**.
(?

#ultan Mehme& AA :the 3onOueror< :=*3=6=*7=<. The >th Httoman #ultan 1ho conOuere& 9stan/ul in =*?3.

their &enial ma" ha%e /een re&uce& or chan$e& to &ou/t0 thus &iminishin$ their fear of &eath an& the .ain cause& /" the assertion of eternal non6e@istence after &eath. Go& no lon$er &estro"s un/elie%ers collecti%el"0 althou$h 8e ha& era&icate& man" such .eo.le in the .ast: *ut 2o! woul! never c%astise t%em w%ile ou were amon' t%em: 2o! woul! never c%astise t%em as t%e +e''e! for'iveness :7:33<. This %erse refers to un/elie%ers re$ar&less of time an& .lace. Go& 1ill not &estro" 1hole .eo.les as lon$ as there are some 1ho follo1 the Messen$er. Besi&es0 8e has left the &oor of re.entance o.en until the East +a". !n"one can acce.t Aslam or ask Go&Cs for$i%eness0 re$ar&less of ho1 sinful the" consi&er themsel%es to /e. For this reason0 a MuslimCs enmit" to1ar& un/elie%ers is a form of .it". Ghen VUmar sa1 an 7)6 "ear6ol& man0 he sat &o1n an& 1e.t. Ghen aske& 1h"0 he re.lie&: KGo& assi$ne& him so lon$ a lifes.an0 /ut he has not /een a/le to fin& the true .ath.L VUmar 1as a &isci.le of Go&Cs Messen$er0 1ho sai&: KA 1as not sent to call &o1n curses on .eo.le0 /ut as a merc"0L ( an&:
A am Muhamma&0 an& !hma& :.raise& one<0 an& ,u;affi :the East 2ro.het<N A am (as%ir :the last 2ro.het in 1hose .resence the .eo.le 1ill $ather<N the 2ro.het of re.entance :the 2ro.het for 1hose sake the &oor of re.entance 1ill al1a"s remain o.en<0 an& the 2ro.het of merc".(>

!rchan$el Ga/riel also /enefite& from the merc" of the IurCan. Hnce the 2ro.het aske& Ga/riel 1hether he ha& an" share in the merc" containe& in the IurCan0 Ga/riel re.lie& that he &i&0 an& [email protected]&: KA 1as not certain a/out m" en&. 8o1e%er0 1hen the %erse: 7<ne9 o+e e!4 an! moreover4 trustwort% an! secure! :7=:(=< 1as re%eale&0 A felt secure.L (7 Go&Cs Messen$er 1as .articularl" com.assionate to1ar& chil&ren. Ghene%er he sa1 a chil& cr"in$0 he sat /esi&e him or her an& share& his or her feelin$s. 8e felt the .ain of a mother for her chil& more than the mother herself. Hnce he sai&: KA stan& in .ra"er an& 1ish to .rolon$ it. 8o1e%er0 A hear a chil& cr" an& shorten the .ra"er to lessen the motherCs an@iet".L (4 8e took chil&ren in his arms an& hu$$e& them. Hnce 1hen hu$$in$ t1o chil&ren0 !Orah i/n 8a/is tol& him: KA ha%e =) chil&ren0 none of 1hom A ha%e e%er kisse&.L Go&Cs Messen$er res.on&e&: KHne 1ithout .it" for others is not .itie&.L3) !ccor&in$ to another %ersion0 he a&&e&: KGhat can A &o for "ou if Go& has remo%e& com.assion from "ouQL3= 8e sai&: K2it" those on the earth so that those in the hea%ens 1ill .it" "ou.L 3( Hnce 1hen #aC& i/n VU/a&ah /ecame ill0 Go&Cs Messen$er %isite& him at home. #eein$ his faithful 3om.anion in a .itiful state0 /e$an to cr" an& sai&: KGo& &oes not .unish /ecause of tears or $rief0 /ut 8e .unishes /ecause of this0L an& he .ointe& to his ton$ue.33 Ghen VUthman i/n Ma&Cun &ie&0 he 1e.t .rofusel". +urin$
( (>

$a%i% al-,uslim0 KBirr0L 7>.

!hma& i/n 8an/al0 ,usna!0 *:34?N $a%i% al-,uslim0 KFa&aCil0L =( .
(7

Ia&i A"a&0 as-$%ifa’ al-$%arif0 =:=>.
(4

$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 K!&han0L ?N $a%i% al-,uslim0 K#alat0L =4(.
3)

$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 K!&a/0L =7.
3=

"+i!.0 K!&a/0L =7N $a%i% al-,uslim0 KFa&aCil0L *.
3(

$unan al-Tirmi!%i0 KBirr0L = .
33

the funeral0 a 1oman remarke&: KVUthman fle1 like a /ir& to 2ara&ise.L B%en in that mournful state0 the 2ro.het &i& not lose his /alance an& correcte& the 1oman: K8o1 &o "ou kno1 thisQ B%en A &onCt kno1 this0 an& A am a 2ro.het.L3* ! mem/er of the Banu MuOarrin clan once /eat his mai&ser%ant. #he informe& Go&Cs Messen$er0 1ho then sent a messa$e to the master. 8e sai&: K,ou ha%e /eaten her 1ithout an" Mustifia/le ri$ht. Free her.L3? #ettin$ a sla%e free 1as far /etter for the master than /ein$ .unishe& in the 8ereafter /ecause of that act. Go&Cs Messen$er al1a"s .rotecte& an& su..orte& 1i&o1s0 or.hans0 the .oor an& &isa/le& e%en /efore his 2ro.hethoo&. Ghen he returne& home in e@citement from Mount 8ira after the first De%elation0 his 1ife Kha&iMah tol& him: KA ho.e "ou 1ill /e the 2ro.het of this communit"0 for "ou al1a"s tell the truth0 fulfill "our trust0 su..ort "our relati%es0 hel. the .oor an& 1eak0 an& fee& $uests.L3 8is com.assion e%en encom.asse& animals. Ge hear from him: K! .rostitute 1as $ui&e& to truth /" Go& an& ultimatel" 1ent to 2ara&ise /ecause she $a%e 1ater to a .oor &o$ &"in$ of thirst insi&e a 1ell. !nother 1oman 1as sent to 8ell /ecause she ma&e a cat &ie of hun$er.L 3> Hnce 1hile returnin$ from a militar" cam.ai$n0 a fe1 3om.anions remo%e& some "oun$ /ir&s from their nest to caress them. The mother /ir& came /ack an&0 not fin&in$ its /a/ies0 /e$an to fl" aroun& screechin$. Ghen tol& of this0 Go&Cs Messen$er /ecame an$r" an& or&ere& the /ir&s to /e .ut /ack in the nest. 37 Ghile in Mina0 some of his 3om.anions attacke& a snake in or&er to kill it. 8o1e%er0 it mana$e& to esca.e. Gatchin$ this from afar0 he remarke&: KAt 1as sa%e& from "our e%il0 as "ou 1ere from its e%il.L34 A/n V!//as re.orte& that Go&Cs Messen$er0 u.on o/ser%in$ a man shar.enin$ his knife &irectl" /efore the shee. to /e slau$htere&0 aske& him: K+o "ou 1ant to kill it man" timesQL *) 8is lo%e an& com.assion for creatures &iffere& from that of to&a"Cs self6.roclaime& humanists. 8e 1as sincere an& /alance& in his lo%e an& com.assion. ! 2ro.het raise& /" Go&0 the 3reator an& #ustainer of all /ein$s0 for the $ui&ance an& ha..iness of conscious /ein$sWhumanit" an& MinnWan& the harmon" of e@istence. !s such0 he li%e& not for himself /ut for others. 8e is a merc" for all the 1orl&s0 a manifestation of 3om.assion. 8e era&icate& all &ifferences of race an& color. Hnce !/u +harr $ot so an$r" 1ith Bilal that he insulte& him: K,ou son of a /lack 1omanXL Bilal came to Go&Cs Messen$er an& re.orte& the inci&ent in tears. The Messen$er re.roache& !/u +harr: K+o "ou still ha%e a si$n of )a%ili a% :i$norance<QL Full of re.entance0 !/u +harr la" on the $roun& an& sai&: KA 1onCt raise m" hea& :meanin$ he 1oul&nCt $et u.< unless Bilal .uts his foot on it to .ass o%er it.L Bilal for$a%e him0 an& the" 1ere

$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 KJanaCiz0L *?.
3*

"+i!0 KJanaCiz0L 3.
3?

$a%i% al-,uslim0 K!"man0L 3=0 33N A/n 8an/al0 ,usna!0 3:**>.
3

A/n #aC&0 al-Ta+a;at al-/u+ra’0 =:=4?.
3>

$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 K!n/i"a0L ?*N $a%i% al-,uslim0 K#alam0L =?3.
37

$unan .+u Dawu!0 K!&a/0L = *N A/n 8an/al0 ,usna!0 =:*)*.
34

#unan al6NasaCi0 K8aMM0L ==*N A/n 8an/al0 ,usna!0 =:37?.
*)

8akim0 ,usta!rak0 *:(3=.

reconcile&.*= #uch 1as the /rotherhoo& an& sisterhoo& an& humanit" that Aslam create& /et1een an& amon$ once6sa%a$e .eo.le.

*=

$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 KAman0L ((.

THE COUNT(. OF TOLE(ANCE DESI(ED B. ALL

VARIETY IN SOCIETY

Iariety is a natural dimension of our society and geography. 5t would be a great mistake to claim that %natolia is racially pure Turkish. 7ecause, we have stepped into %sia a number of times, gone beyond %natolia from top to bottom and spread out to the slopes of the +est via the 7alkans. %s a result, %natolia, as a place where different tribes have lived, is a rich and colorful geographical location. %ccepting and pronouncing this truth would be an important step toward a final solution showing that in the future variety is not going to constitute a problem for us. The solution to our problem is expressed in a couplet by <iya 0asha as, “;now the illness, then set out to treat it medically: !o you think any ointment is a cure for any wound6 +e must learn the secret of how we ruled tens of nations of different race, religion and world.views together in the past. %nother side of this matter is that it is necessary to accept variety as a source of enrichment. +hen we go back to ancient times, we can see the riches that many societies like the 2ittites, 0hrygians, Lydians and Comans left in %natolia. %ll of these contributed different enrichment to our culture. The Seljuks left a 8uite different culture, which we can say was an integration of %sian and %natolian cultures, and which culminated in the 1ttoman culture. This culture, which has been passed on to us by speech and writing, has made our nation a distinct society. 5n my opinion, this cultural richness should be used and evaluated in the future as an unmatched treasure and source of strength. $specially in the last one or two centuries, some powers, knowingly or unknowingly, have acted to take advantage of this variety in our society in a negative manner by bringing about dissension. They have tried to produce enemy camps and then play these camps off against one another to turn Turkey into an arena of conflict. >ow, at last, 5 think that our people, who have been tempered and matured in the crucible of events, will not be prey to those games. /inally, the far.sightedness and common sense of our nation has, with 3od's help, spoiled the intrigues arranged by some groups bent on dividing the people. The public conscience acted with foresight and, overcoming emotions, solved many problems. %fter this, for the continuation of our unity and order, a brotherly&sisterly environment should be built on a rational basis rather than on emotional ties. +e have numerous bonds or common points re8uiring unity in society. These points of unity should continually be elaborated on very well in the different segments of society, and our unity that has usually been based on emotions should be deepened to levels of rationality, intelligence and ideas. The first step towards this end should be the acceptance of everyone as they are. $veryone can think differently about different issues. /or example, due to their ethnic priority, some may not feel fully a part of this nation or there can be different opinions regarding beliefs or world.views. 5n societies where democracy has reached a certain level, people solve their problems by means of discussion and persuasion, not by using brute strength and force as is the case among uncivili#ed ones. 5n a time when we all share common grounds and when everyone is given the freedom and right to work, think and express

himself&herself, we are all longing to build a world without conflict and contention based on tolerance and dialogue. Today all of us should take full advantage of this process and the circumstances that pave the way for it and accept that it is natural for everyone to benefit from these same rights. !uring this period of tolerance and dialogue that began in recent years in Turkey, 5 have had the opportunity to speak with and get to know many people from different segments of society. The most important observation 5 have personally made from these dialogues is how closed we are to our own society. (any times when 5 encountered someone who did not think as 5 did, 5 thought unpleasant things would ensue. 7ut it is interesting that in hardly any group did 5 see a sour face. +e were able to draw close to one another 8uite comfortably, and everyone who thought they were very different from each other actually warmed easily to one another. 5n fact, when embracing one another, everyone's eyes were full of tears. There was no feigned flattery here. 2ersonall"0 in this ne1 em/race of each other0 A thou$ht A ha& foun& our lost .ara&ise. !lso0 seein$ that our .eo.le are rea&" for this is another source of Mo". !t the same time0 im.ortance shoul& not /e $i%en to the &iscontent of the mar$inal $rou.s on the ri$ht or left. These e@iste& in e%er" .erio& an& al1a"s 1ill. No1 our societ" is turnin$ to1ar&s feelin$ an& realizin$ the /rotherhoo&5sisterhoo& it "earns for. This o..ortunit" shoul& /e taken a&%anta$e of. Unit" shoul& /e $i%en .rece&ence on e%er" .latform0 an& the .rocess that has /e$un shoul& /e com.lete& no matter 1hat.

MINIMUM COMMON GROUND
Cemaining respectful to others' thoughts and feelings because “they are human, we must accept all people in their own special circumstances and with their thoughts. This disposition is not alien to, rather it is given a high priority in 5slam. 5n this respect, 5 personally believe that it is very important for the sake of human peace and happiness to 8uickly spread such concepts as “social peace and tolerance all over the world. %lready in some visits made for this purpose, 5 have met with unexpected surprises. 5 cannot express with what joy 5 have observed some people say, “you mean we too can be saved,J and what a sigh of relief and gladness they give because they have found themselves a place in religion. 5n my opinion, this subject is as thought.provoking as it is surprising. These people may once have been voluntary advocates for some lines of thought that we cannot approve of. !enying !ivinity and seeing religion as an opium are not insignificant matters, but their sensitivity to the problems of humanity is very important, too. 9ntil now their struggle in the areas of politics, economics, culture and law for the well. being of our country should be taken into consideration for the sake finding and securing the minimum common grounds. %nd 5 believe that the number of people thinking like this is not at all small. %s the intellectual strata of society, these people comprise an important group. Their saying “4es to the initiatives made for the benefit of this nation and their approaching those initiatives in the spirit of “if we had known, we would have done something, too are very important developments. 5t is probable that sometime soon they will join together along a middle line in the name of service to this country, this nation and humankind. They are likely to explain many things to those who, like “fish in the ocean who do not know they are in the water, see themselves in the caravan, but are not aware of the value, sanctity and significance of it.

TOLE(ANCE DESI(ED B. ALL12
Aslam has clearl" /een &efine& in /oth the IurCan an& the Tra&itions of the 2ro.het0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. Hur scholars ha%e &efine& reli$ion as a collection of &isci.lines an& .rinci.les 1hich Go& lai& &o1n so that .eo.le ma" attain to $oo& in all as.ects of life an& in the 8ereafter /" o/e"in$ them. Aslam means surren&er0 an& .romisin$ .eace an& securit" to e%er"one. At is the s"m/ol of securit". Man" %erses of the IurCan em.hasizes the other life 1here the" &eal 1ith the issue of reli$ion. The 2ro.het &efines a Muslim as one from 1hose han& an& ton$ue others are secure. A 1oul& like to ask here 1hether a reli$ion /ase& on an& aims at the securit" of all an& one 1ho follo1s it can $i%e harm to an"/o&"Q A am not certain 1hether 1e ha%e /een a/le to un&erstan& Aslam as 1e must un&erstan& it. Ge sometimes use reli$ion to reinforce our o1n thou$hts an& fancies an& sometimes intro&uce them in the $ar/ of reli$ion. Aslam is uni%ersal an& came to em/race all .eo.les. Lai i#+3 Se ulari#+ a"d (epubli Ge &iscuss conce.ts like laicism an& secularism0 an& some other conce.ts that ha%e /ecome i&eolo$"0 like Kemalism. !n& there are some .eo.le on /oth si&es 1ho misun&erstan& these. 2eo.le 1ho i$nore an& e@a$$erate these conce.ts ten& to /e Ouarrelsome. Un&enia/l"0 there are some 1ise .eo.le on /oth si&esN such .eo.le shoul& /e remem/ere& 1ith $ratitu&e. At has /een constantl" em.hasize& that this artificial Ouarrel is .ointless. For instance0 it has /een sai& man" times0 KEetCs /e consi&erate to one another an& acce.t e%er"one as the" are.L Unfortunatel"0 the a..roaches 1hich A am tr"in$ to outline here ha%e /een inter.rete& in %er" &ifferent 1a"s. #ome .eo.le ha%e sai&0 KAf "ou intro&uce laicism as .ractice& in the Gest0 A 1ill /e the first to &efen& it.L Therefore0 this im.lies that there is no one 1ho 1oul& reMect 1ell6structure& laicism 1hich 1ill $uarantee the free&om of thou$ht an& /elief an& the non6interference of state an& the 3hurch 1ith each otherCs affairs. #imilarl"0 the same consi&erations are Mustifia/le for &emocrac". !s a matter of fact0 no/o&" has reMecte& the De.u/lic so far. !t the /e$innin$ of the centur"0 Be&iuzzaman sai&0 KA am more of a De.u/lican than all of "ou. Ghen A 1as in the Bast A $a%e the /eans in m" sou. to ants. A 1as aske& 1h". A tol& them that ants an& /ees are re.u/licans. A am one 1ho a&%ocates re.u/lic0 /ut not the kin& of re.u/lic 1hich is onl" /" name an& ceremonious. A a&%ocate the true re.u/lic /ase& on fairness an& Mustice 1ith the contri/ution of maMorit"L0 an& he referre& to the time of the Di$htl"6
*(

This is a summar" of the inter%ie1 1hich Fethullah Gülen $a%e to #aman"olu TF channel in Fe/ruar" =44>.

Gui&e& 3ali.hs*3 as an [email protected]. Thus0 A &o not /elie%e that e%en the most reli$iousl" conser%ati%e .erson can /e a$ainst the i&ea of a re.u/lic. #ome ma" 1ant to un&erstan& laicism in a %er" &ifferent 1a". !ccor&in$ to a comment0 there is no .erio& 1hen laicism has not /een im.lemente& in the Turkish states. For instance0 non6Muslims ha%e al1a"s li%e& safel" amon$ us. Their reli$ions ha%e ne%er /een touche&. To&a"0 on this issue0 se%eral mo&ern inter.reters $i%e the %erse K =ekum !inukum veli e!>n? 7To ou +e our 3a an! to me mine9 from the cha.ter el-/afirun :The +is/elie%ers< as an [email protected]. T$e Se re! of !$e Ma&"ifi e" e of !$e O!!o+a"# The secret of Httoman ma$nificence that ena/le& the Httomans to $o%ern a hu$e0 cosmo.olitan .o.ulation0 of 1hich onl" =5() 1as .ure6/re& Turkish0 in an area that stretche& o%er three continents for man" centuries an& that ena/le& them to maintain securit" in the /est .ossi/le 1a" lies in the HttomanCs tolerance of all faithsN that is0 the" .ractice& real laicism0 as it is un&erstoo& /" some. To&a"0 man" Turkish intellectuals claim that laicism is not 1ell im.lemente& in Turke". Gestern .eo.le also sa" the same thin$. !lthou$h the situation is not e@actl" as the" see it0 there are0 ho1e%er0 some .ro/lems in Turke". The .rinci.le of laicism 1as a&o.te& as an im.ortant .rinci.le 1hen the De.u/lic 1as &eclare&. A am not an [email protected] in la10 /ut if 1e aim at the non6interference of the state an& reli$ion in each other in a 1a" 1hich allo1s e%er"one to o/ser%e their reli$ion freel"0 then it 1oul& /e necessar" to re%ise e%er"thin$ in Turke". An contrast0 laicism an& secularism are usuall" confuse& 1ith each other. #ecularism is a s"stem maintainin$ that ethical stan&ar&s shoul& /e &etermine& e@clusi%el" 1ith reference to the 1orl&l" 1ell6/ein$ of .eo.le0 1ithout reference to reli$ion. Ghen 1e take Bn$lan& into consi&eration0 Bn$lan& is a non6secular state0 /ecause the 3hurch an& the $o%ernment are intert1ine&. 8o1e%er0 no one can claim that Bn$lan&Cs s"stem of $o%ernment is theocratic an& therefore Bn$lan& is not laic. An Aslam there is a le$al .rinci.le calle& isti%san. At means that in makin$ la1 the 1ell6/ein$ of .eo.le shoul& /e consi&ere&. #o0 /ase& on this0 some e%en ar$ue that there 1as some sort of secularism in /oth the #elMuki an& Httoman s"stem. An /rief0 there are man" &e/ates an& man" %ie1s on these issues. #ome .eo.le im.ose their o1n &esires on laicism an& secularism. The" &o not 1ant to see an"thin$ of reli$ion in the social life of .eo.le. But if &emocrac" is &esi$ne& as a s"stem to fulfill all the nee&s of all human /ein$s R if it hel.s /elie%ers or&er their li%es until the $ra%e 3 if it has the ca.acit" to form an atmos.here 1here .eo.le can search for ans1ers for their .ro/lems .ertainin$ their afterlife 4 1ill this /e contrar" to laicismQ ! human /ein$ is not merel" a /o&". 8umans also ha%e soulsN the" ha%e a meta.h"sical as.ect alon$si&e their .h"sical as.ectsN the" ha%e s.iritualit" as 1ell as 1orl&liness. The" shoul& /e consi&ere& 1ith all their characteristics so that the" can feel the comfort .romise& /" &emocrac". A think a .erfect &emocrac" shoul& fulfill all the .h"sical an& meta.h"sical nee&s of all human /ein$s. An m" o.inion0 the first thin$ to &o is to a&Must our emotions an& thou$hts an& then to chan$e our attitu&e. Ge must /e res.ectful to1ar&s one another. Then the Ouarrels 1ill ceaseN althou$h %er" fe1 .eo.le 1ill still $et u.set0 the maMorit" of our nation 1ill /e ha..". T$e Period 5e Are Goi"& !$rou&$
*3

The Di$htl"6Gui&e& 3ali.hs are !/u Bakir0 VUmar0 VUthman an& V!li0 1ho succee&e& the 2ro.het0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 Must after his &eath. :Tr.<

An Turke"0 some Muslims ma" consi&er the .eo.le 1ho &o not .ractice Aslam as /ein$ the enem" /ecause the" i$nore the /asic .rinci.les of Aslam. Moreo%er0 the" &ri%e them further a1a" from /oth the reli$ion the" re.resent an& from themsel%es0 callin$ them at times K.eo.le of the o..osite si&eL0 KsinfulL0 or K&is/elie%ersL) 8o1e%er0 the realit" is not like that. An m" o.inion0 /oth the Muslims 1ho &i%i&e the communit" as /elie%ers an& non6/elie%ers0 an& those 1ho o..ose them as reactionaries an& anti6&emocrats are 1ron$. No1a&a"s0 there is a si$nificant ten&enc" to1ar&s reli$ion throu$hout the 1orl&. Ge are li%in$ in a time 1hen reli$ious %alues are on the 1a" to re%i%al0 an& the &oors to the meta.h"sical 1orl& 1hich 1ere close& ha%e /een re6o.ene&. Therefore0 e%er" 1or& sai& an& e%er" o.inion uttere& on /ehalf of reli$ion is %er" im.ortant. #o 1e shoul& $i%e .riorit" to 1hat reli$ion $i%es .riorit". The" are lo%e0 com.assion0 tolerance0 an& &ialo$ue. 5e Need a" Au!o6 ri!i7ue A /elie%e that es.eciall" the .eo.le 1ho claim to /e the lea&in$ re.resentati%es of Aslam at .resent shoul& reconsi&er 1hat the" sa" Kon /ehalf of reli$ion.L The" shoul& reflect on the reli$ious inter.retations an& a..lications of the $reat Amam such as Amam Da//ani0 Amam Ghazali0 an& !/u 8anifah** an& Ouestion their thou$hts an& attitu&es. An m" o.inion0 if the" &o not &o this0 some harsh an& stern attitu&es the" sometimes &is.la" 1ill minimize the Aslamic s.irit an& meanin$. Ge shoul& tr" to reach the horizon of 2ro.het Muhamma&0 .eace an& /lessin$s /e u.on him) An his horizon0 there are no consi&erations of earthl" .ositions. The onl" thin$ that matters is Go&Cs a..ro%al. EetCs [email protected]& u.on this a little more: For m"self0 if in return for the ser%ices that A am tr"in$ to carr" out0 #ultan Mehme&Cs conOuest of Astan/ul an& his entire rei$n 1ere to /e offere& to me0 A 1oul& com.lain0 sa"in$0 KGh" ha%e the" $i%en me such a small thin$QL This is /ecause A &esire much $reater thin$: Go&Cs a..ro%al an& $oo& .leasure. A 1ant to make the issue clear to a%oi& misun&erstan&in$: A &o not criticize #ultan Mehme&0 the 3onOueror. 8e 1as a $reat statesman0 literar" man0 an& a $reat comman&er. 8o1e%er0 A mean that his an& all .eo.leCs real $reatness lies in their merit in Go&Cs si$ht an& their attachment to the $reatest i&eal of o/tainin$ Go&Cs a..ro%al an& $oo& .leasure. An fact0 #ultan Mehme& also .ursue& Go&Cs $oo& .leasure /" tr"in$ to /rin$ hearts to Go&. 8o1e%er0 since at that time an& /ecause of his .osition he 1ere to &o that throu$h the militar". But0 to&a" 1is&om0 kno1le&$e0 s.iritualit"0 an& moralit" must /e in the fore$roun&. !s A sai& on a TF .ro$ram0 if the hi$hest earthl" .osition 1as offere& to me0 A 1oul& sa"0 KGh" are these .eo.le humiliatin$ me an& 1h" &o the" su$$est that A &escen&QL An m" o.inion0 if Go& ha& $i%en human /ein$s the a.titu&e to reach the le%el of Ga/riel0 then the" shoul& .ursue hi$her an& hi$her $oals than an" 1orl&l" one. An conclusion0 .eo.le 1ho act for the aim of hi$her earthl" .osition cannot think in a sane manner. Ge ma" $et in%ol%e& in intri$ues. Gor&s are misinter.rete&. 8o1e%er0 in histor"0 static .o1ers ha%e al1a"s /een &eterminers an& moti%ators of &"namic .o1ers. An the future0 some from amon$ those 1ho take no interest in 1orl&l" aims in their en&ea%or on Go&Cs 1a"0 ma" incline to 1orl&l" .osts an& .ositions. But A al1a"s &ra1 the attention to ser%anthoo& to Go&0 1hich is the $reatest of .ositions0 an& 1ill &o so in the future so lon$ as A am ali%e.

**

!/u 8anifah Numan i/n Tha/it :>))6> ><. The foun&er of the 8anafi #chool of Ea1. 8e 1as famous for his .rofoun& kno1le&$e0 hi$h intelli$ence0 an& .o1er of reasonin$. 8e li%e& in Kufah an& has /een kno1n an& calle& Amam V!Czam :The Greatest Amam<. :Tr.<

TOLERANCE FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Tolerance is the rose and flower of our hills. 5t was born with us and has flourished with us. 5t is obvious that "esus, who is the most highly esteemed person in the +est, and his disciples, represented tolerance to an important degree. 2owever, in our world the ,ompanions and the two generations following our 0rophet up to the Seljukis, 1ttomans and the present day all accepted tolerance as a basic principle in their relationships with others. They also accepted as a general philosophy the principle of treating all creatures well for the sake of the ,reator. The period in which applying tolerance is usually the most difficult is the period when people hold power and strength in their hands, as tolerance has usually been the attribute of the oppressed. +hereas in our history tolerance has so thoroughly permeated the national spirit that even when we have been strong and powerful as a nation, abiding by the philosophy of being “among people a simple one from among them, power and force have not been used as a vehicle for oppression and tyranny. The golden pages of our history bear witness that our ancestors always carried tolerance to the regions where they were in control of their destiny. They saw no problem with a mos8ue, a church and a synagogue being side by side, and for centuries they were known for their tolerance. 5n this respect, it is a mistake to accept the erroneous conjecture that tolerance is something that has been imported from any other part of the world. 2owever, as with the +est, there has been much talk about tolerance in recent times, but it is difficult to say that it has been reflected in practice to the same degree in every segment of society. /or example, some among those who constantly speak about tolerance have, for years, cursed the (uslims for their religion and religious affairs and, without making any distinctions, have thrown mud at all (uslims with such abusive slogans as “reactionary, #ealot and fundamentalist. 5t is not possible to e8uate these actions with tolerance. +hat they mean by tolerance is tolerance for only their own thoughts. +hereas, since tolerance is a broad dimension of democracy, in regard to democratic rights and

freedoms, everyone should be evaluated in the same scales and everyone should have a share of tolerance. 5nstead of actually seeking the truth, those who say, “Let us discuss whether the ?ur'an is a divine book and whether (uhammad @pbuhA is a prophet, think they are putting dynamite in 5slam's foundation. 7ut it can be seen that they do not allow the same openness when it comes to discussing their own faiths or ideologies. %ctually, as opposed to the fact that such “isms or ideologies have not proven themselves or been able to give anything serious to the people, the ?ur'an and (uhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, have always proven themselves. They have been the source of history's greatest civili#ation and have been the reference point for hundreds of millions of people. These days, with 3od's help and generosity, a new path of dialogue and tolerance has been embarked upon nation.wide. 5n this on.going process everyone in one form or another should follow this general trend. %t last, in recent days everyone K in a broad spectrum from politicians to the business world, from academicians to men of religion K has been talking about tolerance and dialogue and has displayed an attitude of reconciliation. This is a blessing newly granted to this nation by 3od. 5t is a mistake for those who started this trend in our country to say, “+e invented this. 7ecause 3od cast this process of tolerance in a transparent mold that is open to everyone and whoever supports it will obtain it. /rom this respect, it is not important to whom it is credited- the important thing is the existence of this atmosphere. Thousands of thanks to 3od that when Turkey was in need of such a process, it entered it. %s 5 mentioned above, what's important is that this process continues. The main factor for the tolerance and dialogue atmosphere to reach broader circles is the 8uality of its representatives. 7ecause when the principles put forth in the theory are not put into practice and lived, then this shows that the representatives of it are not sincere. +ith your permission, 5'd like to give an example here. Cecently a writer made an incorrect comparison. 2e referred to the ?ur'anic verse that says, “%nd if you do catch them out, catch them out no worse than they catch you out: 7ut if you show patience, that is indeed the best @courseA for those who are patient. @DL: D)LA 2e compared this with turning the other cheek in "esus' teaching and concluded that ,hristianity is a more tolerant religion than 5slam. This matter came under discussion previously and, in fact, it became a vehicle in a half.joking way for the following event that took place between a village imam and a priest: 1ne day a priest, similar to the writer mentioned above, said that ,hristianity was a more tolerant religion than 5slam. Thereupon, a village imam, who heard the priest's words, punched the priest in the face. The confused priest raised his hand to fight back. The imam 8uickly interjected, “5 thought in your religion you were supposed to turn the other cheek. Then turn your other cheek so 5 can hit you in it* The priest replied, “This time 5'm going to behave according to your religion and give you exactly what you gave me. 4ou can take this story for a joke, but if there is a truth here, it is that being realistic is of great significance when it comes to the matter of tolerance. The

?ur'an insists on one's forgiving any evil done to oneself. This is obviously a virtue. 7ut it cannot be a rule of law. The law observes mutuality and justice. So we should not confuse an individual attitude with law. The ?ur'anic verse above is concerned with warfare, not with individual attitudes or rules of behavior. %ccording to 5slam, tolerance is essential in every area of life. $ven during warfare, the ?ur'an exhorts the (uslims to stop fighting and make peace if the other side offers peace. 5t never forbids good treatment of the enemy soldiers when necessary. 5t is because of this injunction of the ?ur'an that Salahaddin al. %yyubiF= treated Cichard the Lionhearted at night although they fought during day. 2owever, we can as an historical fact that since ,hristianity did not bring any strict rules concerning war, the wars in ,hristendom have been more bloody and destructive. +hereas 5slam brought many rules and restrictions. 2owever, as (uslims we believe in all the 0rophets without making any discrimination among them in believing, and do not compare them. 5f there are some differences between their teachings, they are due to the time and conditions. %n individual can fully forgive any injustice made to him&her and forgo any further claims on anyone. That's the essence of tolerance anyway. "ust as the ?ur'an says, “Cepel evil with what is better. Then will he between whom and you was hatred become as it were your close friend* @FD: EFA Together with this, it should not be forgotten that justice has a very important place in the life of the individual and society. 5n 5slam everything is exactly where it must be. % believer should melt even the hardest meteors cast at him&her in his&her breast just as the earth's atmosphere does for our protection, and, beginning with his&her closest circle, he&she should radiate to everyone the light of love, affection and dialogue that constantly comes from faith. 2e&she should love everyone as a human being, in fact, every animate creature, for the sake of the ,reator, and he&she should overflow with compassion for all creation. This should be the aim of every believing heart, in his&her life, and every material and spiritual sacrifice should be made towards this goal.

UNITY, ACCORD AND AGREEMENT
The (essenger of 3od repeatedly stated that a community that lived in accord would attract 3od's mercy and blessings. 7ediM##aman says that the greatest means of deserving 3od's help is to live in accord and agreement. 5f 3od wills for a person to be granted success there are several attributes that can be employed as a means to achieve this. /or example, belief and sincerity in one's actions are examples of such attributes. Likewise, an unwavering adherence and loyalty to a goal are others. 0eople with such attributes may be raised to elevated stations by 3od. Loyalty to religion means that one is constant in serving the religion until the end of one's life, without displaying any tiredness or
*?

#alaha&&in al6!""u/i :==376==43<. The foun&er of the !""u/i &"nast". 8e $a%e an en& to the Fatimi& rule in B$".t an& /ecame a #ultan. 8e fou$ht a$ainst the 3rusa&ers an& es.eciall" the fi$hts /et1een him an& Dichar& the Eionhearte& are 1ell6kno1n in histor". 8e 1as ackno1le&$e& as a 1arrior remarka/le for his Mustice an& $oo&1ill to1ar& the 1eak an& &efenseless. :Tr.<

lethargy. %ny animal that serves its master for ten years earns a special place in its master's heart. So it is certain that 3od attaches exceptional value to those who have laid their heads on 2is threshold, who have advanced throughout their life unfalteringly toward 2im. $ven if such a person were to falter on the way, 3od would not abandon him&her. Thus, loyalty or constancy is very important. The greater one's constancy, the higher one's place is in the sight of 3od. Giving u Eg!"i#$ %ccord and agreement are more important than even constancy in order to receive 3od's help. That is, we should leave no room for any discord or disunity when advancing toward a common goal. +e should always pursue consensus and, to this end, we should wholeheartedly seek reconciliation and understanding. 5f one is unable to feel the necessity for agreement and accord and if one is unable to say, “5 cannot do without my brothers and sisters, then this person has not grasped the importance of unity in society. 9nity in society re8uires that every person should balance their own peculiarities and characteristics with those of other people. 5f unity and agreement are important means of receiving 3od's help, then our greatest desire should be to seek these attributes. +e should forgo egotism or ego.centeredness, allowing ourselves to melt into the broad sphere of society, transcending all considerations of self, rather attempting to be one among the people. Such an attitude is one that 3od will certainly reward with 2is mysterious help. 5n fact, within every act of 2is there is hidden a mystery. /or example, if 2e says, “+orship (e so that 5 may admit you into 0aradise, what is re8uired of us is to concentrate on the importance of obedience to 2is orders and to worship 2im without thinking about how merely worshipping 2im can be enough to admit us to 0aradise. 5f 2e has made such a promise, we must do what 2e has ordered us to do and never doubt 2is promise. Similarly, if 2e makes our success dependent on agreement and unity, then we must live in agreement and unity. 9nity and accord have another use. 5f people come together and are unified, they can avoid conflicts that arise from bigotry and partiality. 5f this is not done, and the various elements that make up society show favor to those that are of their own temperament, way, world.view, or ethnic origin, then the efforts of individuals will be nullified by those of others in a web of conflicts. % great thinker stated that a person who has been able to fully absorb the spirit of unity and accord will be happy at the success of his&her fellow humans. 5f the members of a society do not share the feelings of others and feel happy at their happiness and feel pain at their pains, then unity and accord is not possible. 2ere 5 would like to express another criterion for achieving the concord of hearts. 5f one does not pray for the good of his or her fellow human beings and for the reformation of their hearts, then such a person cannot be regarded as a true member of society. /urthermore, if one makes such a prayer with the idea that those for whom one is praying are spiritually inferior and therefore are in need of this prayer, then this is not a prayer nor is this a sincere attitude toward one's

fellow human beings. %ny internal conflict is enough to bring all the efforts of an entire community to nothing. T%&ing L'##!n# ()!$ Hi#"!)* The ,ompanions of the (essenger of 3od, upon him be peace and blessings, made up a pure community. +e cannot contemplate any ill thoughts about them. 2owever, it is an historical fact that even that pure community could not remain unsullied from internal conflicts. These conflicts were minor, arising from a difference in opinion and attitude, yet all conforming to religion. $veryone always desired to act in union, with no internal conflicts. +e all wish that the sorrowful events that occurred during the ,aliphate of G9thman and G%li, may 3od be pleased with them, had not taken place. 7ut those events had long before been entrusted to history. +hat we should do is take the necessary lessons from this community, and, as we are a community responsible for our own deeds, we should not repeat the same errors. Let us not perish in the web of internal conflicts and clashes. +e should take refuge in 3od from such things and beg 2im to grant us accord and unity. C!n+i"i!n# (!) R'%,i-ing Uni"* $verything should be evaluated on the basis of right and truth. /rom the very beginning of 5slam, the believers endured all hardships and tried to maintain their relations with others within the framework of tolerance and dialogue. (any are unable to understand what such an attitude brings about in the human heart and spirit. +e may fall into doubts about whether we can remain faithful to right and truth while trying to embrace all people without discrimination according to belief or worldview, about whether we can always pursue 3od's approval and good pleasure. +e are mortals, so it is always possible for us to make errors. +e must not sacrifice 3od's approval and good pleasure for any other goal. This is why we must be careful not to go astray from the true path. +e sometimes perform actions that we find intolerable. +e can follow our own wishes, rather than perform the actions that reason and logic dictate. +e can contaminate our emotions. 3od states in the ?ur'an: We test some of you through some others @L: =EA. +e are tested through some other people, and some people are tested through us. >o person is a measure by which others should act. 3od did not take deficient thoughts and calculations as a measure when creating the universe and establishing the general conditions for human life. 5t is the ?ur'an, the Sunnah and the principles that the great scholars of 5slam deduced from these two basic sources that are the beams illuminating our way. /or this reason, we cannot wish ill for others merely because they do not think as we do. 5 have no right to cause others to be understood in a way that is different from how they actually are. 5f we make errors in the things we do because we are trying to do what we think is for the well.being of people it is then possible to come together with others and to correct these errors. Some people may sometimes waver, lose their enthusiasm, and adopt different ideas. The (essenger of 3od said that one 1ho esta/lishes a $oo& .ath recei%es the re1ar& of those 1ho follo1 it0 1ithout an" &ecrease in their re1ar&0 an& one 1ho esta/lishes an

e%il .ath 1ill /e /ur&ene& 1ith the sins of those 1ho follo1 it0 1ithout an" &ecrease in their /ur&en. * #o0 Must as it is a $reatl" meritorious act to remo%e the rifts that e@ist amon$ .eo.le0 it is also a $reatl" sinful act to cause rifts amon$ them. The 3om.anions of the Messen$er trie& their /est to /rin$ .eo.le to$etherN it 1as almost as if the" 1ere com.etin$ 1ith one another in this effort. Hnce !/u Bakr an& VUmar ha& an ar$ument on a su/Mect. !/u Bakr felt sli$ht resentment a/out VUmarCs attitu&e0 an& tol& him: KGhene%er A sa" somethin$0 "ou al1a"s sa" the o..osite.L Ghen VUmarCs raise& his %oice0 !/u Bakr left an& 1ent to the Messen$er. 8e tol& him: KH Messen$er of Go&X A treate& VUmar ru&el" an& A am afrai& A ha%e hurt him. Ghat &o "ou a&%ise me to &oQL De$rettin$ all that ha& ha..ene&0 VUmar ha& $one to !/u BakrCs house an&0 1ithout fin&in$ him there0 hea&e& to seek out the Messen$er. 8e tol& the Messen$er all that ha& taken .lace an& ho1 he 1as remorseful. The Messen$er 1arne& him li$htl"0 sa"in$: K#houl& "ou not ha%e &one an"thin$ hurtful to m" frien&QL !/u Bakr inter%ene& an& knelt &o1n /efore the Messen$er0 sa"in$: KH Messen$er of Go&X At 1as m" fault0 not VUmarCs.L *> A Belie0er I# a Noble Per#o" Ghat is nee&e& most to&a" is the no/ilit" of !/u Bakr an& VUmar. At is Ouite natural that .eo.le 1ill &iffer in man" matters0 an& the" ma" sometimes hurt one another0 althou$h this shoul& /e a%oi&e& at all costs. Ghat 1e shoul& al1a"s tr" to &o is to sol%e .ro/lems 1ith $entle 1or&s an& $oo& treatment0 an& 1e shoul& tr" to re.el e%il 1ith that 1hich is $oo&. ! human /ein$0 es.eciall" a /elie%er0 is a no/le thin$. At is sai& that human /ein$s are sla%es to $oo&0 $enerous treatment. ,ou can conOuer hearts /" &oin$ $oo&. Ghen A met a columnist 1ho ha& /een 1ritin$ articles criticizin$ me0 the first thin$ he &i& 1as to a.olo$ize to me. 8e sai&: KTeacher0 1e ha%e 1ritten a$ainst "ou 1ithout /asin$ an"thin$ on the truth0 so for$i%e usXL A ans1ere&: KNo0 "ou ha%e &one 1hat "ou ha& to &o. ,ou ha%e &one 1hat "ou ha%e &eeme& to /e for the $oo& of the countr". Ge ha%e not /een a/le to sho1 our acti%ities in the li$ht that the" shoul& ha%e /een sho1n.L The 1riter 1ent a ste. further an& sai&: K,ou sa" so out of $entleness. Ge ha%e al1a"s a..roache& "ou 1ith e%il.L Af 1e take the res.onsi/ilit" for an" 1ron$ &one in our relations 1ith .eo.le0 1e 1ill ne%er lose. Moreo%er0 1e shoul& not [email protected] the same treatment from others. Ge shoul& a&%ocate an& acti%el" re.resent tolerance an& un&erstan&in$ throu$hout the 1orl&N 1e shoul& /e the em/o&iment of tolerance an& &ialo$ue. Af some react to "ou an& attem.t to .oison "ou0 "ou shoul& a&%ance on "our 1a"0 1ishin$ them .eace. B%er"one acts accor&in$ to their o1n .eculiar character.

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$a%i% al-,uslim0 KSakat0L 4N $unan "+n ,a)a0 KMuOa&&ima0L ()3. $a%i% al-*uk%ari0 KFa&aCil !sha/ al6Na/i""0L ?.

NE5 5O(LD O(DE( AND BEING A HE(O OF LOVE

IDEAL SPIRITS AND HEROES OF LOVE
1nly those who overflow with love will build the happy and enlightened world of the future. Their lips smiling with love, their hearts brimming with love, their eyes radiating love and the most tender human feelings.such are the heroes of love who always receive messages of love from the rising and setting of the sun and from the flickering light of the stars. Those who attempt to reform the world must first reform themselves. 5n order to be followed by others in the way to a better world, they must purify their inner worlds of hatred, rancor, and jealousy, and adorn their outer worlds with all kinds of virtues. The utterances of those who are far removed from self.control and self.discipline, who have failed to refine their feelings, may seem attractive and insightful at first, but they will not be able to inspire others.or, if indeed they do, the sentiments they arouse will soon die away. 3oodness, beauty, truthfulness and being virtuous lie in the essence of the world. +hatever happens, the world will one day find this essence, and no one will be able to prevent that happening. Those 1ho stri%e to enli$hten others0 seek ha..iness for them0 an& e@ten& a hel.in$ han& ha%e such a &e%elo.e& an& enli$htene& s.irit that the" are like $uar&ian an$els. The" stru$$le 1ith &isasters /efallin$ societ"0 stan& u. to Kstorms0L hurr" to .ut out Kfire0L an& are al1a"s on the alert for .ossi/le shocks. Gu%)+i%n# !( L!v' % great thinker of this age said, “+e are guardians of love- we do not have time for antagonism. This is a very important principle for us. 2owever, it is not enough just to say this- the crucial matter is to represent it. %s a matter of fact, many speak beautiful words about loving humankind, and theirs too are nice as words. 7ut, 5 wonder how many of those who speak such words are able to put into action and represent in themselves, in their characters, what they pronounce6 5 think it will be difficult to give a satisfying answer to this 8uestion. Cepresenting what he preached is one of the important characteristics of our 0rophet. 2e practiced whatever he said and implemented in his life whatever words he spoke. +ords that are not put into practice, regardless of how beautiful and perfect they are, are doomed to spoil, waste and lose their influence with time. 5t will be understood by their impact on hearts how stagnant not only

human words, but even !ivine +ords can become if they are not practiced. The ?ur'an is such a book that not even one letter of it has been changed and it has maintained the same freshness and newness that it had at the moment it was first revealed. 5t is a blessed and celebrated book, but it has become a victim of not being seen clearly in the foggy atmosphere of weak human representation and voids and conse8uently subject to the delirious ravings of deficiency that do not belong to itself, but to the societies that fail to carry it over into life. Celigion and the ?ur'an should be vital to life and fully understood so that we can remain dynamic. The ?ur'an should be fully represented so it can perform the function that is expected from it. 5n sum what 5 mean to say here is this: it is not enough just to say you are a guardian of love and representative of peace. There are a number of obstacles that must be overcome. The crux of the matter is to put that beautiful expression of words into practice. Love and affection are among 5slam's most important principles. So we must represent them throughout the world. 2owever, certain recent negative events in particular lead people to think of 5slam otherwise than it really is. 1f course, it is absolutely wrong to attribute to 5slam the mistakes that some people have made. 5t is true that in a neighboring country a serious change occurred, but those responsible for it did not go beyond the slogans. (oreover, that is not the only country that incorrectly reflects 5slam's image in the world. There are many other countries and leaders that continually portray negative images through their attitudes and behavior and, of course, in doing so they always benefit the opponents of the ?ur'an. Together with all this, we must insist on what we have always said and we are fully determined to implement it. 1ur inner world should overflow with love and affection for humankind- there should be absolutely no place in our heart for hostility. Let there be no doubt about it, this new century is going to be an age when love and dialogue flourish. %ntagonism is going to be basically eradicated and love and tolerance are going to spring up everywhere. This is not a remote probability especially in a period when the world is experiencing globali#ation. 3od willing, when the time comes, the holy ones will carry out this mission. P'! ,' !( L!v' The attachment to 3od of the people of love like (awlana, 4unus, 2odja 4asawi and 7ediM##aman is much, much greater than ours and their fallibility is much, much less than ours. /or this reason, they made undeniable efforts regarding love, affection and tolerance, and they greatly influenced those around them on this matter. 7ut if we evaluate them within the period they lived, none of them saw the level that has been attained today by believing people as a result of their efforts regarding dialogue and tolerance. 5n fact, each of them had to face unbecoming treatment- in comparison with what they suffered, the treatment we face is almost nothing. 7ediM##aman says concerning the suffering they had to bear: “!o they think 5 am an egotist who only concerns for himself6 5 have sacrificed my whole life and had no time to think about my afterlife to save the community's faith. (y whole life has passed on the battlefronts, in prisons, or in this country's jails and courts.

There is no oppression 5 have not seen or injustice 5 have not suffered. 5 have been treated as a criminal at courts- 5 have been exiled from town to town like a tramp. 7ut if 5 see the faith of my community secured, then 5 even agree to burning in the flames of 2ell. /or while my body is burning, my heart will be like a rose.garden. 5n spite of all these difficulties, none of these men of love saw in their own time the degree of acceptance that today's representatives of dialogue and tolerance have received. Their messages did not have the same impact on the public as the messages of today's heroes of tolerance have. 5 think that if they were to live in this century and see today's trend toward dialogue and tolerance, they would ask, “2ow have you been successful with dialogue throughout the world6 +hat's your secret6 5n order to hold a distinction that was not destined for these giants of light because the conditions were not appropriate, it is necessary to persist on this way. 4esterday an important person said to me, “Some circles that were strongly opposed to believers until yesterday are now greatly supporting and commending them. %ctually these are an indication of the acceptance that 3od has put in the hearts of those who are on the earth for its representatives. >ot seeing this would be ingratitude, and seeing it but not giving thanks for it would be another dimension of unbelief.

THE UN.REA/A.LE TIES AMONG OUR PEOPLE
%s Turks, ;urds, ,ircassians, %lbanians, 7osnians, %rmenians, "ews and many other communities, we have lived together in this country for centuries in unity. +e have lived in unity and harmony that was much superior to any utopia. There was a period in the +est when many wrote utopias. The 1ttomans did not think of busying themselves with utopia- they actually lived it by building the “,ivitas Solis that +esterners were trying to have in utopias. 2owever, from the second part of the DNth century, this unity began to change place with disunity because of separatist movements supported by foreign great powers. 5n the end, the 1ttoman State collapsed and the region where we are has no longer seen peace and security since then. $ven the internal peace and security within our country have been threatened many times. Today, with the help and generosity of 3od, our people have begun to pull themselves together by means of the bree#es of tolerance and dialogue, and they have entered a period of renewal. 0ut across with modest, but sincere

words, the idea of dialogue has made great progress in a short time. +e expect it to receive broad and favorable acceptance. The masses, who have lived for years in anxiety about separation and division, have been in need of this kind of message for a long time. /inding favorable acceptance in Turkey by the public, this voice of tolerance and dialogue has met with respect from ,anada to South %merica, from the 7ritish 5sles to the depths of %frica, and from the %sian steppes to the four corners of the earth, with the exception of small marginal groups. 2owever, the efforts to divide our community into camps have never come to and end. The Turk.;urd and Sunni.%lawi differences have been and will be exploited. Seeds of separation and hostility will continue to fall into the soil of our country. %s Turks and ;urds, and Sunnis and %lawis, we have shared a long history with its delights and grieves. 5f the graves at ,anakkale and other places where we had to fight for our survival were opened, it would be seen that Sunnis and %lawis, and Turks and ;urds are lying together in each other's embrace. 7ut today this unity resembles a broken crystal. The bree#es of tolerance and dialogue are an important movement in the name of once more bringing together our society that has been scattered right and left like the individual prayer beads whose string has been broken. Separatist thoughts and feelings are at the head of the list of basic factors that destroy a nation. %s a matter of fact, one of our famous poets emphasi#es the importance of this subject with these lines:
No enemy can enter a country before discord enters. As long as hearts beat together, no cannon ball can subdue it.

/ive centuries earlier, a statesman shared the same concern:
The anxiety over my nation’s conflict and disintegration Would make me uneasy even in the corner of my grave. While unity is our only salvation against the enemy, f this nation does not unite, it !ill leave me scarred.

%s today, so too in the future very difficult days are awaiting those carrying the flag of dialogue and tolerance. Those who are upset by dialogue will in the days to come find new arguments to make dissension among our people and will try and sow new seeds of discord. 5n order to attain their despicable aims, they are going to bring about hostility by inciting different emotions in our schools and, as in the past, try and make our young people fight with each other. !uring the month of Camadan, as if there was hostility between those who fast and those who do not, some who appeared to be fasting attacked some people who were not fasting and provoked fighting at the universities. Those inside and outside of Turkey who cannot tolerate our nation's advancement to higher goals will continue doing the same wrong things that they have done up until now.

This should not be forgotten and, in spite of everything, the process of dialogue should be continued with determined and serious steps. 5n order to safely pass through the time tunnel that must be passed through against internal and external threats, it is necessary to be wise and sensible. %t the same time, the unity and togetherness we are seeking should be nourished with the logic of the age by appealing to rational brotherhood and sisterhood. 5n the face of many things which re8uire to us to reali#e unity, there's no sense in fighting. %s citi#ens of this country we have always shared the same destiny- we have lived the same unfair treatments. +e all lived together the days when our country was occupied and our honor trampled underfoot, and, again, we struggled all together against the enemies that invaded our country. 5n spite of all such factors of unity, to still get hung up on divisive thoughts like “This is Sunni and that is %lawi or “5 am Turkish, you are ;urdish, is wrong indeed. 5n my humble opinion, 5 believe that the overwhelming majority of our people think this way. %s people, especially as intellectuals, we should try to reconcile different views and groups in Turkey. 5t is a mistake to expect everything from the government. %s far.sighted citi#ens, we should take precautions against every kind of negative action that can divide us into camps. There have always been and always will be those who want to destroy the idea of dialogue and tolerance. 2owever, by always using our common sense and trying to solve problems with discernment, sagacity and intelligence, the existing problems can easily be resolved. 5nstead of getting caught up in the provocation of certain powers of evil, we should always act against those who want to bring about an atmosphere of terror, as the ?ur'an suggests, “5f thou do stretch your hand against me, to slay me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against you to slay you. @=: )OA

DIFFERENCES IN STYLE AND METHOD
$veryone displays his&her own character by his&her behavior, words and attitudes. 5n this respect, we have to act as we are both to friends and enemies alike. /or example, most of the time 5 address others, even those who curse me, with respectful titles. This is my style. +e cannot make concessions with our style and lower ourselves. Let us not forget that some come and some go, but everyone continues to live with his&her style. %lso, 5 think that this type of behavior can soften the ideas and change the behavior of those who count on roughness and hostility. 5n fact, we should try to tolerate even slanders and pressures as much as possible. +hen they can no longer be borne, then the matter should be referred to 3od. +e can see some stern expressions in the ?ur'an. 2owever, they refer to extremists. 5n line with this delicate spirit of the matter, 7ediM##aman in one place says that it is possible to establish dialogue and friendship with "ews and ,hristians and do every kind of work with them in social life. FO 2e indicates that the ?ur'an's prohibition regarding not taking them for friends pertains only to those matters of belief in "udaism and ,hristianity that do not conform to 5slam. 1therwise, generali#ing on rules that pertain to specific conditions, specific people and specific subjects, would mean accepting the ?ur'an differently than it really means. So, we should not sacrifice anything from our style. %s 5 have said before on different occasions, 5 want to state once again that it is a sin to nurture evil assumptions or opinions about others, and it is a mistake to be a vehicle for that. /rom this respect, those devoted to serving 5slam and humanity should visit those who use different methods for the same purpose, and explain to them the matters that can constitute reasons for 5slam to be misunderstood, thereby preventing their sinning in this area. $veryone can and should serve in their own way by remaining respectful to others. +e do not have the right to open the door to conflicts and dissension. 1nce we have found what's good for us we should not 8uarrel about what's better. 5n addition, while we should build a dialogue with everyone, it is difficult to explain why (uslims, who have countless things in common, heavily critici#e each other because of insignificant differences among them and remain separated.

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"isale#i Nur $%lliyat&, “(Mna#arat, Iol. ), p. DNFF.

IDEAL BELIEVE(3 IDEAL MUSLIM
! .ro.hetic ha&ith makes the follo1in$ statements: T%e ,uslim is one from w%ose ton'ue an! %an! ot%er ,uslims are safe an! soun!1 T%e emi'rant is one w%o leaves +e%in! an! a+an!ons t%ose t%in's 2o! %as 0ro%i+ite!.*4 Eets /riefl" anal"ze this ha&ith: Notice the .resence of the &efinite article al :meanin$ t%e< /efore ,uslim. This $i%es the meanin$ that i&eal /elie%ers0 enterin$ an atmos.here of safet" an& securit"0 ha%e so immerse& themsel%es in that atmos.here that the" harm no one 1ith their han&s or ton$ues. This refers to true an& i&eal Muslims 1ho lea%e their mark on all min&s0 not those 1ho a..ear or claim to /e so0 or 1hose /irth certificate rea&s KMuslim.L Ge un&erstan& this from the article0 1hich .oints to a s.ecific0 &efinite one. This is &eri%e& from the $rammatical rule: KGhen somethin$ is &escri/e& 1ith a &efinite article0 the itemCs hi$hest an& most .erfect con&ition is in&icate&.L #o0 1hen Kthe /elie%erL is sai&0 the first thin$ that comes to min& is the most .erfect meanin$ of K/elie%er0L an& that is 1hat is meant in the ha&ith. Hne cannot learn this fine $rammatical .oint on their o1n0 for it can /e learne& onl" at a school or from a teacher. 8a%in$ such a lesson 1as out of the Ouestion for Go&Cs Messen$er0 /ecause he 1as unlettere&. Thus0 he 1as not s.eakin$ on his o1n /ut 1as rela"in$ 1hat the Bternal Teacher 1as makin$ him sa". For this reason0 all su/tle $rammatical .oints are foun& in the 2ro.hetVs [email protected] an& &eclarations 1ithout an" error in usa$e. Eet us return to the a/o%e ha&ith: True Muslims are .eo.le of safet" an& trust0 so much so that other Muslims can turn their /acks on them 1ithout &ou/t or sus.icion. The" can entrust a famil" mem/er to such .eo.le 1ithout fear0 for that .erson 1ill /e a/solutel" safe from the MuslimsC han& or ton$ue. Af the" atten& a $atherin$ to$ether0 the .erson can lea%e in full confi&ence that no one 1ill $ossi. a/out him or her0 an& neither 1ill he or she ha%e to listen to $ossi. a/out others. #uch Muslims are as sensiti%e to the &i$nit" an& honor of other .eo.le as the" are to their o1n. The" &o not eatN the" fee& others. The" &o not li%eN the" ena/le others to li%e. The" 1ill e%en sacrifice s.iritual .leasure for others. A &eri%e all these meanin$s from the fact that the &efinite article also means %asr :a restrainin$0 a &e%otin$ to one .ur.ose<.

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$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 KAman0L *.

Se uri!y a"d Mu#li+# The 1or& ,uslim an& the %er/ sa-li-ma /oth come from the root silm. This means that for Muslims0 e%er" matter takes .lace in line 1ith silm :securit"<0 salama% :safet"<0 an& Muslimness. The" ha%e /een seize& /" such a &i%ine attraction that all of their actions take .lace aroun& this .o1erful center. The" $reet e%er"one 1ith salaam0 there/" .lacin$ lo%e for themsel%es in e%er"oneCs heart. ?) The" en& their .ra"ers 1ith salaam1 !ll .eo.le0 Minn0 an$els0 an& conscious creatures recei%e their salaam. The" e@chan$e $reetin$s 1ith in%isi/le creatures. Until no1 no one has s.rea& this act of $i%in$ salaam as much as the Muslims. Aslam is entere& an& secure& /" .erformin$ such .rinci.al &uties as fastin$0 $i%in$ alms0 .erformin$ %a))4 an& makin$ the .rofession of faith. This means o.enin$ "our sail in the sea of safet" an& securit" /" o/e"in$ the comman&: Enter safet w%oll :(:()7<. Those 1ho thro1 themsel%es into that sea emanate safet" an& Aslam un&er e%er" con&ition. No one sees an"thin$ /ut $oo&ness in the actions an& /eha%ior of such .eo.le. 5$y Ha"d a"d To"&ue8 !s in e%er" statement of our master0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 e%er" 1or& in the ha&ith un&er &iscussion 1as chosen carefull". Gh" 1ere the han& an& ton$ue mentione&Q Hf course there are man" su/tle .oints relate& to this choice. ! .erson can harm someone in t1o 1a"s: either &irectl" or in&irectl". The han& re.resents .resence :&irectl"<0 an& the ton$ue re.resents a/sence :in&irectl"<. 2eo.le either attack others &irectl"0 or in&irectl" throu$h $ossi. an& ri&icule. True Muslims 1ill ne%er en$a$e in such acti%ities0 /ecause the" al1a"s act Mustl" an& $enerousl"0 1hether &irectl" or in&irectl". The 2ro.het mentione& the ton$ue /efore the han& /ecause one can retaliate for 1hat is &one 1ith the han&. 8o1e%er0 the same is not al1a"s true for the &ama$e &one in&irectl" throu$h $ossi. or slan&er. Thus0 such action can cause conflict easil" /et1een in&i%i&uals0 communities0 an& e%en nations. +ealin$ 1ith this t".e of harm is relati%el" more &ifficult than &ealin$ 1ith the harm cause& /" the han&. This is 1h" the 2ro.het mentione& the ton$ue /efore the han&. Hn the other han&0 the %alue of Muslims /efore Go& is in&icate&. Bein$ a Muslim has such a $reat %alue /efore Go& that other Muslims control their han&s an& ton$ues concernin$ them. !nother im.ortant moral &imension of Aslam is that Muslims kee. at /a" thin$s that 1ill harm others0 1hether .h"sicall" or s.irituall"0 an& that the" &o their /est not to harm others. For$et a/out $i%in$ harmN e%er" se$ment of a Muslim societ" must re.resent safet" an& securit". Muslims are true Muslims to the e@tent that the" carr" 1ithin themsel%es a feelin$ of safet" an& that their hearts /eat 1ith trust. Ghere%er the" are or li%e re%eals this feelin$ that &eri%es from al-salaam. The" 1ish safet" 1hen lea%in$0 a&orn their .ra"ers 1ith $reetin$s0 an& $i%e salaam to other /elie%ers 1hen the" lea%e Go&Cs .resence. An all .ro/a/ilit"0 it is unthinka/le that .eo.le 1ho .ass their entire li%es in such an or/it of salaam 1ill enter a .ath contrar" to the /asic .rinci.les of safet"0 trust0 soun&ness0 an& 1orl&l" an& other61orl&l" securit" an& harm themsel%es or others. EetCs look at these .oints &eri%in$ from its s.irit: True Muslims are the most trust1orth" re.resentati%es of uni%ersal .eace. The" tra%el e%er"1here 1ith this su/lime feelin$0 1hich is nourishe& &ee. in their s.irits. 3ontrar" to $i%in$ torment an& sufferin$0 the" are remem/ere& e%er"1here as s"m/ols of safet" an& securit". An their e"es0 there is no &ifference /et1een a .h"sical :&irect< or a %er/al :in&irect< %iolation of someoneCs ri$hts. An fact0 in some cases the latter is consi&ere& to /e a $reater crime than the former.
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$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 KAman0L ()N $a%i% al-,uslim0 KAman0L 3.

HANDLESS TO THOSE 5HO HIT .OU3 TONGUELESS TO THOSE 5HO CU(SE .OU9:
8onora/le ministers an& .arliamentarians0 enli$htene& .eo.le of the 1orl& of art0 mem/ers of %arious reli$ions0 an& esteeme& $uests: A $reet "ou 1ith m" most sincere salaam an& ho.e that this ni$ht 1ill /e /eneficial for all of us. ACm one of those 1ho ma&e arran$ements for this e%enin$. !n& A a&mit this at e%er" o..ortunit". 8o1e%er0 A ha& a little /it of &ifficult" in .artici.atin$ in this meetin$0 /ecause althou$h e%er"one o/ser%es the fast &urin$ the month of Dama&an0 in m" case the fast hol&s me. A ha%e a serious &ia/etes .ro/lem. Hnl" ( or 3 hours after the fast is o%er &o A /e$in feelin$ a little normal. For this reason0 A ha& ho.e& that A 1oul& /e for$i%en if A &i& not atten& this e%enin$. But A 1as 1ron$. #o for m" frien&sC sake an& "ours0 A am atten&in$ the meetin$ an& am in "our .resence. A $i%e "ou m" res.ects once a$ain. From the &a" the Journalists an& GritersC Foun&ation 1as esta/lishe& until no1We%en if thin$s 1ere not al1a"s as 1e 1ishe&W1e can sa" that "ou al1a"s ha%e or$anize& im.ortant acti%ities. But someho1 A coul& ne%er .artici.ate full" in an" of them. For this reason0 A cannot claim a share in their success. This foun&ation has .erforme& im.ortant ser%ices. At /rou$ht 1orl&6famous soccer .la"ers here for ai& to Bosnia. B%er" "ear it has /rou$ht to$ether s.ecial $rou.s like "ou on %arious .latforms0 .re.arin$ for at least an e@chan$e of i&eas. De$ar&less of our %ie1s an& thou$hts0 it has su$$este& on 1hich i&ea 1e can come to$ether. !s a result0 1e ha%e seen 1ith our o1n e"es that thereCs no reason to fear one another0 an& that all .eo.le can meet 1ith 1home%er the" 1ant. Af 1e ha%e not come to$ether until to&a"0 it means that 1e ha%e /een hun$ u. on our mistaken conMectures an& ne$lecte& an im.ortant human res.onsi/ilit". The Foun&ation is kno1n in Turke" mainl" as a re.resentati%e of tolerance. An fact0 it has i&entifie& itself 1ith tolerance. Ghene%er it is mentione&0 imme&iatel" after that tolerance is mentione& as 1ell. An fact0 the en%" arouse& /" the Foun&ationCs ima$e has cause& se%eral alternati%e or$anizations to a..ear. No1 the" are sin$in$ the same tune. For this reason0 A /elie%e that tolerance is $oin$ to s.rea& faster to the $rassroots0 &iffuse throu$hout the countr" an&0 as an artist frien& sai&0 1eCll 1alk hea& to hea&0 heart to heart0 an& han& in han& to1ar& Kha.." tomorro1s0L Go& 1illin$.
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! talk the 1riter $a%e at the /reakin$6of6the6fast meal $i%en /" the JournalistsC an& GritersC Foun&ation0 Fe/ruar" ==0 =44?0 at the 2olat Denaissance 8otel.

Ghen the 2ro.het 1as &"in$ an& a/out to .ass on to the ne@t 1orl&0 he state&: KA .lace in "our trust the 2eo.le of the Book0 the 3hristians an& Je1s.L Ghen VUmar 1as in the throes of &eath &ue to a &a$$er 1oun&0 he 1arne&: KA .lace the 2eo.le of the Book amon$ us in "our trust. Fear Go& re$ar&in$ them an& treat them Mustl".L !fter &efeatin$ the enem" at Malaz$irt0 ?( the Turkish comman&er #ultan !l.arslan ?3 hoste& the militar" chiefs an& ruler of the ri%al state in his tent. 8e then ha& them con%e"e& safel" to their ca.ital0 3onstantino.le :no1 Astan/ul<0 escorte& /" some of his officers. An Jerusalem0 the comman&er an& ruler #ultan #alaha&&in al6!""u/i 1ent at ni$ht to the tent of Dichar&0 the comman&er of the 3rusa&er arm"0 to cure his 1oun&sW&es.ite the fact that Dichar&Cs forces ha& kille& thousan&s of Muslims. Ge are the chil&ren of a culture that .ro&uce& such .eo.le. Ge are the heirs of the culture that has the 1orl&Cs /roa&est0 most com.rehensi%e0 an& most uni%ersal tolerance. This un&erstan&in$ an& %ie1 is s.rea&in$ to&a" like 1a%es in the sea0 an& reachin$ the four corners of the earth. A full" /elie%e that the comin$ "ears 1ill /e "ears of tolerance an& lo%e. An this frame1ork0 1eCre $oin$ to $i%e the 1orl& a lot an& recei%e a lot. Eet alone fi$htin$ 1ith our o1n .eo.le0 1e 1ill not e%en /e fi$htin$ 1ith other cultures0 ci%ilizations0 or .eo.le of other /eliefs an& 1orl&%ie1s. Assues lea&in$ to ar$ument an& o..osition 1ill /e resol%e& com.letel"0 an& once a$ain un&erstan&in$ the .o1er of lo%e0 1eCll o.en our hearts to e%er"one 1ith lo%e an& com.assion. Gith Go&Cs hel.0 1eCll realize the im.ortant matters of &ialo$ue an& tolerance0 1hich to&a"Cs 1orl& nee&s so much. Ghen A sa1 Mr. 9zzettin +o$an0 A remem/ere& an im.ortant e%ent in Muslim histor". Mentionin$ the KhariMites 1ho re/elle& a$ainst the la1ful $o%ernment an& $athere& in Nahra1an to attack him0 3ali.h V!li sai&: KAt 1oul& ha%e /een unMust for us to attack them /efore the" attacke& us.L Ge are a societ" nurture& /" the culture of such comman&ers. !t a time 1hen 1e are in $reat nee& of it0 1ith Go&Cs $race0 e%er" social se$ment 1ill stan& u. for tolerance an& &ialo$ue0 an& the $oo& thin$s /orn from this 1ill s.rea& e%en faster than ho.e& for in e%er" &irection. Ma"/e ACm $oin$ to take too much of "our time0 /ut A cannot .rocee& 1ithout mentionin$ the an@iet" A feel. Turkish societ"0 1hich has /een 1run$ /" internal conflict0 1as a1aitin$ tolerance Must at this time. U.on fin&in$ it0 1hen one ste. to1ar& it 1as ma&e 1ith this %ie10 it res.on&e& 1ith three ste.s. But it also is o/%ious that certain 1eak an& mar$inal .ersons0 1ho /" rantin$ an& ra%in$ &emonstrate their o1n 1eaknesses an& tr" to sho1 themsel%es as stron$ /" /ein$ &estructi%e0 1ill lie in am/ush to attack tolerance an& attem.t to &estro" the /ri&$es to &ialo$ue. Ge 1ill face $reat tests after this. Hur nation0 1hich alrea&" has .asse& throu$h man" trials0 1ill face these future tests /" means of soli&arit" amon$ in&i%i&uals0 an& 1ill o%ercome e%er" o/stacle in the .ath to social harmon". Ghat 1e are seekin$ is %er" %alua/le. The $oal of tolerance an& &ialo$ue that 1e 1ant to reach 1ill cost a lot. Just as it is not eas" to achie%e such .recious an& [email protected]%e thin$s0 it is &ifficult to .rotect them once the" ha%e /een achie%e&. !ttainin$ social harmon" throu$h &ialo$ue an& tolerance is a matter of achie%in$ t1o %alua/le thin$s in or&er to realize a thir&. Go& is $oin$ to test us in &ifferent 1a"s so that 1e 1ill realize ho1 $reat this %alue is an&0 accor&in$l"0 for us to stan& u. for it. Ge are $oin$ to en&ure all these trials an& sa":
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Battle of Malaz$irt :or Manzikert<: This /attle0 fou$ht in =)>=0 .itte& the B"zantine Bm.eror Domanus AF +io$enes a$ainst the #elMuOi Turk #ultan !l.arslan. The em.erorCs &efeat resulte& in the #elMuOi conOuest of most of !natolia.
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#ultan !l.arslan :=)3(6=)>(<. The $reatest an& most famous of the #elMuOi #ultans. 8e &efeate& the B"zantine arm" in Malaz$irt in =)>=0 an& o.ene& the &oors to !natolia for the #elMuOis. :Tr.<

"f %ars%ness comes from 2o!’s ,a)est <r 'enerosit from (is 2race4 *ot% are !eli'%ts to t%e soul1 @leasin' are +ot% (is +lessin's an! (is wrat%1

Ge must /e as if Khan&less to those 1ho hit us an& ton$ueless to those 1ho curse us.L Af the" tr" an& fracture us into .ieces e%en fift" times0 still 1e are $oin$ to remain un/roken an& em/race e%er"one 1ith lo%e an& com.assion. !n&0 1ith lo%e to1ar& one another0 1e 1ill 1alk to1ar& tomorro1. A 1ish for this ha.." e%enin$ to /e an occasion for merc" an& for$i%eness. A $reet "ou all 1ith m" &ee.est res.ect.

OUR METHOD AGAINST HOSTILITY
The attitude of a believer in 5slam is very important because he&she is a person who has taken a lesson in manners from (uhammad's @pbuhA desk of instruction. 5t is not possible for a believer to leave the circle of good manners, courtesy and decorum or it should not be because his&her every behavior will be automatically attributed to 5slam. 5f so, then a believer with his&her behavior shaped by 5slamic refinement must continue without changing in a manner that becomes a (uslim even against the most faithless hearts and cruel events. +hen we look at the 0rophet's life, we see that he never changed his attitude, not even against %bu "ahl. /or this reason, if we become angry about something, even when we give vent to that anger, it must be in an 5slamic form. 5n some verses of 'urat al#Wa(i)ah, the ?ur'an uses a relatively reproachful style against unbelievers. 2owever, this style is actually directed towards some distorted ideas and thoughts rather than individuals. The ?ur'an does not oppose and ill.treats any individual. Cather than the unbelievers and atheists themselves, what it critici#es are unbelief, hypocrisy, polytheism, transgression, rebellion, and antagonism. So, students of the ?ur'an are expected not to act differently. "ust as we have taken into consideration this truth on the individual level, we can also do so on the state level. /or example, when saying, “%merica, $ngland, 3ermany, our manner might be harsh from time to time. 7ut we should not forget what we should oppose or critici#e must be injustices, violation of basic human rights and freedoms, oppression, and support for unlawful actions and manners, not the countries, or states and peoples themselves. 5n every matter, we have to refer to the measure and criteria distilled from the spirit of the ?ur'an and the Sunnah. 5f you like, we can clarify the subject with one more example from the ?ur'an: +hen 3od sent (oses to the 0haraoh, 2e said, “Speak to him mildly- perchance he may take warning or feel awe of 3od. @)H: FFA This means that the ?ur'an does not call us to punishing people or condemning them to 2ell. Cather it invites us to build bridges between people so that they can come together and

encourage what is good. $ven if the person we are speaking with is a 0haraoh. like man, we should express ourselves with soft words and a mild tongue because the aim is to guide people to the truth and call them to salvation, not to get revenge. There's an important matter to be taken into consideration here: the ?ur'an draws the attention to the fact that we can lead people to think and review their attitudes by approaching them gently. 5f we are harsh, the person addressed will not think or feel any awe of 3od. 5n that case, regardless of whom we address, gentleness and tolerance are essential in order to be able to explain anything. This means that a (uslim must always have a gentle attitude, a mild state, a soft heart, a gentle conscience and soft words in order to be a true guide for others. 1therwise, if one's internal world is not soft and gentle and shaped in the mold of the (uhammadan spirit, his&her state and attitude will be artificial. $ven if he&she smiles, when a sore spot is touched, he&she will immediately expose him&herself and show his&her real character. %nyway, how long can a firefly fool an observant one6 +ithin this framework it is possible to understand the matter of ,hrist's descending to the earth toward the end of time and conforming to the way of (uhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. This means that an essential agreement will take place between the (uslims and ,hristians on the fundamentals of religion and such basic principles as justice, love, compassion, gentleness, spirituality, and morality will be given priority. %s stated by 4unus $mre, we should be “hand.less to those who hit, tongue.less to those who curse and heart.less to those who break hearts. 5n this matter, we have excellent examples. 5t is not possible to explain anything, especially to convince anyone, by shouting, force and anger. 0erhaps using violence was a method in human's tribal past, but time abrogated it and terminated its reign. >ow the principle of “convincing through civili#ed relations is in effect. Today “heroes of love should follow this principle. %s 5 mentioned above, in the last days the (essiah will undoubtedly descend to earth to fulfill his important mission. 2e is going to descend to the essence and spirit represented by the character of the heroes of love. 2e will descend in order to be a model for that essence and spirit. 5f there's no such spirit, his coming as a body does not mean anything. Then, instead of sitting and waiting for the (essiah, those who want to follow him in embrace the future should strive to shape themselves with love. +hen he comes, he must find “heroes of love with whom he will advance to a bright future. Cegardless of what happens, revival in the last days is going to be accomplished by representatives of gentle dispositions, mild behavior, tender hearts and soft words.

SUFISM AS A LIFESTYLE
Sufism is 5slam's spiritual life. >ever have those who represent 5slam according to the way of the 0rophet and his ,ompanions outside that line. Tari8ah is an institution to reach the essence of religion within the framework of Sufism and gaining 3od's approval, thus gaining happiness in this world and the next. %s a life.style Sufism was lived in the highest level during the %ge of 2appiness, the Time of the 0rophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Later this was systemi#ed according to the individual character, spiritual make.up and understanding of men whom we can call “tari8ah dignitaries. This is a very normal occurrence. >ow if 5 had the ability to read people's minds, that is, if 5 had the ability to know everyone with his&her particular characteristics, 5 would direct each to a hill of perfect humanness for which he&she is apt. 5 would recommend continuous reflection, thinking and reading- studying 3od's signs in the universe and in people themselves. 5 would advise one to be busied with the study of the ?ur'an- another one to regularly recite a portion of the ?ur'an and

certain supplications- and still another one to continuously reflect on the “natural phenomena. This means in a sense to designate duties to someone in the area where he&she has natural ability. %ctually what the Sufi masters do is not different from this. %ccording to the character, general nature and make.up of people, the Sufi masters load them with religious responsibility suitable to their spiritual capacity and enable them to evolve spiritually according to their capabilities. They aim to take people to the hori#on of perfection, which is the purpose of the creation of humanity. This is Sufism* Some ask me about the way 5 follow. 5 am only a simple student of 5slam, an ordinary servant of 3od. 5f 5 had the necessary capacity, 5 would try to follow a path to be able to get nearer and nearer to 3od, a path for becoming a perfected human being. 5n this sense, every believer is a Sufi. 7ut tari8ah is different from Sufism. Sufism is a discipline and the essence of the !ivine religion, while tari8ah is an institution having decisive rules and traditions.

T0O ROSES ON OUR EMERALD HILLS1 DIALOGUE AND TOLERANCE

TOLE(ANCE AND DIALOGUE IN THE PE(SPECTIVE OF THE ;U(%AN AND THE SUNNAH
The IurCan al1a"s takes for$i%eness an& tolerance as /asic .rinci.les0 so much so that Kser%ants of the !ll6MercifulL are intro&uce& as: .n! t%e servants of 72o!9 t%e .ll-,erciful are t%ose w%o move on t%e eart% in %umilit 4 an! w%en t%e i'norant a!!ress t%em4 t%e sa A B@eace1? :(?: 3<N T%ose w%o witness no false%oo!4 an!4 if t%e 0ass + futilit 4 0ass + it wit% %onora+le avoi!ance :(?:>(<N an& .n! w%en t%e %ear vain talk4 t%e turn awa t%erefrom an! sa A BTo us our !ee!s4 an! to ou ours L :(7:??<.

The $eneral $ist of these %erses is that 1hen those 1ho ha%e /een fa%ore& 1ith true ser%anthoo& to Go& encounter meanin$less an& u$l" 1or&s or /eha%ior0 the" sa" nothin$ un/ecomin$ /ut rather .ass /" in a &i$nifie& manner. An short: Ever one acts accor!in' to %is own !is0osition :=>:7*< an& thus &is.la" their o1n character. The character of heroes of tolerance is $entleness0 consi&eration0 an& tolerance. Ghen Go& sent Moses an& !aron to a man 1ith claims to &i%init" like the 2haraoh0 8e comman&e& them to /eha%e tolerantl" an& to s.eak softl" :():**<. The life of the 2ri&e of 8umanit"0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 1as in an or/it of for$i%eness an& for/earance. 8e e%en /eha%e& in such a manner to1ar& !/u #uf"an0 1ho .ersecute& him throu$hout his lifetime. But &urin$ the conOuest of Makka0 e%en thou$h !/u #uf"an sai& he still 1as not sure a/out Aslam0 the Messen$er sai&: KThose 1ho take refu$e in !/u #uf"anCs house are safe0 Must as those 1ho take refu$e in the KaC/ah are safe.L An res.ect to refu$e an& safet"0 !/u #uf"anCs house 1as mentione& to$ether 1ith the KaC/a. An m" hum/le o.inion0 such tolerance 1as more %alua/le than $i%in$ tons of $ol& to !/u #uf"an0 a man in his se%enties in 1hom e$oism an& chieftainshi. ha& /ecome in$raine&. An a&&ition to /ein$ comman&e& to take tolerance an& &ialo$ue as his /asis 1hile .erformin$ his &uties0 the 2ro.het 1as &irecte& to 1hich .oints he coul& hol& in common 1ith the 2eo.le of the Book :Je1s an& 3hristians<: $a A B< @eo0le of t%e *ookC Come to common terms as +etween us an! ouA t%at we wors%i0 none +ut 2o!: t%at we associate no 0artners wit% (im: t%at we take not some from amon' ourselves for =or!s ot%er t%an 2o!? :3: *<. An another %erse0 those 1hose hearts are e@u/erant 1ith /elief an& lo%e are comman&e& to /eha%e 1ith for$i%eness an& tolerance0 e%en to those 1ho &o not /elie%e in the afterlife: Tell t%ose w%o +elieve to for'ive t%ose w%o !o not look forwar! to t%e Da s of 2o!A "t is for (im to recom0ense 7for 'oo! or ill9 eac% 0eo0le accor!in' to w%at t%e %ave earne! :*?:=*<. Those 1ho consi&er themsel%es a&&resse& /" these %erses0 e%er" $uar&ian of lo%e 1ho &reams of /ecomin$ a true ser%ant of Go& Must /ecause the" are human /ein$s0 those 1ho ha%e &eclare& their faith an& there/" /ecome Muslims an& .erform the man&ate& reli$ious &uties0 must /eha%e 1ith tolerance an& for/earance an& [email protected] nothin$ from the other .art". The" must ha%e the a..roach of ,unus: not strikin$ those 1ho hit them0 not res.on&in$ harshl" to those 1ho curse them0 an& not hol&in$ an" secret $ru&$e a$ainst those 1ho a/use them.

THE RELATIONSHIP .ET0EEN GOD2S APPROVAL AND TOLERANCE
Striving and working to serve faith and the ?ur'an should only be for 3od's approval, because the most important degree of servanthood is attaining 3od's approval. 5n this respect, a person should spend his&her whole life trying to catch and hold that. This station has been described in Sufism as the nafs al# mutmainnah or possessing a soul that is spiritually fulfilled. 5n the ?ur'an it is mentioned as, “@To the righteous soul will be saidA: * +thou, soul, in +com-lete,

rest and satisfaction. /ome back yoou to your 0ord, !ell#-leased +yourself,, and !ell#-leasing to 1im*' @ON:)P.)OA. Cegarding the ,ompanions of the 0rophet who gained this station, 3od says, “+ell.pleased is 3od with them, as are they with 2im. @N: DHHA /or this reason great Sufis and scholars have always dealt with this matter very carefully. 5n his Maktubat @The LettersA, 5mam Cabbani fre8uently mentions the stations of muhibbiyah @being a loving oneA and mahbubiyah @being a loved oneA and then emphasi#es that the station of being approved by 3od is higher than these. L!v' %n+ O3"%ining G!+2# A )!v%, %n+ G!!+ P,'%#u)' The station of muhibbiyah is loving 3od- the station of mahbubiyah is being loved by 3od. Iarious explanations have been made regarding which of these stations precedes the other. /or example, Cabiah al.%dwiyah thought that 3od's loving comes first. %ccording to her, because 3od loves a person, that person begins to love 3od. 5n this way, a person is first a loved one, and then becomes a loving one. %ccording to those who take good works as essential and give importance to human free will, a person's loving 3od comes first and then his&her being loved by 3od. "ust as there are thinkers in the +est who accept this essential, the opposite is true as well. +hether it is this way or that, in the end what's important for the person is to gain 3od's approval and reach 2is love. 7ediM##aman says that seeing 3od's 7eauty in 0aradise for one instant will be worth a thousand years of life in 0aradise during which such instance of seeing will not take place. Seeing 3od's 7eauty is the highest honor given to believers in 0aradise. 1n the hills of 0aradise, they view 3od in a way that we cannot understand and at each glance they live a different dimension of the distinction of seeing 3od's manifestation. 0aradise is such a place that one hour there is e8ual to thousands of happy years in this worldly life. 2owever, 3od's being pleased with someone is beyond all these favors. 5ts greatness is described in the ?ur'an as, “That is the supreme felicity. @N:P)A Thus, every thing, every act, should be placed on the axis of 3od's approval and planned and executed accordingly. Cegarding the way to achieve approval, our 0rophet points to many re8uirements of that way, such as doing everything for 3od's sake, attributing every success to 2im and not interfering in the results. "unayd al.7aghdadi =F said, “5 view those who worship out of fear of 2ell as servants of the fire, those who worship out of a desire for 0aradise as servants of 0aradise and those who become exuberant from serving 3od as servants of pleasure. 2e was pointing out here that worship should only be done because 3od commanded it. 5n this respect, those who serve 3od should not have any goal in their hearts but !ivine approval. 5f at the end of this service 3od bestows some gifts, they should be received and welcomed as presents.
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Juna"& al6Ba$h&a&i :&. 4=)<: Hne of the most famous earl" #ufis. 8e li%e& in Ba$h&a& an& enMo"e& $reat res.ect an& 1as kno1n as Kthe .rince of the kno1ers of Go&.L :Tr.<

/rom another perspective the station of approval means that a person must live in spite of him&herself. % person can accomplish important things- he&she thinks he&she has clarified intricate matters of religion, has done great service for others, etc.. 7ut 3od may not be pleased with this person. This might be due to that person's pompous words or lo8uaciousness- it might also be due to another factor like pursuing fame. So what we should do is: “(y 3od* 5f 4our approval re8uires my being 8uiet here and not talking before others, then 5 prefer 4ou and 4our will. /or a person of service such an understanding should always be the orbit of his&her life, and never should another's praise or contempt be a criterion for him&her. 5f the acceptance of people can be viewed as only a reflection of 3od's approval, it can be harmless. 1therwise, it absolutely should not be paid any attention. /ourteen centuries ago, although the (essenger of 3od had to face most insulting manners, he did not turn back on the road to 3od's approval even for an instant to seek the favor of the people. The approval of the people is at an unreachable height, and work should never be made to depend on it. 7ecause when in the service of faith, the goal should be only to exalt 3od's +ord and no aim but 3od's approval should be sought. %cting with the diamond principles of the ?ur'an, every door should be knocked upon with love. The ways to explain things to people without making them hostile and frightened should be sought. /or this reason, at whatever cost, the road to dialogue with people must be kept open. 5n religion the principles that are carefully dwelt upon are generally basic matters. 5n matters of detail there is great flexibility. /or example, the matter of hijab @women's veilA cannot be compared to belief in 3od. 5f those who for acceptable or unacceptable reasons do not follow some religious commands and go to the mos8ue once or twice a year, we should not immediately accuse them. 5nstead, we should approach them gently, pray for them, and 8uestions ourselves concerning the duties we have left undone for the good of people. %nd whatever we do must be for 3od's sake and in line with seeking 2is approval. %s expressed in a hadith, it is better to remain among the people and endure the trouble they give rather than living alone in seclusion. 5 would like to relate an incident that happened to me. %t the time when communism was popular, 5 met many times with people who identified with that ideology. 5n order to be able to explain some things to them, 5 listened for perhaps an hour to their unpleasant words that were full of denial and endured their disrespectful attitude. 5n fact once, one of them sat casually with his legs crossed and asked, “+hat's this thing called 3od6 +ho's this man called a prophet6 +hat's destiny6 $ven this kind of attitude is enough to drive some people to delirium. +hile listening to these words, 5 fre8uently said internally, “(y 3od, these words are piercing me inside, but 5'm listening to them for 4our sake. This is a feeling that believers should always nourish internally. 7ediM##aman said: “(ay the legal council that wrongfully determined my punishment save their faith with the treatises 5 have written, 5 will have no claim against, no complaint about them in 3od's 0resence. 5f messages are presented within this kind of understanding and a warm feeling is felt towards everyone,

then gains will be greater than losses in this kind of approach. The road to explaining something to people passes through being at peace with them. 9ntil today some have always shown us as different from what we are. They have blackened our image by showing us as supporters of a theocratic regime, and, of course, no one stood up and said, “5n Turkey there can be found almost no one like the ones you're talking about. +hereas, someone could have said that because a theocratic order is a system and form of state administration that the church or a body of @formalA religious elect put forth with its own laws. 7ut we have neither churches nor a body of @formalA religious elects. +e have had neither a religious class of people nor a situation where this class has tried to impose its sovereignty on the people.

THE BALANCE BET5EEN LOVE6TOLE(ANCE AND <IHAD IN THE LIFE OF THE P(OPHET OF ME(C.
The /lesse& life of the 2ri&e of Mankin&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 1as 1o%en 1ith threa&s of .eace an& tolerance Must like a /eautiful .iece of lace. To /e$in 1ith0 .eace is /asic to Aslam. Man" %erses can /e sho1n in the IurCan as [email protected] of this su/Mect. For [email protected] in one of these the 2ro.het is a&&resse&0 KBut if the enem" incline to1ar&s .eace0 &o "ou :also< incline to1ar&s .eace0 an& trust in Go&: for 8e is the Hne that hears an& kno1s :all thin$s<.L :7: =< B%en in an atmos.here in 1hich t1o armies ha%e fou$ht a$ainst each other an& /loo& has /een s.ille&0 if the enem" for$oes fi$htin$ an& 1ants to come to a$reement0 then Muslims are comman&e& not to /eha%e emotionall"0 /ut to come to an a$reement an& then .ut their trust in Go&. Thus a uni%ersal .rinci.le re$ar&in$ this su/Mect is .ut forth. 3onseOuentl"0 s.eakin$ a/out fi$htin$ an& conflict is com.letel" contrar" to the /asic s.irit of a reli$ion that is on the si&e of a$reement an& reconciliation not onl" in the time of .eace0 /ut e%en in 1artime. The mission of the 2ro.het 1as to communicate the reli$ion Aslamhe /rou$ht from Go&. 8e &i& that 1ithout sho1in$ .reMu&ices to1ar& an"one. #o much so that0 this man of lo%e an& .eace0 %isite& e%en the most har&6hearte& un/elie%ers such as !/u Jahl an& VUO/ah i/n !/i MuCa"& man" times 1ithout &is.la"in$ an" resentment. 8e &esire& that e%er"one coul& feel .ara&ise in his5her heart. 8e 1oul& sa"0 K2ronounce there is no &eit" /ut Go& an& /e sa%e&.L ?? 8e meant: KTo attain fulfillment in "our heart0 &e%elo. the see& of /elief in "our heart 1hich has /een so1n there as a see& to $ro1 into .ara&ise an& secure "our other 1orl&.L Hnce !/u Jahl ans1ere& this in%itation in a &isres.ectful an& mockin$ 1a"0 K8e"0 Muhamma&0 if "ou are &oin$ this to make us 1itnesses of "our call /efore Go&0 &o not in%ite me to reli$ion a$ain. A 1ill /ear 1itness there.L !n"1a" he 1oul& al1a"s re.l" &isres.ectfull". But in s.ite of !/u Jahl s.eakin$ insultin$l" 1ith these ill6mannere& statements0 the Glor" of the Gorl&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 [email protected]& Aslam e%er" time the" met an& ne%er chan$e& his [email protected]" st"le &ue to these insultin$ 1or&s0 attitu&e an& /eha%ior. Hne e%ent relate& to the 2ri&e of Mankin&Cs %ast lo%e0 com.assion an& tolerance for humankin& took .lace &urin$ the conOuest of Makkah. !fter the conOuest 1as com.lete0 e%er"one $athere& aroun& the 2ro.het an&0 lookin$ into his e"es0 the" /e$an to 1ait for the &ecision he 1as $oin$ to make re$ar&in$ them. 8o1e%er0 e%en until the last moment a small $rou.0 amon$ 1hom 1as !/u
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A/n Kathir0 al-*i!a a% wa’l-Ni%a a%0 3: (6 3.

JahlCs son Akrimah0 ha& o..ose& the MuslimsC enterin$ Makkah. Hnce more their feelin$s of %iolence an& re%en$e 1ere inflame&. !t a moment 1hen the atmos.here 1as full of tension0 the Messen$er of Go& aske& the Makkans 1ho 1ere 1aitin$ 1ith e@citement an& an@iet"0 KGhat are "ou [email protected]$ me to &o to "ouQL #ome of the Makkans 1ho kne1 1ell 1hat a no/le0 for$i%in$ an& $enerous .erson he 1as &i& not ne$lect to sho1 their feelin$s an& sai&0 K,ou are the most $enerous of the $enerous0 the no/lest of the no/le.L 8is $oal 1as neither .ossessions nor .ro.ert" nor so%erei$nt" nor .o1er nor the conOuest of lan&. 8is aim 1as to sa%e .eo.le an& conOuer their hearts. This Man of Eo%e an& !ffection $a%e his &ecision a$ainst his enemies0 sa"in$: KA sa" to "ou as Jose.h once sai& to his /rothers. ThereCs no /lame for 1hat "ou ha%e &one .re%iousl". Go& 1ill for$i%e "ou0 too. 8e is the Most Merciful of the Merciful. Go0 "ou are all free.L ? !ctuall" this a..roach meant somethin$ like this0 K+o not feel an" .ain internall". A ha%e no intention of .unishin$ an"one. B%er"oneCs /eha%ior &is.la"s his character. This is m" st"le.L !fter the return to Ma&inah0 Akrimah i/n !/u Jahl0 1ho ha& s.ille& /loo& e%en &urin$ the conOuest of Makkah0 1as con%ince& /" his 1ife Umm 8akim after his tri. to sea to return from the area he ha& esca.e& to0 an& he 1as taken /efore the 2rince of the 2ro.hets0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. Before he entere& the 2ro.hetCs .resence0 those aroun& him sai& that if he aske& for for$i%eness0 the Messen$er of Go& 1oul& for$i%e him. An all .ro/a/ilit"0 /efore Akrimah 1ent /efore him0 the 2ro.het 1arne& those aroun& him0 KAkrimah is comin$. +o not hurt his feelin$s /" sa"in$ un/ecomin$ thin$s a/out his father.L !s soon as Akrimah ste..e& insi&e0 The Messen$er sai&0 KGelcome to the one 1ho emi$rate& /" /oat.L Ne%er [email protected]$ 1or&s full of this much lo%e an& affection0 Akrimah 1oul& sa" later0 K!s lon$ as A li%e A 1ill ne%er for$et this /eha%ior of the 2ro.het.L Four "ears after Akrimah /ecame Muslim0 he 1as mart"re& at ,ermuk. Murmurin$ the 1or&s0 KH Messen$er of Go&0 ha%e "ou foun& the $oo&ness "ou [email protected]& as com.ensation for the /a& &one /" the one 1ho emi$rate& /" /oatQL he Moine& the $rou. of other mart"rs. ?> !s A state& a/o%e0 the Messen$erCs call 1as his mission to re.resent the truths he s.oke to others. An other 1or&s0 it 1as his &ut" to himself .ractice in his life the thin$s he sai&. !n"1a"0 he al1a"s .ractice& somethin$ first /efore callin$ others to &o so. The thin$s 1e ha%e [email protected]& so far com.rise the $eneral situation of the 2rince of 2ro.hets0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. 8o1e%er0 some tr" an& sho1 the e@istence an& encoura$ement of Miha& in the 8ol" IurCan an& the #unnah to /e in conflict 1ith our 2ro.hetCs uni%ersal lo%e an& affection. Ghereas Miha& is an action tie& to s.ecial con&itions that is sometimes ma&e to .rotect such %alues as life0 .ro.ert"0 reli$ion0 the $eneration0 the homelan& an& honor. #ometimes it is also resorte& to 1hen necessar" to remo%e o/stacles from the .ath of raisin$ Go&Cs Gor&. To&a" these t1o situations are al1a"s mi@e& u.N sometimes it is &ue to i$norance an& sometimes it is &one intentionall". Ghereas0 lo%e0 affection an& tolerance in their /roa&est &imensions 1ere li%e& in the Dose 2erio& 1hich 1as full of .eace an& ha..iness an& 1hich 1as in his o1n 1or&s0 Kthe /est of centuries.L At re.resente& the a.e@.

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!l6AraOi0 al-,u'%ni an (aml a-.sfar0 3:=>4. A/n !thir0 5s! al-2%a+a%0 3:? >6?>)N MuttaOi al68in&i0 /an& al-’5mmal0 =3:?*)6?*=.

HUMAN (IGHTS IN ISLAM
Hn the su/Mect of human ri$hts0 Aslam is /alance&0 /roa&0 an& uni%ersal. [email protected] for those 1ho &eser%e &eath0 like re/els 1ho fi$ht a$ainst the le$al a&ministration or mur&erers0 the IurCan teaches us that killin$ a .erson unMustl" is a crime a$ainst humanit" :?:3(<. #uch an e%aluation cannot /e foun& in an" other reli$ion or mo&ern s"stem0 an& such hi$h %alue has ne%er /een $i%en to humanit" /" an" human ri$hts commission or or$anization. Aslam acce.ts the killin$ of one .erson as the killin$ of all humanit"0 for the mur&er of one .erson $i%es the i&ea that an" .erson can /e kille&. !&amVs son 3ain 1as the first .erson to she& /loo&. !lthou$h their names are not mentione& s.ecificall" in the IurCan or #unnah0 1e learn from .re%ious #cri.tures that a misun&erstan&in$ took .lace /et1een the t1o /rothers 3ain an& !/el an&0 that 3ain unMustl" kills !/el out of Mealous"0 there/" o.enin$ the era of /loo&she&. For this reason0 in one of the ha&iths the Messen$er of Go& sa"s: KGhene%er a .erson is kille& unMustl"0 .art of the sin for that mur&er is cre&ite& to 3ain0 for he 1as the first to o.en the 1a" of unMust killin$ to humanit".L ?7 This e%ent0 1ith an im.ortant lesson0 is [email protected]& in the IurCan: [email protected] truthfull" to them the ne1s of !&amCs t1o sons: Ghen the" each offere& a sacrifice0 an& one 1as acce.te& an& the other reMecte&. 8e sai&: VA s1ear ACm $oin$ to kill "ou.C The other sai&: VGo& onl" acce.ts from those 1ho are .ious.C 8e a&&e&0 VA s1ear that e%en if "ou reach out "our han& to kill me0 A 1ill not reach out m" han& to kill "ou. A fear Go&0 the Eor& of the Gorl&s.CL The follo1in$ Mu&$ment is $i%en: K!n"one 1ho kills a .erson0 unless it /e for mur&er or for causin$ &issension an& s.rea&in$ corru.tion in the lan&0 it 1oul& /e as if he or she kille& humankin& all to$etherN an& if an" one sa%es a life0 it 1oul& /e as if he or she sa%e& the life of humankin& all to$etherL :?: (>63(<. This is uni%ersal an& therefore %ali& for all times. !nother %erse states: KAf someone kills a /elie%er intentionall"0 his :or her< recom.ense is 8ell0 to a/i&e therein :for e%er<: an& the 1rath an& the curse of Go& are u.on him :or her<0 an& a &rea&ful .enalt" is .re.are& for him :or her<.L :*: 43< An another ha&ith our 2ro.het state&: KGhoe%er is kille& 1hile &efen&in$ their .ro.ert" is a mart"r. Ghoe%er is kille& 1hile &efen&in$ their /loo& :life< is a mart"r. Ghoe%er is kille& 1hile &efen&in$ their reli$ion is a mart"r. Ghoe%er is kille& 1hile &efen&in$ their famil" is a mart"r.L ?4 !ll the %alues mentione& in this ha&ith ha%e /een .rotecte& as se.arate .rinci.les in all le$al s"stems. These matters are $i%en im.ortance in the fun&amental /ooks com.risin$ our la1 as Kin&is.ensa/le.L
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$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 K+i"at0L (0 K!n/i"aCL =N $a%i% al-,uslim0 KKasamah0L (>.

$unan al-Tirmi!%i0 K+i"at0L ((N $unan .+u Dawu!0 K#unnah0L 3(.

From this res.ect0 free&om of faith0 life0 re.ro&uction0 mental health0 an& .ersonal .ro.ert" are /asic essentials that must /e .reser%e& for e%er"one. An a sense0 Aslam a..roaches human ri$hts from the an$le of these /asic .rinci.les. Hnl" Aslam honors humanit" 1ith the title of KGo&Cs %ice$erent.L No other s"stem or reli$ion &oes this. An a&&ition0 Aslam states that all that is the hea%ens an& earth ha%e /een su/ser%ient to Go&Cs la1 for the /enefit an& ri$ht use of humanit". 8o1 coul& a reli$ion that $i%es such im.ortance ne$lect a .ersonCs human ri$htsQ :!lso see: "slam as a -eli'ion of 5niversal ,erc in this /ook.<

TOLE(ANCE IN THE LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIET.
First of all A 1oul& like to in&icate that tolerance 1as not in%ente& /" us. Tolerance 1as first intro&uce& on this earth /" the .ro.hets. Because the teacher of the .ro.hets is Go&. B%en if it is not correct to attri/ute tolerance to Go&0 8e has tolerance6roote& attri/utes like for$i%in$ an& .ar&onin$0 for$i%in$ of sins0 /ein$ com.assionate an& merciful to all creatures0 an& hi&in$ othersC shame an& faults. 8is names of The !ll6For$i%in$0 The !ll6Merciful an& The !ll68i&in$ of Faults are amon$ the most freOuentl" mentione& in the IurCan. The $ol&en era 1hen tolerance 1as re.resente& at its a.e@ 1as the !$e of 8a..iness. Gith "our .ermission0 A 1oul& like to $i%e some concrete [email protected] from that historical line e@ten&in$ from that K.erio& of rosesL to to&a". A" E=a+ple of For&i0e"e## !s is kno1n0 in the historical KB%ent of #lan&erL the h".ocrites ma&e slan&erous accusations a$ainst V!Cishah0 the chaste 1ife of the 2ro.het an& the s.iritual mother of all /elie%ers. V!Cishah has a s.ecial .lace amon$ the .ure 1i%es of the 2ro.het /ecause the 2ro.het 1as the first man she sa1 1hen she a1akene& to 1omanhoo&. An a .erio& 1hen she /ecame full" conscious of her 1omanhoo&0 !Cishah /ecame a mem/er of the 2ro.hetCs .ure househol& an& there she /reathe& onl" an atmos.here of chastit" an& honor. V!Cishah0 an [email protected] of chastit"0 /ecame su/Mecte& to a .lanne& slan&er cam.ai$n &urin$ this .erio&. Both she herself0 her famil" an& the 2ro.het0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 suffere& much /ecause of this slan&er. 8o1e%er0 the %erse re%eale& a/out one month later &eclare& V!CishahCs una&ulterate& .urit" an& innocence. 8o1e%er0 her father !/u Bakr0 1ho ha& /een $i%in$ financial su..ort to one of those 1ho /ecame an instrument in the s.rea& of slan&er0 took an oath no to $i%e him an" more su..ort. But0 the %erse re%eale& 1arne& that the most faithful frien& of the #ultan of Tolerance :the 2ro.het< shoul& /e more lenient. The %erse rea&: KEet not those amon$ "ou 1ho are en&o1e& 1ith $race an& am.litu&e of means resol%e /" oath a$ainst hel.in$ their kinsmen0 those in 1ant0 an& those 1ho ha%e left their homes in Go&Cs cause: let them for$i%e an& o%erlook. +o "ou not 1ish that Go& shoul& for$i%e "ouQ For Go& is the !ll6For$i%in$0 the !ll6 MercifulL :(*:((<. ) A 1ant to &ra1 "ou attention es.eciall" to the [email protected] at the en& of this %erse0 K+o "ou not 1ish that Go& shoul& for$i%e "ouQ For Go& is the !ll6For$i%in$0 the !ll6Merciful.L An realit"0 .r%am al--a%imin :The !ll6Merciful Go&<0 Ghose merc" is uneOualle& an& com.are& to 1hich all the merc" in the 1orl& is like a &ro. in the ocean0 continuall" hi&es an&0 in s.ite of
)

$a%i% al-*uk%ari0 K#haha&ah0L =?:3)N $a%i% al-,uslim0 KTa1/ah0L ? .

e%er"thin$0 for$i%es us0 e%er"thin$ from our un/ecomin$ 1or&s that enter our ears an& &arken our s.irits to the filth that flo1s into us from the uni%erse an& societ" 1e ha%e .ollute&. 8is Ouestion0 K+o "ou not 1ish that Go& shoul& for$i%e "ouQL 1hich is &irecte& to .eo.le like us 1ho al1a"s nee& .urification0 is so fine an& sincere an& 1orth" of /ein$ co%ete&. B" means of this %erse0 Go& in&icates that Must as 8e for$i%es us0 1e shoul& for$i%e each other for the mistakes 1e make0 an& this is recommen&e& to us as IurCanic %irtue in the character of !/u Bakr. For$i%eness an& tolerance are $i%en $reat im.ortance in the 2ro.hetsC messa$es0 1hich are from &i%ine an& celestial sources. ! .ro.het has the &ut" of e&ucatin$ an& trainin$ others. An or&er for the truths that he is con%e"in$ to influence the hearts of others0 his o1n heart must /eat 1ith for$i%eness an& tolerance. Ghen some faults that are the result of a .ersonCs nature colli&e 1ith the tolerant atmos.here of a man of truth0 the" melt an& &is.erse like a meteor. Anstea& of s.littin$ someoneCs hea&0 the le$ions of li$ht0 1hich resem/le the li$hts lit on ni$hts of cele/ration0 shoul& soothe the e"es an& $i%e Mo" to the heart. !s A mentione& /efore0 actuall" it is such a &i%ine %irtue that our 2ro.hetCs ha&ith0 KTake on the %irtue of Go&0L = recommen&s this %irtue. +oes not Go& 8imself al1a"s for$i%e those 1ho &en" 8imQ Hn the cosmic .lane this crime means an unfor$i%a/le mur&er an& re/ellion. But look at the %astness of Go&Cs for$i%eness an& .ar&on. An s.ite of the un$ratefulness of 8is ser%ants0 8e sa"s0 KGithout &ou/t M" Merc" .rece&es M" GrathL an& KM" Merc" surroun&s e%er"thin$.L Gith 8is attri/ute of Merc"0 1ithout sho1in$ an" /ias 8e nurtures an& .rotects all human /ein$s an&0 in&ee& all animate creatures0 an& 8e continues to $i%e sustenance e%en to those 1ho &en" 8im. 8ere it is .ossi/le to %ie1 all the .ro.hets from the same .ers.ecti%e an& .resent some [email protected] from all of them0 /ut A am $oin$ to suffice 1ith a fe1 from our 2ro.het Muhamma&0 the essence of e@istence0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. 8amzah 1as one of the 3om.anions most lo%e& /" the 2ro.het. 8e 1as not Must an or&inar" 3om.anion0 he 1as also the 2ro.hetCs uncle an& the" ha& /oth /een nurse& /" the same 1et6nurse. #u..ressin$ his honor an& .ri&e0 this lion6hearte& $iant of a man entere& the s.iritual atmos.here of the 2ri&e of 8umankin&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. #u..ortin$ his ne.he1 an& sa"in$ KACm 1ith "ouL at this critical time 1hen the Muslims 1ere 1eak in num/ers raise& his %alue manifol&. Thus0 /" &emonstratin$ the Oualities of his closeness on the s.iritual .lane as 1ell as the .h"sical .lane0 he attaine& an unreacha/le hei$ht of $reatness. Hf course0 the lo"alt" of this $reat hero 1oul& /e re1ar&e& /" the 2ro.het. 8e 1as mart"re& one &a" 1hile fi$htin$ at Uhu& 1ith his /loo&" mur&erers 1ho ha& rai&e& Ma&inah an& s1orn to .ierce e%er"one R men an& 1omen R throu$h 1ith their s1or&s. !t the han&s of his mur&erers 1hose han&s0 e"es an& thou$hts 1ere /loo&"0 8amzah 1as cho..e& into .ieces like a lo$. 8is sacre& e"es 1ere $or$e& out0 his ears an& li.s cut off0 his chest 1as s.lit o.en an& his li%er 1as torn out an& che1e&. Eater0 he 1as a/an&one& there. The Messen$er of Go&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 1hose /osom 1as full of com.assion an& merc"0 looke& at this horrif"in$ scene an& his e"es fille& 1ith tears like rain clou&s. There 1ere se%ent" mart"rs at the /attle of Uhu& R t1ice as man" 1ere 1oun&e& R 1omen /ecame 1i&o1s an& chil&ren /ecame or.hans. Ghen he looke& at this scene 1ith the com.assion of a .ro.het0 it 1as almost un/eara/le. The chil&ren of 8amzah an& the other mart"rsC chil&ren a..eare& /efore the 2ro.het0 shi%erin$ like ne1l" hatche& chicks. !s relate& in the /io$ra.hical 1orks on him0 it 1as no lon$er than KAn retri/ution for 1hat the" ha%e &oneYL ha& Must crosse& his min& that the follo1in$ %erse 1as re%eale&: K!n& Af "ou ha%e to res.on& to an" 1ron$0 res.on& to the e@tent of the 1ron$ &one to "ouN /ut if "ou en&ure .atientl"0 this is in&ee& /etter for the .atient.L := :=( < B" this %erse he 1as &irecte& to a horizon of un&erstan&in$ accor&in$ to his o1n le%el0 an& he 1as tol&0 K"ou
=

Mansur V!li Nasif0 al-Tac0 =:=3.

shoul& not think like that.L That sun of lenienc" an& tolerance0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 /urie& all the .ain in his chest an& chose the roa& of .atience. !ctuall"0 the 2ro.het 1o%e the 1hole of his life0 not onl" that moment0 1ith tolerance like lace. The .ol"theists ha& not s.are& him an" of the kin&s of torture an& trou/le. The" ha& &ri%en him out of his homelan&0 forme& armies an& attacke& him. But e%en after the conOuest of Makkah 1hen the .a$ans 1ere an@iousl" 1aitin$ to see ho1 the" 1oul& /e treate&0 as a si$n of his %ast com.assion an& merc" the 2ro.het sai&0 KA s.eak as Jose.h s.oke to his /rothers: There is no re.roach for "ou to&a" :/ecause of "our .re%ious acts<. Go& 1ill for$i%e "ou also. 8e is the Most Merciful of the Merciful. GoN "ou are free.L ( The IurCan is the source of lenienc" an& tolerance0 an& /ecause these conce.ts ha%e flo1e& to us like an e@u/erant stream from the 3on%e"or of the IurCan0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 1e cannot think an" &ifferentl" on this matter. Because a contrar" i&ea 1oul& mean that 1e &o not kno1 the IurCan an& Go&Cs Messen$er. From this .ers.ecti%e0 /ecause tolerance &eri%es from the IurCan an& the #unnah0 it is a MuslimCs natural %irtue an&0 /ecause of the sources it &eri%es from0 it is .ermanent. The &ocument that Go&Cs Messen$er .resente& to the 3hristians an& Je1s0 the ori$inal te@t of 1hich is foun& in Bn$lan& an& 1hich 1as recentl" .u/lishe& in Bn$lish in the /ook entitle& Drom @ara!i'm to Eni'ma0 is trul" 1orth" of our attention. Because com.are& to the .rinci.les that our 2ro.het .ut forth0 humanit" to&a" is not on his le%el0 neither 1ith &eclarations on human ri$hts .ut forth in Eahe" an& #tras/ur$ nor 8elsinki. That Man of Great For/earance li%e& to$ether closel" 1ith the 2eo.le of the Book in Ma&inah. An fact0 he 1as e%en a/le to fin& .oints of a$reement 1ith the &ark souls 1ho e%en thou$h the" sai&0 KGe are Muslims0L continuousl" cause& friction e%er"1here an& trie& to .la" off a$ainst one another those 1ith clear consciences. 8e em/race& them /" means of for/earance. U.on the &eath of V!/&ullah i/n U/e""0 1ho ha& /een a lifelon$ enem"0 the 2ro.het e%en $a%e his shirt as a /urial shrou&. #a"in$0 K!s lon$ as thereCs no re%elation for/i&&in$ me0 A 1ill atten& his funeral0L he follo1e& his funeral. An this res.ect0 there is no messa$e similar or eOual to the messa$e he $a%e humankin&. Thus0 it is not .ossi/le for those 1ho tr" an& follo1 Kthe Most Beautiful [email protected] to think an" &ifferentl" from him. An this res.ect0 it is not .ossi/le to think of tolerance as somethin$ se.arate from oursel%esN it is a &ifferent color an& tone of our feelin$s an& thou$hts. From no1 on .latforms for tolerance shoul& /e &e%elo.e& in the Turkish societ". Tolerance shoul& /e re1ar&e&0 it shoul& /e $i%en .rece&ence at e%er" o..ortunit"0 an& those 1ho /eha%e 1ith for$i%eness to others shoul& ha%e a chance to [email protected] themsel%es. Tolera" e A'ard# Joinin$ to$ether aroun& these i&eas an& feelin$s0 the Journalists an& Griters Foun&ation forme& a Mur" an& recentl" $a%e a1ar&s for tolerance to some .eo.le 1ho 1ere seen to ha%e ma&e a si$nificant contri/ution to social reconciliation. This action 1as a..ro%e& /" almost e%er" se$ment of societ" R from .oliticians to artists0 actors an& actresses0 an& from aca&emics0 Mournalists an& 1riters to the .eo.le in the street. Hf course0 a mar$inal $rou. that ha%e not s"nchronize& 1ith the $eneral .u/lic &ue to their &ifferent 1orl&%ie1 [email protected]& their &iscomfort 1ith an acti%it" that 1as em/race& /" e%er"one else0 an& the" ma&e the mistake of re.roachin$ the in&i%i&uals an& institutions that sai& K,esL to this consensus. But let them sa" 1hat the" 1ill. !t a time 1hen the 1orl& has /ecome like a /i$ %illa$e an& at a .oint 1hen our societ" is on the %er$e of $reat chan$e an& transformation0 if 1e are talkin$ a/out &ialo$ue 1ith other nations0 then it is not $oin$ to /e .ossi/le to [email protected] a1a" our fi$htin$ 1ith one
(

A/n al6!thir0 5s! al-2%a+a%0 =:?(76?3(.

another. An this res.ect0 tolerance is a matter that nee&s to /e re1ar&e& an& for this reason it must .ermeate all societ". #o much so that uni%ersities shoul& /reathe it0 .oliticians shoul& freOuentl" talk a/out it0 .eo.le in the music 1orl& shoul& 1rite l"rics a/out it an& the me&ia shoul& $i%e su..ort to .ositi%e &e%elo.ments on this su/Mect. Tolerance &oes not mean /ein$ influence& /" others an& Moinin$ themN it means acce.tin$ others as the" are an& kno1in$ ho1 to $et alon$ 1ith them. No one has the ri$ht to sa" an"thin$ a/out this kin& of tolerance /ecause e%er"one in this countr" has his o1n .oint of %ie1. 2eo.le 1ith &ifferent i&eas an& thou$hts are either $oin$ to seek 1a"s of $ettin$ alon$ /" means of reconciliation or the" 1ill constantl" fi$ht 1ith one another. There ha%e al1a"s /een .eo.le 1ho thou$ht &ifferentl" from one another an& there al1a"s 1ill /e. At is m" hum/le o.inion that some .eo.le 1ho are the mouth.iece for certain mar$inal $rou.s that neither affirm the /ooks Go& sent nor to&a"Cs realities an& 1ho start fi$hts at the &ro. of a hat shoul& re%ie1 their .osition one more time. !re the" makin$ their claims for the sake of human %alues or for the sake of &estro"in$ human %aluesQ To&a" the Turkish societ" nee&s tolerance more than an"thin$ else. An fact0 to&a" our nation shoul& ha%e this &"namic an&0 $i%in$ it .riorit"0 re.resent tolerance in the 1orl&. Because our $lorious ancestors ca.ture& the hearts of .eo.le /" means of tolerance an& /ecame the .rotectors of the $eneral .eace. The lon$est .erio& of .eace in the Balkans an& the Mi&&le Bast0 1hich ha%e al1a"s /een %olatile areas0 1as realize& /" means of the 1i&e tolerance of our ancestors. From the moment that tolerance an& those $reat re.resentati%es 1ere 1i.e& off the face of histor"0 this re$ion /ecame %oi& of .eace an& contentment. Thanks to the $race of Go&0 after se%eral centuries of life in lim/o0 this $reat nation has /e$un 1alkin$ to1ar&s resurrection. This $reat K.lane treeL 1hose lea%es are /e$innin$ to /u& in the /osom of !natolia0 1ith the $race an& /ount" of Go&0 shoul& once more /reathe tolerance itself an& teach others to /reathe tolerance. !t the same time0 our citizens in Buro.ean countries can onl" li%e in harmon" in those countries /" means of the %ast atmos.here of tolerance. 8ere A 1oul& like to un&erscore one .oint. Bein$ tolerant &oes not mean fore$oin$ our tra&itions comin$ from our reli$ion0 our nation or our histor"0 /ecause tolerance is somethin$ that has e@iste& since ol&en times. The Httomans 1ere /oth faithful to their reli$ion an& other %alues an&0 at the same time0 the" 1ere a $reat nation that coul& $et alon$ 1ith other 1orl& states. Af .eo.le of to&a"0 1ho are ci%ilize&0 enli$htene& an& o.en to the 1orl&0 are $oin$ to fall short of those 1ho li%e& in that .erio&0 then this means the" ha%e not un&erstoo& this a$e. An this res.ect0 as in&i%i&uals0 as families an& as a societ"0 1e ha%e to s.ee& u. this .rocess that has /een /e$un. A .ersonall" /elie%e that e%en the .eo.le 1ho &o not share our feelin$s an& thou$hts 1ill soften 1hen 1e $o to see them. Thus0 in the name of &ialo$ue 1e can unite on common $roun& an& shake han&s 1ith e%er"one. Because the thin$s that Go& $i%es most %alue to are human /ein$s0 lo%e0 an& com.assion. T$e Value God%# Me##e"&er Gi0e# !o Hu+a"i!y Before an"thin$ else0 1ith the trainin$ he recei%e& from his Eor&0 the 2ri&e of 8umankin& $a%e %alue to e%er" human /ein$ re$ar&less of 1hether he 1as a Muslim0 3hristian or Je1. Before .assin$ o%er the %alue he $a%e to humanit"0 it is /eneficial to see 1hat kin& of a man of %ision he 1as. 8e 1as such a Ta/leau of 2raise R his s.irit 1as the /e$innin$ of the /ook of e@istence0 an& his messa$e 1as en&. This is self6e%i&ent to those 1ho kno1 the 2ro.hetCs mission. Ge kno1 him as one /" 1hose li$ht the uni%erse can /e o/ser%e& an& rea& like a /ook. 8o1e%er much humankin&0 es.eciall" the 2ro.hetCs follo1ers0 take .ri&e in their connection 1ith the 2ro.het of Merc"0 it is not too much. !s one 1ho lo%e& him sai&0 ho1 fortunate 1e are to /e connecte& 1ith him. An fact0 re$ar&in$ the $reat

/lessin$ he recei%e&0 the Messen$er of Go& sai&0 KThe first thin$ Go& create& R the first see& that 1as so1n in the /osom of non6e@istence R 1as m" li$ht.L 3 Because he is the see&0 essence an& summar" of e@istence. Af 1e [email protected] it in #ufi terms0 the e@istence of Muhamma& 1as /oth the reason for creation an& its final $oal. B@istence 1as create& for him to /e a/le to come into e@istence as the em/o&iment of all human %alues an& a theatre 1here all the manifestations of Go&Cs Names are manifeste&. !s A ha%e mentione& at other times in &ifferent conte@ts0 the 2ri&e of 8umankin&0 the reason for creation an& the 2rince of 2ro.hets0 one &a" stoo& u. as a Je1ish funeral 1as .assin$ /". Hne of the 3om.anions at his si&e sai&0 KH Messen$er of Go&0 thatCs a Je1.L Githout an" chan$e in attitu&e or alteration of the lines on his face0 the 2rince of 2ro.hets $a%e this ans1er: KBut heCs a human /ein$XL Ma" the ears rin$ of those follo1ers 1ho &o not kno1 him in these &imensions an& those human ri$hts a&%ocates 1ho are i$norant of the uni%ersal messa$e he /rou$ht in the name of humankin&X ThereCs nothin$ A can a&& to these 1or&s0 /ut if 1e are the nation of the $lorious 2ro.het 1ho s.oke these 1or&s0 it is not .ossi/le for us to think &ifferentl". Thus0 it 1oul& /e /eneficial for those 1ho o..ose the recent acti%ities ma&e in the name of &ialo$ue an& tolerance to re%ie1 their situations in res.ect to their hee&lessness or their o/stinac" that has .ermeate& their .ersonalities an& s.irits. Tolera" e a"d De+o ra y Moreo%er0 &emocrac" is a s"stem that $i%es e%er"one un&er its 1in$ the o..ortunit" to li%e an& [email protected] their o1n feelin$s an& thou$hts. Tolerance com.rises an im.ortant &imension of it. An fact0 it can /e sai& that &emocrac" is out of the Ouestion in a .lace 1here tolerance &oes not e@ist. But come an& see some those 1ho0 on the one han&0 talk a/out &emocrac"0 /ut0 on the other han&0 1ant to &r" u. the source that nurtures it. An a &emocratic countr" e%er"one shoul& /e a/le to take a&%anta$e of &emocratic ri$hts an& res.onsi/ilities. Af one se$ment of societ" /ecomes u.set /" the e@istence of another se$ment0 then it is o/%ious that those 1ho are u.set are not sincere0 to sa" the least0 in their claim0 K1e are &emocrats an& su..orters of &emocrac".L !s A mentione& a/o%e0 it is not .ossi/le for &emocrac" to take root in a .lace 1here thereCs no tolerance. !ctuall"0 a&%ocates of &emocrac" shoul& /e a/le to acce.t e%en those 1ho &o not share their %ie1s0 an& the" shoul& o.en their hearts to others. 8ere it is /eneficial to make this .oint. !cce.tin$ e%er"one as he5she is re$ar&less of 1ho he5she is &oes not mean .uttin$ /elie%ers an& un/elie%ers in the same /alance of the scales. !ccor&in$ to our 1a" of thinkin$0 the .osition of /elie%ers an& un/elie%ers ha%e their o1n innate %alue. The 2ri&e of 8umankin& has a s.ecial .osition an& his5her .lace in our hearts is se.arate from all others an& a/o%e them. An relation to this .oint0 A 1oul& like to inform "ou of m" feelin$s. !fter returnin$ from a %isit to the restin$6.lace of our 2ro.het0 A 1as %er" sa& that A ha& not &ie& there. !ccor&in$ to m" o1n i&ea0 if A reall" lo%e& him0 then A shoul& ha%e clun$ to the iron railin$ an& &ie& on the s.ot. Until that &a" A ha& thou$ht that m" attachment to the 2ro.het 1as that $reat. Hf course0 he has a %er" hi$h .lace in our hearts an& 1e 1oul& not 1ant an"one to harm him in an" 1a"0 /ut m" thinkin$ an& feelin$ this 1a" &oes not .re%ent me from enterin$ into &ialo$ue 1ith someone 1ho thinks an& /elie%es &ifferentl". Tolera" e a"d !$e Fu!ure B%en if 1e ha%e &ifferent feelin$s an& thou$hts0 1e are all .eo.le of this nation. B%en thou$h 1e ma" not ha%e common $roun&s on some matters0 1e are all mem/ers of this nation an& 1e are the same
3

!Mluni0 /as%f al-/%afa’0 =:(

.

shi.Cs .assen$ers. An this res.ect0 there are man" common .oints that can /e &iscusse& an& share& 1ith .eo.le from e%er" se$ment of societ". An all .ro/a/ilit" time 1ill clarif" e%er"thin$ an& .ro%e those 1ho starte& the tren& of tolerance to /e ri$ht. !$ain0 time 1ill &iscar& feelin$s an& thou$hts of $ru&$e an& %en$eance. Hnl" the feelin$s fe& 1ith lo%e0 for$i%eness0 tolerance0 an& &ialo$ue 1ill $o for1ar&. 2eo.le of tolerance are $oin$ to /uil& a 1orl& /ase& on tolerance. Those 1hose lot is not tolerance 1ill &ro1n in their malice0 hatre& an& an$er in the 1ell of intolerance. At is m" 1ish that .eo.le such as these 1ill 1ake u. an& not &ro1n in the s1am. the" ha%e fallen into. Because then 1e 1ill ha%e to cr" for them as 1ell. A can alrea&" feel this .ain an& A am $reatl" $rie%e& /" itX

MA>ING THE ATMOSPHE(E OF TOLE(ANCE PE(MANENT
An a&&ition to our Klost .ara&ise0L 1e ha%e also lost some of our e@alte& characteristics. Kno1le&$e0 research0 1ork0 1ork metho&0 or$anization of the 1ork .lace0 hel.in$ one another0 an& rea&in$ the /ook of the uni%erse are some of the thin$s 1e ha%e lost alon$ 1ith our Klost .ara&ise.L !mon$ the man" thin$s 1e ha%e lost0 .erha.s the first an& most im.ortant is that 1hich is [email protected]& /" the 1on&erful Turkish 1or& %os'orü. From this 1or& 1e un&erstan& em/racin$ .eo.le re$ar&less of &ifferences of o.inion0 1orl&6%ie10 i&eolo$"0 ethnicit" an& /elief. At also means .uttin$ u. 1ith matters 1e &o not like /" means of a &ee. conscience an& faith an& /i$ heart or /" the stren$th of our emotions. Gith another a..roach0 it means0 in the 1or&s of our famous .oet ,unus0 lo%in$ the create& /ecause of the 3reator. Lo0i"& !$e Crea!ed Be au#e of !$e Crea!or) Eo%e is the reason for e@istence an& its essence0 an& it is the stron$est tie /in&in$ creatures to$ether. B%er"thin$ in the uni%erse is Go&Cs art1ork. Thus0 if "ou &o not a..roach humanit"0 1ho is Go&Cs art1ork0 1ith lo%e0 then "ou 1ill ha%e hurt those 1ho lo%e Go& an& those 1hom Go& lo%es. For [email protected] /ein$ an o..onent of the .aintin$s of an artist like 2icasso 1ill hurt /oth 2icasso an& those 1ho lo%e him. !$ain0 for [email protected] remainin$ in&ifferent to the !lhamra 2alaceCs lines of a&ornment that [email protected] the 1a"s from the finite to the infinite 1oul& /e sho1in$ &isres.ect to that 1ork of art an& its artists. An the same 1a"0 e%er" as.ect of the uni%erseCs min&6/o$$lin$ /eaut"0 $ran&eur an& s.len&or is Go&Cs artistr". An this res.ect0 humanit"0 animals0 other animate creatures0 an&0 in fact0 inanimate ones as 1ell0 1ere create& 1ith a nature that is 1orth" of our em/racin$ them 1ith lo%e. #ho1in$ in&ifference or con&escension to1ar&s them means sho1in$ in&ifference to1ar&s the !rtist an& lookin$ &o1n u.on the !rtist. Ghereas0 our a..roach to creation an& other human /ein$s shoul& /e /ase& on lo%in$ them for the sake of their 3reator. Af Muslims are talkin$ a/out s1or&s0 shiel&s0 killin$ an& /utcherin$ others an& .uttin$ %ast $a.s /et1een us /" &oin$ so0 then this means that /asicall" 1e ha%e sli& far from our essence. But 1e shoul& /e thankful that at a time 1hen there are si$ns of the .ara&ise 1e lost0 1e ha%e foun& tolerance a$ain0 1hich 1as one of the characteristics 1e ha& lost0 or that 1e are re&isco%erin$ tolerance 1hich 1as in AslamCs s.irit an& [email protected]& to us in the IurCan /" 2ro.het Muhamma&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. An the matter of tolerance0 our .eo.le ha%e &is.la"e& %er" im.ortant fa%ora/le acce.tance. To$ether 1ith the institutions that ha%e /een set u.0 the ser%ice ma&e &ifferent se$ments of .eo.le has /ecome a center of attraction. The IurCan states0 KHn those 1ho /elie%e an& 1ork &ee&s of ri$hteousness 1ill the !ll6Merciful /esto1 Eo%eL :=4:4 <. An other 1or&s0 /oth

inha/itants of the sk" an& inha/itants of the earth 1ill lo%e them. !s [email protected]& in a ha&ith0 Go& tells that those in the sk" 1hich .eo.le 8e lo%es an& asks them to lo%e them too. Ghen the an$els in the sk" lo%e them0 the .eo.le on earth lo%e them0 too. The see& that is re.resente& /" tolerance is $ro1in$. At 1ill /lossom 1hen the season is ri$ht. For this to ha..en it is necessar" for the ne1s.a.ers0 TF0 ma$azines an& foun&ations0 etc. to $i%e su..ort. No Tur"i"& ba * fro+ !$e (oad of Tolera" e The acce.tance in the hea%ens /rin$s a res.onse on earth. An&ications of this are o/%ious. The most o/%ious si$ns are that &oors are o.ene& 1i&e in the name of acce.tance to heroes of lo%e an& tolerance. At can /e sai& that tolerance is on the 1a" to $ro1in$ an& flourishin$. #o much so that after the season of tolerance /e$an0 conflicts 1ithin Turke" 1ere sta$e&. But the si&es that for "ears ha%e /een seen an& sho1n to /e se.arate reacte& farsi$hte&l"0 an& a calamit" 1as a%oi&e&. A think it is .ro/a/le that after this man" other intri$ues 1ill take .lace an& attem.ts 1ill /e ma&e to &istur/ the $eneral .eace. 8o1e%er0 1e 1ho ha%e /e$un this .rocess must /e &etermine& to carr" it throu$h to the en&. Ge ha%e to /e &etermine& an& act in accor&ance 1ith the roa& sho1n in the IurCan 1hich sa"s0 KThose 1ho 1itness no falsehoo&0 an&0 if the" .ass /" futilit"0 the" .ass /" it 1ith honora/le a%oi&ance.L :(?:>(< B%er"one reflects his5her o1n character /" his5her actions. At is the &ut" of .erfecte& .eo.le to act lenientl". #omeoneCs makin$ fun of the IurCan0 takin$ li$htl" the .ra"er an& fast an& mockin$ chastit" is an in&ication of his5her o1n st"le an& character. But as /elie%ers0 1e must not /e a$$ressi%e an& ri&iculin$ e%en to1ar&s those 1ho act so. Ge shoul& not return a$$ressi%eness an& ri&icule in kin&. !nother %erse sa"s0 KTell those 1ho /elie%e to for$i%e those 1ho &o not look for1ar& to the +a"s of Go&.L :*?:=*< This is actuall" the %oice of our conscience. Ghen "ou see a /lin& .erson &o "ou kick an& /eat him or take his han& an& sho1 him the 1a"Q An %ie1 of this0 the &ut" that /efalls the makers of i&eas for tomorro1 is to /rin$ harmon" to the incon$ruities in societ"0 .rotect the /alance that is un&er attack an& %ie1 un.leasant inci&ents 1ith far6si$hte&ness. Just as is sai& in the a&a$e0 KTake 1hat is .leasant0 an& lea%e 1hat causes $rief0L 1e shoul& remain in&ifferent to un.leasant thin$s an& not cause an" conflict or u.roar. Af 1e can continue like this0 it 1ill /e .ossi/le in a short time to $o much further than the .oint 1e are at no1. Hf course0 there 1ill /e man" a&%erse attem.ts ma&e internall" an& e@ternall" to &estro" this /alance. But for the sake of the continuation of tolerance 1e 1ill &ie man" times an& /e /orn a$ain in our efforts to .re%ent this. There 1ill /e floo&s of lo%e e%er"1here0 an& lo%e 1ill flo1 from .eo.leCs e"es an& hearts. B%er"one 1ill em/race each other 1ith lo%e an&0 Go& 1illin$0 the (= st centur" 1ill /e calle& the a$e of tolerance. A am so am/itious on this matter that one or t1o "ears of tolerance is not enou$h. Ge are &etermine& to make one or t1o centuries0 in fact0 all the a$es until the en& of time into eras of tolerance0 an& 1e ha%e no intention of turnin$ /ack from this roa&.

DIALOGUE IN THE MUHAMMADAN SPI(IT AND MEANING
A &o not like to make claims an& A ha%e a .oor memor"0 /ut in s.ite of this A can recite tens of %erses0 one after the other0 re$ar&in$ for$i%eness0 &ialo$ue an& o.enin$ oneCs heart to e%er"one. This sho1s AslamCs all6em/racin$ nature or its uni%ersalit". For [email protected] the IurCan states0 K.eace is $oo&.L :*:=(7< The %erse &oes not necessitate its /ein$ .articular to a certain e%ent0 meanin$ or frame1ork. The rule is $eneral. !n"1a"0 &oes not the root of the noun KAslamL [email protected] soun&ness0 surren&er0 .eace0 safet"0 an& trustQ Then it is not .ossi/le for us to /e true Muslims 1ithout full" re.resentin$ an& esta/lishin$ these. Moreo%er0 un&erl"in$ the meanin$ of this sacre& name there is an essence of em/racin$ e%er"one an& a..roachin$ e%er"thin$ 1ith lo%e. But if 1e &o not a..roach the su/Mect 1ith this s.irit0 then 1e 1ill not /e counte& as ha%in$ un&erstoo& Aslam or ma&e its call or re.resente& it. An a&&ition to rules that $uarantee .eace an& securit"0 there are also %erses in the IurCan relate& to attitu&es that shoul& /e taken a$ainst /an&its an& .eo.le 1ho cause anarch" an& terror an& there are le$al sanctions0 .unishments0 retaliations0 etc. 8o1e%er0 1hether re$ar&in$ %erses an& ha&iths on these su/Mects or their im.lementations0 if 1e &o not take them into consi&eration in their o1n con&itions0 se.arate the essence from &etail an& the $oal from the means an& e%aluate the %erses in the conte@t of the situations /efore an& after the" 1ere re%eale&0 then 1e 1ill al1a"s arri%e at false conclusions. A can an& &o sa" that .eace0 lo%e0 for$i%eness an& tolerance are /asic to AslamN other thin$s are acci&ental. Hn the other han&0 it is necessar" to $i%e .riorit" to /asic Muslim issues accor&in$ to their &e$ree of im.ortance. For [email protected] if Go& $i%es im.ortance to lo%e an& has informe& us that 8e lo%es those 1ho lo%e 8im0 an& has $i%en to the .erson 8e lo%e& most the name K8a/i/ullahL 1hich means one 1ho lo%es Go& an& is lo%e& /" 8im0 then 1e ha%e to take this as a fun&amental .rinci.le. Dules like Miha& a$ainst h".ocrites an& un/elie%ers are secon&ar" matters that circumstances necessitate. At has /een tie& to %arious reasons an& con&itions. Af there are no such reasons0 that means the rules 1ill not /e enforce&. Dules re$ar&in$ thin$s like killin$0 e@ile an& 1ar ha%e /een tie& to %arious reasons. Ghat is essential is [email protected]$ an& con%e"in$ the .rinci.les of Aslam 1ith soft 1or&s an& $entle /eha%ior. !lso0 .eace0 Mustice an& sta/ilit" are essential in Aslam0 1ar /ein$ acci&ental an& &e.en&ent on certain con&itions. Unfortunatel" those 1ho i$nore the essence an& &o so 1ithout takin$ into consi&eration the reasons for secon&ar" rules an& re$ulations0 1ho :rea&in$ the IurCan in the manner of a cru&e

kin& of Ea%iris< * em.hasize hittin$0 /reakin$ an& /eatin$ R these ha%e not un&erstoo& the rules0 the reasons for an& source of them0 nor ha%e the" un&erstoo& Aslam. Ghen the relate& reasons a..ear0 of course the rules necessitate& /" the reasons 1ill /ecome o.erati%e. For [email protected] 1hen forei$n enem" armies attack our countr"0 1e 1ill0 of course0 not /e [email protected]& to sit .assi%el" in a corner an& sa" to the attackers0 KAt 1as $oo& of "ou to comeLQ Eook at the 1orl& in 1hich 1e fin& oursel%esX !ccor&in$ to some ne1s recentl" re.orte& in one of the ne1s.a.ers0 Khot 1arL is continuin$ in ? .laces in the 1orl&. There are still floo&s of tears an& /loo& flo1in$ in man" .arts of the 1orl&. An man" of these 1ars0 some of the countries that &efen& &emocrac" an& human ri$hts are either of the si&es. An that case0 o..osin$ 1ar means o..osin$ a human realit". For this reason0 the moment someone touches our &emocratic ri$hts an& free&oms0 of course 1e are $oin$ to &efen& oursel%es an& fi$ht 1hen necessar". But as A mentione& at the /e$innin$0 these are acci&ental thin$s. The /asis of Aslam is .eace an& em/racin$ humankin& 1ith lo%e. A Call !o !$e Co++o" 5ord !nother as.ect of the Ouestion is the necessit" of increasin$ the common interests 1e share 1ith the .eo.le 1ith 1hom 1e are in &ialo$ue. An fact0 e%en if the .eo.le 1e talk 1ith are Je1s an& 3hristians0 still this a..roach shoul& /e taken an& issues that can se.arate us shoul& /e a/solutel" a%oi&e&. Eook0 1hen the IurCan calls the 2eo.le of the Book0 it sa"s0 KH 2eo.le of the BookX 3ome to a 1or& common /et1een us an& "ou.L Ghat is that 1or&Q KEet us not 1orshi. an"thin$ /ut Go&.L Because real free&om is realize& onl" /" /ein$ sa%e& from /ein$ someone elseCs sla%e. ! sla%e to Go& is rescue& from /ein$ a sla%e to an"one else. #o come an& let us unite on this matter. The IurCan continues0 KEet us not take some of us for Eor&s.L :3: *< This means that our .rimar" common .oint is /elief in Go&0 1ithout "et mentionin$ the Messen$ershi. of Muhamma& e%en. An another %erse: K#a" to those 1ho /elie%e: Eet them for$i%e those 1ho ha%e no ho.e for the afterlife.L An other 1or&s0 let them for$i%e those 1ho &o not /elie%e in the afterlife an& resurrection after &eath0 /ecause KGo& onl" re1ar&s or .unishes a .eo.le 1ith 1hat the"Cre earnin$0L :*?:=*< 1hich means if the"Cre $oin$ to /e .unishe&0 Go& 1ill .unish them an& it &oes not concern us. !nother %i%i& [email protected] of this issue is relate& to our 2ro.het in .articular 1ho recei%e& a sli$ht 1arnin$ from Go& re$ar&in$ his .ra" a$ainst some criminal .a$ans. !ccor&in$ to a re.ort0 a Be&ouin !ra/ tri/e reOueste& the Messen$er to sen& them teachers of the IurCan. The Messen$er sent them some0 /ut the" am/ushe& an& cruell" mart"re& them at BiCr al6 Maunah :the 1ell of al6Mauna<. Ghereu.on Go&Cs Messen$er .ra"e& to Go& for their .unishment. 8o1e%er0 Go& re%eale& the %erse0 KNot for "ou0 :/ut for Go&<0 is the Mu&$ment concernin$ M" ser%ants: 1hether 8e turns in merc" to them0 or .unish them /ecause the" are in&ee& 1ron$&oers.L :3:=(>6=(7< To&a" there is an inclination to1ar& reli$ion all o%er the 1orl&. An this res.ect0 it is m" o.inion that reli$ious re.resentation has $aine& e%en $reater im.ortance. To&a" there is nee& for .eo.le 1ho are %irtuous0 self6.ossesse&0 cautious0 sincere an& .ure in heart0 1ho &o not steal or think too much of themsel%es0 an& 1ho .refer othersC 1ell6/ein$ to theirs0 an& ha%e no 1orl&l" [email protected]. Af humankin& can fin& .eo.le 1ith these characteristics0 it means a much /etter future for the 1orl& is imminent.

Ea%iris are the follo1ers of a school of la1 in Aslam. The" are %er" fe1 in num/er. The" a..roach the IurCan an& the #unnah onl" from the .ers.ecti%e of their out1ar& meanin$0 &e%oi& of insi$ht an& .ro.er .erce.tion. :Tr.<

*

T5O (OSES ON THE EME(ALD HILLS? DIALOGUE AND TOLE(ANCE
+ialo$ue means t1o or more .eo.le comin$ to$ether to talk an& meet on certain su/Mects an&0 /" means of this0 to &ra1 closer to one another. From this res.ect0 1e can sa" that &ialo$ue is an acti%it" 1ith a &irect KhumanL a@is. Gith "our .ermission0 it is /eneficial to first /rin$ clarit" to this matter. Githout &ou/t0 e%er" .erson is re1ar&e& accor&in$ to his5her sincerit" an& intention. Af a .ersonCs /eha%ior is .lanne& in the &irection of his5her sincerit" an& intention0 that .erson can $ain e%en 1hile he5she is losin$. An a ha&ith from a soun& source like Bukhari0 Go&Cs Messen$er sa"s0 KGorks are :Mu&$e&< accor&in$ to their intentions0L thus em.hasizin$ that a /elie%erCs intention is more /eneficial than the 1ork itself. Because if an act is /ase& on a $oo& intention0 it 1ill /e $oo& too. From this .ers.ecti%e0 re$ar&less of 1hat a .erson &oes0 he5she shoul& first ha%e a sincere intention an& take into consi&eration Go&Cs a..ro%al. Thus more caution shoul& /e taken not to make an incorrect Mu&$ment or cherish sus.icion re$ar&in$ relationshi.s in &ifferent circles ma&e for the sake of lo%e0 &ialo$ue an& tolerance. !fter this /rief intro&uction A 1oul& like to in&icate that after our .eo.le ha%e recei%e& so man" 1oun&s an& /ruises an& /een re.eate&l" shaken0 A &o not think it can stan& an" ne1 shocks. That is0 if anti6&emocratic forces .ush asi&e sense an& Mu&$ment 1ith the .o1er an& .ossi/ilities the" ha%e at han& an& /ecome a source of trou/le that the nation cannot o%ercome0 then 1e ma" not /e a/le to reco%er a$ain. !s a result of such a misfortune0 this hea%enl" countr" ma" re$ress =?6() "ears. There is the .ro/a/ilit" that 1e mi$ht Kseek /" can&leli$htL some of the thin$s 1e criticize no1. An this res.ect0 actin$ on the .rinci.le in the IurCan0 K2eace is /eneficialL :*: =(7<0 1e shoul& sho1 as much as .ossi/le 1ith the &ialo$ue acti%ities0 /oth insi&e an& outsi&e the countr"0 that 1e are on the si&e of .eace. 2eace is essential to AslamN 1ar is acci&ental an& &e.en&ent on certain reasons an& con&itions. From this an$le0 1e can sa" that unless a .eaceful en%ironment can /e /rou$ht a/out in this countr" in 1hich e%er"one can /e comforta/le0 safe an& secure0 it 1ill not /e .ossi/le for us to make an" .ositi%e contri/ution in the name of our .eo.le an& humanit". !s a countr"0 not fulfillin$ the [email protected] that our histor" an& $eo6.olitical .osition im.ose on us can lea& to a serious loss of .resti$e. The sister an& allie& countriesC .oints of %ie1 re$ar&in$ us an& their [email protected] are not the same to&a" as the" 1ere "ester&a". An that case0 this matter must /e taken u. more seriousl" 1ith merc"0 consi&eration an& $reater insi$ht. I#la+ Mi#u"der#!ood

Af 1e a..roach the matter from a &ifferent an$le0 some of our Muslim .eo.le in our countr" ha%e /een misun&erstoo& from time to time0 an& as a result0 the" ha%e /een su/Mecte& to a num/er of .ressures an& insults. An fact0 1e ha%e 1itnesse& that the" ha%e /een &e.ri%e& of their most natural an& /asic ri$hts0 inclu&in$ their Mo/s. This t".e of o..ression that is &eeme& suita/le for /elie%ers is ma&e in the name of a num/er of moral Oualities or conce.ts ha%e their ori$inal source in Aslam like humanism0 human ri$hts0 $enerosit"0 lo%e an& tolerance. Those &oin$ the o..ression seem to think that onl" the" can /enefit from these conce.ts an& the" are use& a$ainst /elie%in$ .eo.le. The accusations ma&e for the /elie%ers are not true /ecause a Muslim cannot /e /i$ote&. De$ar&less of ho1 man" .eo.le like that a..eare& from amon$ Muslims0 it cannot /e thou$ht that a Muslim can /e intolerant. Until no1 1ho ha%e Muslims harme& an& 1hat e%il has come from them an& to 1homQ 8o1e%er0 in s.ite of this much $oo& 1ill0 some ha%e al1a"s .ut them in the 1ron$ si&e of the scale an& trie& to 1ei$h them 1ith the 1ron$ set of 1ei$htsN in the name of lo%e0 tolerance0 free&om an& &emocrac" the" ha%e /een ma&e into a tar$et /oar& for accusers. An return0 althou$h Muslims ha%e /een su/Mecte& to such ill6treatment0 the" ha%e not &one an"thin$ harmful to an"one an& ha%e /een content 1ith ans1erin$ the accusations &irecte& to them. Ghereas one se$ment has continuall" attacke& them. Beaut" has al1a"s $ushe& from the .ure an& u.ri$ht s.irits of the Muslims an& from the sacre& an& su/lime sources in their han&s. At coul& not ha%e /een an" other 1a" /ecause neither in the IurCan nor the #unnah nor the .ure tra&ition /eOueathe& to us /" the ri$hteous .re&ecessors is there an" la1 or attitu&e o..ose& to or for/i&&in$ lo%e0 tolerance0 or &ialo$ue. At is not .ossi/le to think that a reli$ion that 1ants the /est for e%er"one an& calls e%er"one0 1ith no [email protected] to sal%ation coul& /e an" &ifferent. An these %erses ho1 /eautifull" the IurCan [email protected] these truths0 KBut if "ou for$i%e an& o%erlook an& co%er6u. :their faults<0 %eril" Go& is the !ll6For$i%in$ an& the !ll6Merciful.L : *:=*< KGo& for/i&s "ou not0 1ith re$ar& to those 1ho fi$ht "ou not for :"our< faith nor &ri%e "ou out of "our homes0 from &ealin$ kin&l" an& Mustl" 1ith them.L : ):7< KTell those 1ho /elie%e0 to for$i%e those 1ho &o not look for1ar& to the +a"s of Go&: At is for 8im to recom.ense :for $oo& or ill< each .eo.le accor&in$ to 1hat the" ha%e earne&.L :*?:=*< Ghen 1e consi&er the essence of the IurCan0 it can /e seen that the IurCan is /ase& on lo%e. From this %ie10 /elie%in$ /reasts shoul& stan& u. a$ain for these /eautiful thin$s that are ours an"1a". The ne$ati%e Muslim ima$e that has /een .um.e& u. of late must /e chan$e& an& the real face of Aslam must once a$ain /e [email protected]& to con%ince those 1ho are Kci%ilize&.L See*i"& God%# Appro0al Anfinite thanks /e to Go&0 Gho is nurturin$ us 1ith /lessin$s. Throu$hout the four corners of the 1orl&0 .eo.le of truth an& heroes of lo%e0 /" actin$ on these truths0 are carr"in$ messa$es of lo%e0 tolerance an& &ialo$ue 1ith e%er"one. A 1ant to un&erline this truth once more. Muslims 1ill lose nothin$ throu$h &ialo$ue0 lo%e an& tolerance. !n"1a"0 the" are can&i&ates for the $reatest $ain R Go&Cs a..ro%al. From this .oint of %ie10 1hat some see as loss are $ains for Muslims0 an& 1hat the" call .rofit can /e loss. An a&&ition0 1e ha%e no &ou/t a/out Aslam0 its sacre& /ook the IurCan an& its most .erfect an& honora/le re.resentati%e0 the 2ri&e of 8umankin&0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. Ge kno1 that in s.ite of all the o/stacles0 it 1ill certainl" march into the future. The IurCan0 1hich has all its issues an& .rinci.les confirme& /" the intelli$ence0 is .o1erful enou$h to satisf" all le%els of un&erstan&in$ an& s.iritualit". De$ar&in$ the 2rince of 2ro.hets0 Bernar& #ha1 sai&0 K8e sol%es all .ro/lems as easil" as &rinkin$ coffee.L !n"1a" he 1as sent to sol%e humankin&Cs .ro/lems. Ge shoul& not /e 1orrie& a/out an"thin$0 /ecause 1e /elie%e that the enli$htenin$ &eclarations of the IurCan an& our 2ro.het can cure e%er" trou/le. The im.ortant thin$ is to un&erstan& 1ell the

%alua/le resources in our han&s an& to use them .ro.erl". Eet us not use them for mistakes or e$oistical an& 1orl&l" &esires. Eet us en$a$e them onl" for Go&Cs a..ro%al an& the afterlife.

NOT CLOSING THE DOO( OF DIALOGUE
To&a" 1ith the $race of Go&0 a %er" 1arm &ialo$ue has /e$un amon$ the in&i%i&uals0 $rou.s an& communities makin$ u. this nation. An m" o.inion0 it is a/solutel" necessar" to continue it0 in fact0 carr"in$ it to further .oints. Eook aroun& "ou. There are man" .eo.le "ou commen& an& res.ect. These .eo.le0 once at %ariance 1ith one another0 are much ahea& in em/racin$ others of those amon$ us 1ho cham.ionize &ialo$ue. Then 1h" &o not 1e sho1 as much tolerance to those amon$ us as 1e &o to the othersQ These .eo.le ha%e remaine& locke& in their .ersonal i&eas for "ears. Githout feelin$ the nee& to in%esti$ate an" further0 the" acce.te& their o1n %ie1s an& thou$hts as the a/solute truth an& o..ose& other %ie1s. Moreo%er0 some of them /ecame lea&ers an& took their thou$hts to the .eo.le0 lea&in$ masses in their &irection. No1 after the 1in&s of chan$e that ha%e occurre& in the 1orl&0 these .eo.le ha%e /ecome like fi@e& stars. Hf course0 it is not .ossi/le for them to imme&iatel" fore$o their i&eas an& a.olo$ize /efore the masses. For this reason0 their at least takin$ othersC %ie1s into consi&eration shoul& /e acce.te& as a %er" im.ortant &e%elo.ment. Af in this .art of time an& s.ace Go& has /lesse& us 1ith the .ossi/ilit" of &ialo$ue0 then 1e &o not ha%e the ri$ht to 1illin$l" close that &oor.

SPO(TS AND THE P(OCESS OF DIALOGUE
Gith the [email protected] of communication net1orks in the 1orl&0 it is a fact that the conce.ts of &emocrac"0 .eace0 &ialo$ue0 an& tolerance ha%e also s.rea& an& /een taken seriousl". An or&er for these conce.ts to /ecome more 1i&es.rea& an& for all .eo.le to /enefit from them0 a num/er of res.onsi/ilities fall to e%er"one as /oth in&i%i&uals an& societies. Hne im.ortant source of .o1er an& means of communication that can influence societ" re$ar&in$ this matter is 1ithout &ou/t s.orts. B%er"thin$ .ertainin$ to s.orts is imme&iatel" transmitte& from one si&e of the 1orl& to the other. For the sake of the 1ell6/ein$ of /oth our o1n .eo.le an& humanit"0 the i&eas of &ialo$ue an& tolerance that 1e /elie%e are so essential shoul& /e ma&e kno1n to e%er"one /" this means in a&&ition to others. An foot/all0 for [email protected] the 4) minutes that are s.ent in the fiel& coul& /e utilize& %er" 1ell. The &esire& .erformance &urin$ the $ame can $i%e .leasure to s.ectators in the stan&s an&0 1ithout an"oneCs o/Mectin$0 a num/er of human %irtues can easil" /e &is.la"e&. At certainl" is most im.ortant to utilize the 4) minutes in this 1a". For [email protected] as 1as formerl" &one in s.orts0 1inners an& losers shoul& come to$ether0 em/race0 shake han&s an& ra&iate $entlemanliness all aroun& them. Their actin$ like this 1ill in time /e reflecte& /" the .eo.le in the stan&s. This 1ill /e an im.ortant lesson to those here an& there 1ho /urn their seats0 curse each other0 from time to time attack each other 1ith kni%es an& 1ho 1ant to see an& sho1 this .rofession in a form &e%oi& of $oo& feelin$s an& thou$hts. B%en if to&a"Cs s.ectators look &o1n u.on shakin$ han&s /efore lea%in$ the sta&ium0 in time the /eha%ior of the .la"ers 1oul& /reak the hate an& %en$efulness or at least neutralize it. !t this moment the 1orl& nee&s this %er" /a&l". Both internall" an& e@ternall" certain .eo.le ha%e [email protected] from fi$htin$ an& an en%ironment of fi$htin$0 so the" are not $oin$ to 1ant &ialo$ue an& human relationshi.s to im.ro%e. For this reason0 1e shoul& act %er" cautiousl". An e%er" Mo/ that is &one0 &e.th an& sincerit" shoul& /e sou$ht an& reason an& $oo& Mu&$ment shoul& take .riorit". An a&&ition0 e%er" .rofession shoul& /e $i%en its &ue an& /eha%ior shoul& /e accor&in$l". !n imam :Muslim .ra"er6lea&er< uses his %oice in the mosOue0 /ut a motion .icture or theater artist or the author of a /ook &oes not act in that 1a". The artist $i%es .rece&ence to /o&" lan$ua$e or actin$ a/ilit" an& the author to 1ritin$ st"le an& .uttin$ &o1n his5her i&eas in a literar" 1a". This is the 1a" it shoul& /eN other1ise0 the im.act of the messa$e an& its effect 1ill &iminish an& the messa$e 1ill not ha%e an" /enefit. The same thin$ is true for s.orts. ! s.ortsman shoul& sho1 himself throu$h his success0 $entlemanliness0 an& lifest"le.

Unfortunatel"0 to&a" the im.ortance of some %alues is not .ercei%e&. 2eo.le ha%e more nee& of reli$ion0 the .eace an& securit" it $i%es0 an& the $uarantee of an afterlife0 than the" &o of /rea& an& 1ater0 an& A /elie%e that 1hen these are [email protected]& .ro.erl"0 the" 1ill &efinitel" /e acce.te&. There are man" .eo.le throu$hout the 1orl& 1ho 1ant to &o somethin$ in the name of Aslam. But 1hen the" a..roach this im.ortant su/Mect 1ith a cru&e metho&0 the" a1aken hate instea& of lo%e0 an& un/ri&$ea/le a/"sses a..ear /et1een .eo.le. Ghereas 1hat is [email protected]& an& nee&e& is that Aslam /e a /ri&$e an& a roa& /et1een .eo.le an& a factor that /reaches a/"sses. Af 1e &o not res.on& to those 1ho are e@ten&in$ their han&s to [email protected] their lo%e an& res.ect in %arious 1a"s0 1e 1ill /ecome unlo%a/le. An fact0 1e 1ill cause some un&esira/le ne$ati%e &e%elo.ments. An summar"0 1e can sa" that an im.ortant factor in realizin$ social &ialo$ue an& tolerance like s.orts shoul& /e utilize& %er" 1isel".

TOLE(ANCE AND THE MEDIA
First of all0 A 1oul& like to .oint out that A &o not look as .essimisticall" as others at the me&ia that e%er"one com.lains a/out. !ctuall"0 in recent "ears the me&ia reflects the feelin$s of our .eo.le in /oth $oo& an& /a& res.ects. From this .ers.ecti%e it is Ouite normal for there to /e mistakes. An fact0 for "ears one $rou. of them has not /een a/le to acce.t the merits an& %irtues of those 1ho ha%e 1orke& an& stri%en in the name of this countr"Cs a&%ancement an& esta/lishe& &ifferent institutions for the societ"Cs /enefit. This $rou. has &one e%er"thin$ to /lacken the othersC success an& the" ha%e fou$ht a$ainst these $oo& Oualities. B%en thou$h the late 2resi&ent Tur$ut Özal ? s.oke a/out serious efforts to .rotect &emocratic ri$hts an& free&om0 an& in s.ite of human %alues scorin$ certain successes0 these efforts an& successes 1ere not follo1e& throu$h. This su/Mect reOuires more serious an& lon$6ran$e efforts /ecause it is not .ossi/le to sho1 =))P chan$e contrar" to human nature. For this reason0 it must /e %er" &ifficult to .ull out from the .eo.leCs hearts an un&erstan&in$ or Oualit" that has /een en$ra%e& in their K/loo& an& %einsL for "ears. Thus0 in m" o.inion0 not e%er"thin$ is /a& re$ar&in$ the me&ia that0 like the societ"0 has /een nurture& 1ith a 1ar.e& un&erstan&in$0 feelin$s an& i&eas. Finall"0 a maMorit" of the me&ia an& es.eciall" their mana$ement staff are [email protected]$ this 1hen the" sa"0 KDeli$ion 1as not intro&uce& an& tau$ht to us. Ge are $enerations raise& far remo%e& from reli$ion an& reli$ionCs s.iritual atmos.hereN 1e 1ere raise& in a %acuum.L B%en this &e$ree of .ositi%e &e%elo.ment can /e consi&ere& as a /eautiful fruit of tolerance an& &ialo$ue. !s A [email protected]& a/o%e0 A am in fact rather ho.eful a/out the me&iaCs future. For the" see 1ith certaint"0 in this ra.i&l" &iminishin$ 1orl&0 that re$ar&less of an in&i%i&ualCs .ersonal %ie10 e%er"one has to li%e to$ether an& that this 1ill /e one of the most im.ortant issues in the "ears to come. For this reason0 this .rocess shoul& /e s.ee&e& u. 1ith more tolerance an& &ialo$ue0 an& /oth the .eo.les an& $o%ernments shoul& .re.are their future 1orl&. #econ&l"0 1e shoul& feel as comforta/le in s.rea&in$ the air of &ialo$ue an& tolerance in the outsi&e 1orl&0 as 1e are here in our countr". +e%elo.ments like $lo/alization0 the 3ustoms Union or enterin$ the Buro.ean Union 1ill not make us lose an"thin$ from our reli$ion0 .iet"0 %alues or culture
Tur$ut Özal :=4(>6=443<. Turkish 2rime Minister an& 2resi&ent. Famous for his reforms in the Turkish econom" an& social6.olitical life. 8e /ecame 2rime Minister in =473 an& 2resi&ent in =44). 8e &ie& in =443 1hile he 1as the 2resi&ent.
?

/ecause 1e are content 1ith them. Ge ha%e not an atom of a &ou/t that the IurCan can sol%e our .ro/lems /ecause it is /ase& on &i%ine re%elation. For this reason0 if an"one shoul& /e afrai&0 it is those 1ho .ersist in li%in$ remote from the resuscitatin$ atmos.here of the IurCan. Because the s"stem the" see themsel%es /elon$ to &oes not ans1er their nee&s0 these .eo.le are seekin$ alternati%e 1a"s of thinkin$. Thinkin$0 KGhat 1ill ha..en to us if this search takes humankin& to Aslam0L the" are afrai& of an& feel an@iet" to1ar&s their o1n .eo.le. An fact0 1e can sa" that this thou$ht lies /ehin& their an$er. The me&ia has a %er" im.ortant &ut" in humanit"Cs /ein$ a/le to li%e in a .eaceful societ" 1here there is res.ect for human ri$hts an& free&om an& 1here one se$ment of societ" is not .la"e& off a$ainst another. !lso the me&ia has an im.ortant role in s.ee&in$ u. the acti%ities of tolerance an& &ialo$ue an& in su..ortin$ all &emocratic &e%elo.ments. A /elie%e that in a near future our me&ia 1ill full" take on these %er" im.ortant &uties an& /rin$ them to life.

BEING HE(OES OF TOLE(ANCE
!s .eo.le 1ho are set on the ha..iness of .eo.le in /oth 1orl&s0 if onl" 1e coul& /e tolerant in a..roachin$ our &omestic .ro/lems 1hile tr"in$ to s.rea& tolerance in the other climates. This is essential to /ein$ a true hero of tolerance. To /e$in 1ith0 /eha%in$ like this &oes not mean restrictin$ tolerance to a small circle. Hn the contrar"0 1e inten& to en&ea%or for &ialo$ue an& tolerance to em/race all .eo.le in 1a%es from the smallest circle to the /roa&est. An the future0 those 1ho are far 1ill /ecome close0 an& the 1orl& 1ill /ecome a small %illa$e. For this reason0 it a..ears to /e inesca.a/le that no matter 1hether /ein$ Muslim0 3hristian0 Je10 Bu&&hist or atheist0 all .eo.les 1ill esta/lish relations 1ith one another an& tr" an& fin& a /asis for &ialo$ue an& un&erstan&in$. But /efore an"thin$ else the continuation of this .rocess &e.en&s on a$reement an& reconciliation 1ith .eo.le 1ho share the same .rinci.les an& thou$hts. Githout causin$ further .ro/lems an& sol%in$ the e@istin$ ones0 it is im.ossi/le to /e a/le to s.rea& tolerance an& &ialo$ue. !ctuall" there 1ere .ro/lems from time to time amon$ the 3om.anions0 /ut the im.ortant thin$ is to sol%e a .ro/lem /efore it $i%es rise to ne1 com.lications. !n !ra/ian .oet sa"s: KUntil no1 A ha%e /een close to "ou. From no1 on A 1ant m" house to /e far a1a" so that A can .rotect m" closeness 1ith "ou.L This can /e un&erstoo& to mean0 Kas lon$ as m" house is close0 A am not $oin$ to /e close to "ou. Ge 1ill /e face to face0 /ut internall" A 1ill feel &istant. For this reason A am $oin$ to mo%e a little far a1a" so that A can maintain our closeness.L This is relate& to the i&ea A mentione& a little earlier. An other 1or&s0 no matter ho1 much &istance is /et1een those 1ho are far from each other0 /ecause the" cannot harm or hurt each other0 the" can al1a"s esta/lish closeness 1ith each other. For this reason0 the im.ortant thin$ is to /e a/le to .rotect closeness un&er the same roof in s.ite of e%er" kin& of .ro/lem. An m" o.inion0 this makes the real hero of tolerance. Gith "our .ermission0 A 1oul& like to mention an [email protected] from the !$e of 8a..iness. Hne &a" an ar$ument took .lace /et1een !/u Bakr an& VUmar. !/u Bakr ma&e VUmar an$r"0 an& VUmar left an$ril". !/u Bakr 1ent an& aske& VUmar to e@cuse him0 /ut VUmar &i& not res.on&. !/u Bakr 1ent to the 2ro.het0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s0 an& relate& the inci&ent to him. ! little later VUmar came as 1ell0 an& he also /riefl" tol& 1hat ha..ene&. !t that moment !/u Bakr sai&0 KH Messen$er of Go&0 A am m 1ron$. VUmar 1as ri$ht.L The 2ro.het turne& to VUmar an& sai&0 K#houl& "ou not

ha%e left m" frien& to meQ Ghen A sai&0 VH .eo.le0 1ithout &ou/t A am a Messen$er sent to all of "ou /" Go&0C e%er"one of "ou contra&icte& me [email protected] !/u Bakr. 8e sai&0 V,ou s.oke the truth.CL At is al1a"s natural for some .ro/lems to arise amon$ .eo.le &ue to their natures0 e%en the 3om.anions of the 2ro.het. But as seen in the a/o%e [email protected] the im.ortant thin$ is to accommo&ate the .ro/lem 1ithout enlar$in$ it an& to melt it &o1n in the atmos.here of tolerance.

TO5A(DS GLOBAL TOLE(ANCE

#ee the footnote: **.

NE5 5O(LD O(DE(@A
B%er"one takes u. this matter an& e%aluates it 1ith &ifferent a..roaches accor&in$ to their o1n thou$hts. This is Ouite natural. For [email protected] .eo.le 1ho ha%e suffere& from an internationalism &isa$reea/le for man" mi$ht acce.t chau%inism as a form of sal%ation an& incline to1ar&s it. !s a matter of fact0 to&a" in !sia almost e%er" nation0 1ith the consi&eration of turnin$ to1ar&s its ancient histor"0 is turnin$ to1ar&s its o1n %alues to the &e$ree that it sees itself as nationalistic. An %ie1 of the .resent situation it is .ossi/le to e%aluate the chan$es in the Dussians0 the Uz/eks0 the Kazaks0 an& others in this 1a". To&a" there are a num/er of chan$es 1ith similar meanin$s in other .laces in the 1orl&. !s lon$ as these Kchan$esL an& K&e%elo.mentsL &o not &o an"one else harm0 the" can /e seen as normal. 8o1e%er0 /" fin&in$ a 1a" an& metho& to make these more /eneficial0 it is .ossi/le to .re%ent later human sufferin$ from occurrin$. #ome of these &e%elo.ments are follo1in$ a reli$ion6/ase& course. An relation to these it is .ossi/le to mention /oth or$anize& an& unor$anize& acti%ities in %arious .arts of the 1orl&. Unlike the others0 the" a..roach e%er" matter 1ith the .rinci.le that Kreli$ion is /asic.L !n& naturall" the" 1ant to e%aluate to&a"Cs unsettle& situation in line 1ith their o1n 1a" of thinkin$ an& /rin$ .eo.le to the .osition necessitate& /" reli$ion. An the meantime0 from their o1n .ers.ecti%e it is normal that the .o1ers that ha%e [email protected]& the 1orl& man" times are attem.tin$ to take a&%anta$e of this .erio& of restructurin$. As there full a$reement amon$ these .o1ersQ Hf course not. 8o1e%er0 it is 1i&el" /elie%e& that the" are tr"in$ as much as .ossi/le to come to$ether an& reach a$reement. !s is kno1n0 Britain 1ill not think %er" &ifferentl" on this matter from !merica. !lthou$h the" .ut out a small &ifference of o.inion re$ar&in$ the #araMe%o issue0 the British are no1 follo1in$ !mericaCs line also. #ometimes France a..ears to ha%e &ifferent %ie1s0 /ut that &eri%es more from their tr"in$ to $et their share in the ne1 structure an& formation rather than a &ifference in %ie1. These &a"s0 of course0 amon$ the once o..resse& countries there are those 1ho are more uncomforta/le than others.

This %er" im.ortant s.eech 1as ma&e as ans1er to a Ouestion a/out the Ne1 Gorl& Hr&er in =44?. At is hi$hl" interestin$ that 1hate%er 1as s.oken is .ro%in$ to /e true as time .asses. :Tr.<

>

An a&&ition0 there are some countries that it is &ifficult to tell 1hether the" are comforta/le 1ith the ne1 or&er or uncomforta/le. At is Ouite &ifficult to un&erstan& the situation of these countries Must like there are some &iseases that are har& to &ia$nose. !t the same time0 the" are not [email protected]$ a share of the $eneral a&%anta$es. An fact0 it is not o/%ious 1hat the" 1ant ri$ht no1. At is also necessar" to take note of the internal chan$e that e%er" countr" is [email protected]$. Hf course0 the manifestation of this [email protected] 1ill %ar" accor&in$ to the countr"0 an& it is im.ossi/le to consi&er an& anal"ze all of them se.aratel". Af "ou like0 let us make a fe1 .oints a/out [email protected] in our o1n countr" an& then mo%e on. Hur societ" is .ru&ent an& %i$ilantN one &a" it 1ill assure&l" listen to its intuition an& conscience an&0 a&o.tin$ the chan$e most suita/le to its nature0 it 1ill realize this chan$e. This situation /ein$ surmise&0 man" &ifferences in thou$ht ha%e emer$e& in our countr". 8o.efull" those 1ho .ossess all these &ifferent %ie1s an& thou$hts are sincere in 1hat the" sa" an& 1ant to &o. An this /roa& s.ectrum some &ifferences in line an& motif are Ouite normal an&0 in fact0 in one res.ect the" shoul& /e acce.te& as /eneficial. Af "ou like0 after these $eneral remarks 1e can /riefl" consi&er the matter technicall". The &esire& 1orl& cannot /e esta/lishe& /" 1ar an& s.illin$ /loo&. Nor 1ill camoufla$in$ acti%ities of a$$ression an& occu.ation 1ill "iel& .ositi%e results. For this reason0 it is /eneficial to re.eat clearl" an& .recisel" once a$ain that an" /alance of .o1er that is ma&e /" usin$ force 1ill colla.se in the shortest .erio& of time0 an& those 1ho 1ere res.onsi/le for it 1ill /e the first to /e /urie& un&er the &e/ris. A think 1e ha%e seen that0 in this sense0 Korea0 Fietnam0 the Gulf an& #omali are some of the most strikin$ [email protected]. [email protected] of reaction are $oin$ to /e e%en more %iolent in the future. The s"m.ath" amon$ Muslim .eo.les in the Muslim 1orl& 1hich 1as once felt for the lea&ers of the free 1orl& 1ill slo1l" melt an& anti.ath" 1ill take its .lace. At a..ears that if the ne1 1orl& or&er is foun&e& u.on [email protected] or im.licit [email protected] /" force instea& of &emocrac" an& full enMo"ment of /asic human ri$hts an& free&oms0 this anti.ath" 1ill continue in increasin$ &imensions. Hur ancestors sai&0 Kthe 1ater Mu$ 1ill /reak on the .ath to the 1ell.L Those 1ho ha%e $aine& a .osition /" &estro"in$ somethin$ 1ill themsel%es colla.se an& lose that .osition later on. Af to&a" 1e look all aroun& us an& take into consi&eration the re.etition of histor"0 1e 1ill /e a/le to see more clearl" 1hat is a1aitin$ us tomorro1. B%en if the 1orl& is not in a .rocess of rene1al as it is sho1n to /e to&a"0 it &efinitel" is in a .rocess of reconstruction. Ghen the a..ro.riate season arri%es0 this reconstruction certainl" 1ill /e realize&. Ghen this ha..ens0 instea& of a 1orl& knea&e& 1ith malice an& hatre&0 a sur.risin$ 1orl& sha.e& in a climate of lo%e0 tolerance an& for/earance 1ill a..ear /efore us. The collecti%e conscience 1ill $la&l" 1elcome it an& .lace in its heart those 1ho ha%e a share in sha.in$ it. These .eo.le 1ill lea%e .ermanent traces an&0 e%en if the" themsel%es ha%e left this 1orl&0 their traces 1ill continue for centuries. A /elie%e 1ith m" 1hole heart that 1hat shoul& /e &one to&a" is this kin& of ser%ice to humanit"0 an& it is onl" throu$h such 1ork that &reams fra$rant 1ith s.rin$ 1ill /e realize&. For this reason0 instea& of efforts that are .assin$0 seasonal an& hol& no ho.e for the future0 A recommen& this t".e of acti%it" that is lastin$ an& full" /eneficial. !s lon$ as A am ali%e A 1ill not hesitate to re.eat the same recommen&ations.

DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIBATIONS
The &e%elo.ment of a ne1 ci%ilization is not a matter /ase& onl" on the choice an& 1ill of .eo.le. Hn the contrar"0 it is a Ouestion of e@chan$e of i&eas an& cultures amon$ ci%ilizations /" %arious means throu$h time. Because e%er" societ"0 after li%in$ a kin& of .rimiti%e .erio&0 later .asses to an era of kno1le&$e. An this .erio&0 it either recei%es rea&" sources like .ro&ucts of re%elation such as the Hl& an& Ne1 Testaments an& the IurCan or in time it $ains a num/er of moral an& social la1s0 rules an& .rinci.les. !fter this .hase it attains a ne1 &imension /" mi@in$ an& unitin$ 1ith others throu$h in%asion0 occu.ation an& conOuest. 8o1e%er0 an" reli$ion can .ut some .rohi/itions an& rules re$ar&in$ these matters0 1hich can ser%e to .ut the /rakes on this kin& of union. For [email protected] althou$h the Je1s ha%e s.rea& all o%er the 1orl&0 Ju&aism has remaine& a national reli$ion to certain e@tents. B%en if in s.ite of this there are su..orters of Ju&aism0 no serious $raftin$ took .lace from other cultures /ecause it has strictl" hel& on to its frame1ork. But e%en thou$h the Messiah 1as sent to the same tri/e an& his mission 1as limite& to it0 3hristianit" a..eare& 1ith a uni%ersal claim an& from this .ers.ecti%e it [email protected]& $reat chan$e in man" areas from the un&erstan&in$ of reli$ion to reli$ious ceremonies. An these chan$es 3hristianit" 1as influence& /" reli$ions that 1ere .re%alent /efore it. Thus0 1hether nations are a1are of it or not0 chan$es in thou$ht ha%e al1a"s occurre& like this in the %ie1s an& cultures of ci%ilizations. An this res.ect it is rather &ifficult to se.arate the /or&ers of ci%ilizations in the manner of the territorial or national /or&ers. This e@chan$e /et1een ci%ilizations took .lace &urin$ the Httoman .erio& as 1ell. Because in that .erio& the Httoman state ha& s.rea& out o%er an area of (( million sOuare kilometers at its 1i&est .oint 1ith a/out )6>) million su/Mects of 1hich onl" == million 1ere .ure Turkish. 3ertainl" a serious e@chan$e took .lace amon$ cultures &urin$ this [email protected]. Thus 1e ha%e a rich herita$e to&a" from the B"zantine0 Eatin0 8un an& 8ittite cultures an& the #elMuki an& Httoman /elief0 moralit" an& life st"les. An this res.ect0 if those 1ho are ima$inin$ a ne1 1orl& /ase& on lo%e0 com.assion0 tolerance0 &ialo$ue an& /asic human ri$ht an& free&oms 1oul& use these &"namics as resources0 the" coul& fin& a $reat man" /orro1in$s from our .ast ci%ilizations an& from our current &ail" life. !ctuall" Aslam is not o..ose& to these mutual /orro1in$s. For [email protected] &urin$ the rei$n of the 3ali.h VUthman 1hen Muslims entere& the B"zantine cit" of +amascus0 man" /i$ chan$es

took .lace in their li%es from the thin$s the" ate an& &rank to li%in$ in .alaces. At is .ro/a/le that /ecause these chan$es &i& not .ose a serious &an$er or /ecause the" 1ere not &an$erous accor&in$ to the /asic Aslamic rules0 the" 1ere acce.te& /" the societ" of that &a". #ince Aslam is a uni%ersal reli$ion that em/races e%er"one0 it lea%es intact customs that are not com.letel" contrar" to it. B%en thou$h from time to time there has /een some reaction to some &es.otic .ractices seen in a&ministration 1hich 1ere in imitation of other settle& states or em.ires0 in $eneral a num/er of ci%ilize& %ie1s an& un&erstan&in$ of culture an& life /e$an to circulate amon$ Muslims 1a" /ack then. For this reason0 if in the future ne1 &e%elo.ments are $oin$ to occur in the name of a ne1 ci%ilization0 the" 1ill take .lace 1ithin a natural .rocess. Because 1e are not $oin$ to ha%e the .o1er to se.arate thin$s that ha%e entere& our culture an& sa"0 Klet us lea%e this in .lace0 let us a/an&on this or kee. that.L An s.ite of us some thin$s 1ill continue to li%e0 an& amon$ these thin$s0 e%en if 1e &o not kno1 it0 there 1ill al1a"s /e thin$s carr"in$ the stam. of ma"/e B"zantine0 Doman0 Greek or some other cultures. The im.ortant thin$ here is to /e careful in that the thin$s 1e $et from other cultures0 in res.ect to the /asic rules of our moralit" an& culture0 shoul& not /e of the t".e that 1ill .ush societ" into conflict an& &e.ression. Ge /elie%e that0 sooner or later0 /" means of resuscitatin$ /reaths of &ialo$ue an& tolerance0 1e 1ill reach a ci%ilization of kno1le&$e0 affection0 lo%e0 com.assion an& merc" that 1ill ena/le humankin& to li%e another $ol&en a$e in its sha&e.

(EGA(DING THE INFO(MATION AGE AND THE CLASH OF CIVILIBATIONS@/
!s in the .ast0 to&a" some conMectures are /ein$ ma&e a/out the future. Hne of these is the claim re$ar&in$ the future /ein$ an a$e of information. Those &iscussin$ the future are /asicall" futurists. There are man" 1ho see these kin&s of conMectures as oracles of the secon& millennium. Dather than o/Mecti%e e%aluations0 some of the claims ma&e relate& to the future in terms of historical c"cles are an effort to &e%elo. i&eas aroun& some s.ecial 1ishes or &esires an& &o not carr" an" more %alue than an" other .ro/a/ilit". An other 1or&s0 A think that as a result of these claims0 .eo.le form [email protected] Must like the" [email protected] an ans1er to a .ra"er. Thus0 1hile sa"in$ that the [email protected] .ro&uce& /" these t".es of claims that Kthe future 1ill /e like thisL $i%es /irth to certain efforts in that &irection0 the" e%entuall" /ecome a $oal an& .ur.ose. Hnce the $oal has /een &etermine&0 &ifferent strate$ies an& .olicies 1ill /e .ro&uce& to reach that $oal an& efforts 1ill /e ma&e to fulfill it. A think this is the cru@ of the matter. To$ether 1ith this0 there is an e@tension of the .ro.hetic mission of our 2ro.het u. until to&a" throu$h the line of re.resentati%es like Muh"i&&in i/n al6V!ra/i0 Amam Ghazali0 Amam Da//ani0 Ma1lana 8ali& an& Be&iüzzaman. Ge ho.e that the function of this fortunate line of transmission is to .re.are a foun&ation for the re/irth of the .ro.hetic s.irit in the "ears to come0 an&0 in this res.ect0 this s.irit 1ill li%e a$ain. Hf course0 the 2ro.het 1ill not /e there0 /ut Aslam0 in the .ure un&erstan&in$ of the 3om.anions0 is e%er6rea&" to $reet life once a$ain. 2uttin$ all this asi&e0 /ecause humanit" li%es in a 1orl& 1here causalit" an& certain other la1s are o.erati%e0 1hen the" act 1ithout takin$ them into consi&eration0 the" 1ill fall into &eterminism. 8o1e%er0 Muslims0 /" usin$ their 1ill0 shoul& consi&er the causes so carefull" that someone lookin$ from the outsi&e 1oul& think that the" are Must actin$ accor&in$ to the la1 of causalit". Hn the other han&0 re$ar&in$ the results the" shoul& /e so com.letel" su/mitte& to an& trustin$ in Go&Cs 1ill that
Eike the .oints stresse& in the article title& Ne1 Gorl& Hr&er0 the .oints ma&e in this article 1hich came in =44 as ans1er to a Ouestion relate& to 8untin$tonCs assertions are hi$hl" si$nificant an& realistic. The e%ents that ha%e taken .lace since then ha%e esta/lishe& their truth. :Tr.<
7

someone lookin$ from the outsi&e 1oul& think the" com.letel" reMect causes. !ctin$ in this 1a" sho1s that0 on the one han&0 causes are %er" im.ortant an& e%er"thin$ humanit" &oes shoul& &efinitel" /e .lanne& aroun& them an& .ut into effect accor&in$l". Hn the other han&0 1hile &oin$ this0 &ue to their fear of fallin$ into associatin$ .artners 1ith Go& the !lmi$ht"0 the" shoul& kno1 that success is not from themsel%es /ut &irectl" from Go&. !fter &eterminin$ the matter in this 1a"0 1e can summarize our thou$hts re$ar&in$ the future in the follo1in$ 1a". An the future e%er"thin$ is $oin$ to /e in the or/it of kno1le&$e0 an& the horizons 1e ha%e &arkene& for a .erio& 1ith our ne$lect 1ill once more /e enli$htene&. To a lar$e &e$ree 1e ha%e es.eciall" ne$lecte& the scientific kno1le&$e of the *6? th centur" !8 /ase& on the IurCan an& turne& our /acks on %er" im.ortant &"namics that coul& kee. us on our feet. 2ersonall" A ha%e al1a"s /een sa& that the ma&rassas :schools 1ere reli$ious sciences are tau$ht< thre1 out #ufism 1hich can /e calle& AslamCs s.iritual life. Eater their &ecrease of interest in the [email protected] sciences an& the e%entual [email protected] of these contri/ute& to our fallin$ far /ehin& of the scientificall" &e%elo.e& countries. #o the ne$lect 1e sho1e& in the .ast shoul& /e ma&e u. an& our tomorro1s 1ill /e /uilt on kno1le&$e an& e%er"thin$ 1ill $et its stren$th an& .o1er from kno1le&$e. Kno1le&$e 1ill occu." a %er" im.ortant .lace in a 1orl& that is ra.i&l" /ecomin$ smaller an& in an era 1hen time an& s.ace are shrinkin$. The im.ortant .oint here is 1hether or not 1e 1ill /e rea&" for such a 1orl&. To&a" there are man" scientists in the 1orl& in &ifferent countries /ut0 in m" hum/le o.inion0 all to$ether the" are not enou$h to esta/lish a ne10 ha.." 1orl&. For this reason0 to&a" there is a nee& for a ne1 1a" of thinkin$0 a ne1 a..roach to sciences0 a ne1 life .hiloso.h" an& ne1 e&ucational institutions. Ne1 $enerations shoul& /e mo/ilize& in e%er" .erio& of their li%es0 from the kin&er$artens to hi$h schools an& from there to uni%ersities. #ince e%er"thin$ 1ill $et its .o1er from kno1le&$e in the future0 it is onl" .ossi/le to /uil& kno1le&$e for the future 1ith this kin& of effort. Hu"!i"&!o"%# A##er!io"# De$ar&in$ 8untin$tonCs claim a/out the clash of ci%ilizations0 A think that rather than realistic e%aluations re$ar&in$ the future0 these t".es of claims seem to me as &eterminin$ ne1 $oals in an attem.t to influence .u/lic o.inion 1ithin the frame1ork of these $oals. Until the &isinte$ration of the #o%iet Block0 there 1as the i&ea of clash /et1een the Bast an& Gest or N!TH6Garsa1 2act. This time /" /rin$in$ a/out ne1 enem" fronts0 a clash /et1een ci%ilizations /ase& on reli$ious an& cultural &ifferences is /ein$ .re.are& an& a ne1 foun&ation is /ein$ lai& for the continuation of the rule of the /locks in .o1er. !ctuall" until no1 conflict has /een somethin$ &esire& /" certain centers of .o1er. The masses ha%e /een .ut on alarm a$ainst a freOuentl" conMecture& an& feare& enem" that is more ima$inar" than real0 an& in this manner the masses ha%e /een .re.are& for e%er" kin& of 1ar. An truth0 no &i%ine reli$ion 1as e%er /ase& on conflict0 1hether it /e the reli$ions re.resente& /" Moses an& Jesus0 or the reli$ion re.resente& /" Muhamma&0 u.on them /e .eace. Hn the contrar"0 these reli$ions0 es.eciall" Aslam0 are strictl" a$ainst &isor&er0 treacher"0 conflict an& o..ression. Aslam means .eace0 securit" an& 1ell /ein$. Thus0 in a reli$ion /ase& on .eace0 securit" an& 1orl& harmon"0 1ar an& conflict are malfunctionin$ thin$s. The [email protected] case is self6&efense like 1hen the /o&" tries to $et ri& of $erms that ha%e attacke& it0 an& this can /e &one onl" accor&in$ to certain .rinci.les. Aslam has al1a"s /reathe& .eace an& $oo&ness. Aslam consi&ers 1ar as an acci&ental

e%ent. Dules ha%e /een .ut to /alance an& limit it. For [email protected] it takes Mustice an& 1orl& .eace as a /asis as in the %erse0 KEet not the hatre& of others to "ou make "ou s1er%e to 1ron$ an& &e.art from Mustice.L :?:7< Aslam &e%elo.e& a line of &efense /ase& on certain .rinci.les for the .rotection of the free&om of /elief0 life0 .ro.ert"0 the min& an& &escen&ants0 as has the mo&ern le$al s"stem. 3hristianit" as a reli$ion of a/stract lo%e from the /e$innin$ cate$oricall" con&emne& 1ar an& &i& not la" &o1n an" rules re$ar&in$ this human an& historical realit". But it 1as not a/le to .re%ent 1ars like the Gorl& Gars an& the 8un&re& ,earsC Gars an& Na$asaki an& 8iroshima inci&ents from occurrin$ in the Gest. The %ie1s of the future of 8untin$ton an& others like him are unfortunatel" /ase& on conflict an& reflect some .lans to continue a &ominion throu$h conflicts. Gith the /lessin$s an& /eneficence of Go&0 1e are $oin$ to tr" our /est to continue this /reeze of tolerance an& &ialo$ue that has recentl" /e$un to /lo1 an& that sho1s a ten&enc" to1ar&s s.rea&in$ o%er the entire 1orl& an&0 Go& 1illin$0 1e 1ill sho1 such .re&ictions to /e false. Ge /elie%e that these /reezes are .o1erful enou$h to o%er1helm the lethal 1ea.ons0 mechanize& militar" units an& much other ne$ati%it". That e%er" se$ment of societ" is [email protected]$ an& enactin$ this /ran& ne1 messa$e 1hose roots lie in the .ast0 in the messa$e of the .ro.hets0 is a &i%ine fa%or to to&a"Cs a%ant6 $ar&e of lo%e. An this res.ect0 1e sa" that tolerance an& &ialo$ue shoul& /e re.resente& in our countr" in the /est .ossi/le 1a" an& shoul& /e an [email protected] to the 1hole 1orl&. This [email protected] 1ill attract .eo.les to come to$ether aroun& the same /asic human %alues an&0 Go& 1illin$0 humankin& 1ill li%e one more s.rin$ /efore the en& of the 1orl&.

DIALOGUE 5ITH THE PEOPLE OF THE BOO>
Belie%ers &etermine their attitu&es accor&in$ to their faith. Af the messa$e is .ut across as it shoul& /e0 A /elie%e that in our countr" an& e%en throu$hout the 1orl&0 a %er" $oo& en%ironment for &ialo$ue can emer$e. Thus0 as is true for e%er" su/Mect0 1e shoul& a..roach this issue as in&icate& in the IurCan an& /" the 2ro.het0 u.on him /e .eace an& /lessin$s. !t the /e$innin$ of the $urat al-*a;ara%4 Go& sa"s: T%is is t%e *ook: in it is sure 'ui!ance4 wit%out !ou+t4 to t%ose w%o are 2o!-conscious4 0ious :(:(<. Eater on0 these .ious ones are i&entifie& as those: 3%o +elieve in t%e 5nseen4 are stea!fast in 0ra er4 an! s0en! out of w%at 3e %ave 0rovi!e! for t%em: an! w%o +elieve in t%e -evelation sent to ou an! sent +efore our time4 an! 7in t%eir %earts9 %ave t%e reassurance of t%e (ereafter :(:36*<. Usin$ a %er" soft an& sli$htl" o/liOue st"le0 the IurCan calls .eo.le to acce.t the former 2ro.hets an& their /ooks. 8a%in$ such a con&ition at the %er" /e$innin$ of the IurCan seems %er" im.ortant to me 1hen it comes to esta/lishin$ &ialo$ue 1ith Je1s an& 3hristians. An another %erse Go& comman&s: .n! !o not ar'ue wit% t%e @eo0le of t%e *ook4 e8ce0t wit% means +etter 7t%an mere !is0utation9 :(4:* <. An this %erse0 the IurCan &escri/es the metho& an& a..roach 1e shoul& use an& the manner 1e shoul& &is.la". Be&iüzzamanCs 1or&s ha%e some e@tremel" si$nificant 1or&s to sa" a/out this: KThose 1ho are ha.." a/out their o..onentCs &efeat in &e/ate ha%e no merc".L 8e [email protected] the reason for this: K,ou $ain nothin$ /" &efeatin$ someone. Af "ou 1ere &efeate& an& the other .erson 1as %ictorious0 "ou 1oul& ha%e correcte& one of "our mistakes.L +e/ate shoul& not /e for the sake of "our e$o0 /ut to ena/le the truth to a..ear. Ghen 1e look at .olitical &e/ates in 1hich the onl" thou$ht is to /eat the other .erson0 there can /e no .ositi%e result. For the truth to emer$e in a &e/ate of i&eas0 such .rinci.les as mutual un&erstan&in$0 res.ect0 an& &e&ication to Mustice cannot /e ne$lecte&. !s a IurCanic rule0 this can onl" take .lace in a $oo& en%ironment for &ialo$ue.

Dea&in$ (4: * further0 1e notice the con&ition unless it +e wit% t%ose w%o un+elieve an! inflict wron' 7an! in)ur 91 Gron$ is mentione&: "t is t%ose w%o +elieve an! confuse not t%eir +eliefs wit% wron' F t%at are 7trul 9 in securit 4 for t%e are on 7ri'%t9 'ui!ance : :7(<. !ccor&in$ to the 2ro.hetVs inter.retation0 .ol"theism is eOual to un/elief in the sense of contem.t for the uni%erse. The $reatest 1ron$ or o..ression is silencin$ all the ton$ues in oneCs conscience that [email protected] Go&. At also means &oin$ inMustice to others0 o..ressin$ others0 an& insistin$ on ha%in$ oneCs 1a". An that res.ect0 /ecause 1ron$ or o..ression inclu&es /oth .ol"theism an& un/elief0 it is a $reater sin . B%er" .ol"theist or un/elie%er ma" not /e a 1ron$&oer in the sense outline& a/o%e. 8o1e%er0 1ho o..ress others0 1ho arm themsel%es in the name of committin$ e%il0 an& 1ho %iolate the other .eo.leCs ri$hts an& Go&Cs Mustice must /e confronte& 1ithin the frame1ork of the la1. Ghen &ealin$ 1ith 2eo.le of the Book 1ho are not o..ressors0 1e ha%e no ri$ht to /eha%e %iolentl" or to think a/out ho1 to eliminate them. #uch /eha%ior is non6Aslamic0 contrar" to Aslamic rules an& .rinci.les0 an& e%en anti6Aslamic. Blse1here0 in $urat al- ,umta%ana%0 it is state&: 2o! for+i!s ou not4 wit% re'ar! to t%ose w%o fi'%t ou not for 7 our9 fait% nor !rive ou out of our %omes4 from !ealin' kin!l an! )ustl wit% t%emA for 2o! loves t%ose w%o are )ust : ):7<. This %erse 1as re%eale& 1hen an emi$rant la&" calle& !smaC aske& the 2ro.het if she shoul& meet 1ith her .ol"theistic mother0 1ho 1ante& to come from Makkah to Ma&inah to see her &au$hter. The %erse su$$ests that such a meetin$ 1as .erfectl" acce.ta/le0 an& that she can &o $oo& for her as 1ell. A lea%e it to "our un&erstan&in$ as to 1hat a..roach shoul& /e use& to1ar&s those 1ho /elie%e in Go&0 Ju&$ment +a" an& the 2ro.hets. 8un&re&s of IurCanic %erses &eal 1ith social &ialo$ue an& tolerance. But care must /e taken to esta/lish /alance in tolerance. Bein$ merciful to a co/ra means /ein$ unMust to the .eo.le the co/ra has /itten. 3laimin$ that humanism is more merciful than +i%ine Merc" &isres.ects merc" an& %iolates othersC ri$hts. An truth0 [email protected] for certain s.ecial cases0 the IurCan an& #unnah al1a"s a&%ocate tolerance. The shiel&in$ cano." of this tolerance e@ten&s not onl" to the 2eo.le of the Book0 /ut in a sense to all .eo.le.

<E5S AND CH(ISTIANS IN THE ;U(%AN
#ome assert that [email protected] in the IurCan re$ar&in$ 3hristianit" an& Ju&aism are shar.. Great care shoul& /e taken 1hen a..roachin$ this su/Mect. There is a rule in tafsir :IurCanic commentar"<: An or&er to conclu&e that a %erse refers to a .articular .eo.le0 it must /e esta/lishe& /oth clearl" an& historicall" that the %erse in Ouestion refers to them e@clusi%el". !..roachin$ the matter from this an$le0 the %erses con&emnin$ an& re/ukin$ the Je1s an& 3hristians are either a/out some Je1s an& 3hristians 1ho li%e& in the time of the 2ro.het Muhamma& or their o1n 2ro.hets0 such as Moses an& Jesus0 or those 1ho &eser%e& such con&emnation /ecause of their 1ron$ /eliefs or .ractices. For [email protected] at the /e$innin$ of $urat al-*a;ara%0 after .raisin$ the /elie%ers for some of their .raise1orth" attri/utes an& acts0 the IurCan sa"s: $urel 4 the un+elieversA it is t%e same w%et%er ou warn t%em or not4 t%e will not +elieve1 2o! 0ut a seal on t%eir %earts an! ears4 an! over t%eir si'%t is a veil1 Dor t%em is a mi'%t torment . :(: < This %erse is a/out0 first of all0 stu//orn un/elie%ers 1ho li%e& &urin$ the 2ro.hetCs lifetime an& insiste& on un/elief. The 2ro.het0 the 3om.anions0 an& the un/elie%ers themsel%es kne1 1ho 1as meant. An the secon& &e$ree0 it inclu&es all un/elie%ers0 re$ar&less of time or .lace0 1ho sho1 the same t".e of resistance a$ainst the enli$htenin$ ra"s of the IurCan. #o0 the shar. criticism of the Je1s an& 3hristians is0 first of all0 a/out those 1hom the rele%ant %erses refer to &irectl"0 an& others of the same attitu&e. At is not &efinite that the" .ertain to all Je1s an& 3hristians from that time until no1. #econ&0 that st"le is &ue to the incorrect inter.retation of Ju&aism an& 3hristianit" an& its im.lementation in the li%es of some self6.roclaime& Je1s an& 3hristians. More .recisel"0 that st"le 1as use& in the IurCan /ecause the" use& reli$ious thou$ht an& /elief as a cause an& material for hostilit". Dather than in&i%i&ual 3hristian an& Je1s0 the IurCan $oes after 1ron$ /eha%ior0 incorrect thou$ht0 resistance to the truth0 creation of hostilit"0 an& non6commen&a/le characteristics. The Bi/le contains e%en stron$er statements a$ainst the same attri/utes. B%en if the [email protected] seem shar. to some0 imme&iatel" after a..ro.riate 1arnin$s an& threats come %er" $entle 1or&s to a1aken hearts to the truth an& to .lant ho.e in them. An a&&ition0 the IurCanCs criticism an& 1arnin$ re$ar&in$ some of

these attitu&es an& /eha%iors of non6Muslims also are ma&e a/out Muslims 1hose faith &oes not .re%ent them from en$a$in$ in the same /eha%ior. Both the 3om.anions an& [email protected]&ers of the IurCan a$ree on this matter.

CI T(UST IN THE BEAUT. IN HUMANIT.%S MA>E6UPD
4our (ost Cespected 2oliness,LN +e bring you the sincerest greetings from the people, of the land known to be the birth place of the three great religions, who have full knowledge of your sacred mission to make the world a better place to live. +e also thank you from the bottom of our hearts for granting us an audience, taking time from your most hectic schedule. +e are here to be a part of continuing mission of the 0ontifical ,ouncil for 5nter.religious !ialogue @0,5!A, instituted by 2is 2oliness 0ope 0aul I5. +e would like to see this mission reach fruition. +e come to you in a most humble way, yet with some audacity, to offer our modest assistance in accomplishing this most worthy task. 5slam has been a misunderstood religion, and the (uslims are mostly to blame for this. % timely effort in an appropriate venue can help greatly reduce this misunderstanding. (uslim world would welcome the opportunity for a dialogue to erase the centuries old misconception about 5slam. (ankind from time to time has denied religion in the name of science and denied science in the name of religion, arguing that the two present conflicting views. %ll knowledge belongs to 3od and religion is from 3od. 2ow could then

This is the letter 1hich Fethullah Gülen .resente& to his holiness &urin$ his historical %isit to Fatican on Fe/ruar"0 70 =447.

4

the two conflict. To this end, our joint efforts directed to inter.religious dialogue to improve understanding and tolerance among people can go a long way. +e have, in our country, been in dialogue with the leaders of several ,hristian denominations for sometime now. +e humbly claim that these modest efforts have not been in vain. 1ur goal is to establish fraternity among the faithful of three great religions through tolerance and understanding. +e can, by getting together, stand up against those misguided souls and skeptics as wave.breakers, barriers if you will, who wish to see the so called clash of civili#ations to become a reality. Last year we held a symposium on peace and tolerance between civili#ations, attended by international scholars of some renown. $ncouraged by un8ualified success of this effort, we would like to repeat such events. +e are currently in the process of organi#ing a conference on inter.religious dialog directed toward the strengthening the bond, among the adherents of three great religions, at which we hope the Iatican shall be present. +e will be very pleased and feel honored if you are kind enough to accept the invitation to you of (r. !emirel, to visit our country and show your 2oliness to the holy places in Turkey. 0eople of %natolia await with alacrity to demonstrate the their hospitality and greet you with enthusiasm. Through our dialogue with the 0alestinian leaders, we can secure an invitation for us to jointly visit "erusalem- a visit that may prove to be a significant step toward efforts to proclaim that sacred city an international #one, ,hristians, "ews, and (uslims alike would be free to pilgrimage with no restrictions, not even a visa. +e propose the establishment of a conference series to be held in different world capitals on a rotational basis, the initial of which to be held in +ashington !,, with the collaboration of the leaders from the three great faiths. The timing for the second series could be ideal for the occasion of ),HHHth anniversary of the birth of ,hrist. % student exchange program would be most beneficial. 2aving young people of faith study together will enhance affinity for each other. +ithin the framework of student exchange program, a college of divinity could be established in 2arran, 9rfa 0rovince, known as the birth place of 0rophet %braham, professed to be the father of the three great religions. This could be accomplished by expanding the programs at 2arran 9niversity or as an independent 9niversity with a comprehensive curriculum to satisfy the needs of all three faiths. Though, the latter may prone difficulty owing to obstacles in terms of state policies. Suggested programs may sound to be too ambitious, but they are well within reach. There are two types of people in the world: conformist and non. conformist. ,onformist people try to adopt themselves to whatever takes place in society. The conformist people, on the other hand, try to adopt the society to perennial values and agreeable new developments. Therefore, all the progress in the society are due to non.conformist people. Thank 3od for non.conformist people.

(. /ethullah 3Mlen, 3od's humble servant

Hne of the /est6sellin$ 1eeklies of Turke"0 !ksi"on (5=*5=447<0 ma&e Fethullah GülenCs meetin$ 1ith the 2o.e a co%er stor" an& .u/lishe& an inter%ie1 1ith Fehtullah Gülen. ! summarize& [email protected] from that inter%ie1 follo1s:

;: .t a time w%en t%e clas% of civili&ations t%eories are +ein' !iscusse! an! N.T< %as !eclare! Gt%eH "slamGic worl!H t%e c%ief enem 4 ou call for a worl!-wi!e !ialo'ue1 3%at factors ur'e ou to make suc% attem0tsI A: Af there are an" 1ho think that the" can realize or continue a &omination o%er the 1orl& throu$h continuous conflict0 the" 1ill see ho1 1ron$ the" are in their assessments. !s the IurCan .uts it0 humanit" is a no/le creature an& in .ursuit of $oo& thin$s. Ghile searchin$ for the $oo& an& /eautiful0 1e sometimes ma" encounter un&esira/le thin$s. Ghat ur$es me to call for a 1orl&1i&e &ialo$ue is humanit"Cs innate no/ilit" an& /eaut". ;: .re t%e relevant comman!ments or rules of t%e 6ur’an or t%e @ro0%et im0ortant in our initiativesI A: The IurCan ur$es .eace0 or&er0 an& accor&. At aims at uni%ersal .eace an& or&er0 an& o..oses conflicts an& &issensions. At is interestin$ that the IurCan calls actions acce.ta/le to Go& Ksoun& actions to /rin$ .eace an& or&erL : Jamali sali%a%<. Hur 2ro.het &escri/e& fi$htin$ in the 1a" of Go& as the lesser Miha&0 /ecause it is un&ertaken onl" to remo%e o/stacles /efore .erfectin$ men an& 1omen morall" an& s.irituall"0 an& to /rin$ a/out .eace an& or&er in human societ". The real aim is to .erfect .eo.le an& to /rin$ a/out .eace an& or&er. Ghen this cannot /e achie%e& /" such &esira/le 1a"s as e&ucation0 an& 1hen "ou are [email protected]& to unMust attacks0 onl" then can 1e un&ertake the lesser Miha&. Ge must un&erstan& it not as a rule0 /ut as the last resort. ;: 3%at was t%e 0rocess t%at finall ma!e it 0ossi+le for ou to meet wit% t%e @o0eI A: Hne cannot achie%e somethin$ .ositi%e in an atmos.here &ominate& /" enmit" an& throu$h reactionar" measures. !s social an& ci%ilize& /ein$s0 es.eciall" in our &a" 1hen human %alues are $i%en .rominence0 1e can an& shoul& sol%e our .ro/lems throu$h &ialo$ue. At is our /elief0 1hich also is share& /" sociolo$ists an& .olitical anal"sts0 that reli$ions 1ill /e more influential in the t1ent"6first centur". Aslam an& 3hristianit" ha%e the lar$est follo1in$s. Bu&&hism an& 8in&uism also ha%e consi&era/le follo1in$s. Ju&aism has an influence of its o1n. Af 1e [email protected] a uni%ersal re%i%al to1ar& the en& of time0 then this reOuires0 as a .reliminar" con&ition0 that these $reat reli$ions coo.erate on the essentials that the" ha%e in common. Ge ha%e no &ou/t a/out the truth of our %alues. Ge ur$e no one to Moin us0 an& A think that no one concei%es of ur$in$ us to Moin their reli$ion. The IurCan ma&e a uni%ersal call of &ialo$ue to the follo1ers of other hea%enl" reli$ions. Unfortunatel"0 ho1e%er0 the centuries follo1in$ this call sa1 conflict an& Ouarrels rather than &ialo$ue an& mutual un&erstan&in$. Hur time is the time of a&&ressin$ intellects an& hearts0 an un&ertakin$ that reOuires a .eaceful atmos.here 1ith mutual trust an& res.ect. Ge ha%e no intention to conOuer lan&s or .eo.les0 /ut 1e are resol%e& to contri/ute to

1orl& .eace an& a .eaceful or&er an& harmon" /" 1hich our ol& 1orl& 1ill fin& a last ha..iness /efore its final &estruction.

MESSAGE FO( THE :: SEPTEMBE( TE((O(IST ATTAC>SAE
A 1oul& like to stress that an" terrorist acti%it"0 no matter 1ho &oes it an& for 1hat .ur.ose0 is the $reatest /lo1 to .eace0 &emocrac"0 an& humanit". For this reason0 no one R an& certainl" no Muslims R can a..ro%e of an" terrorist acti%it". Terror has no .lace in oneCs Ouest to achie%e in&e.en&ence or sal%ation. At costs the li%es of innocent .eo.le.

>)

Fetulllah Gülen issue& this messa$e Must after the == #e.tem/er terrorist attacks to con&emn them an& an" terrosit acti%it".

B%en thou$h at first si$ht such acts seem to harm the tar$et0 all terrorist acti%ities e%entuall" &o more harm to the terrorists an& their su..orters. This latest terrorist acti%it"0 1hich is a most /loo&" an& con&emna/le one0 is far more than an attack on the Unite& #tates of !merica R it is an assault a$ainst 1orl& .eace as 1ell as uni%ersal &emocratic an& humanistic %alues. Those 1ho .er.etrate& this atrocit" can onl" /e consi&ere& the most /rutal .eo.le in the 1orl&. 2lease let me reassure "ou that Aslam &oes not a..ro%e of terrorism in an" form. Terrorism cannot /e use& to achie%e an" Aslamic $oal. No terrorist can /e a Muslim0 an& no true Muslim can /e a terrorist. Aslam or&ers .eace0 an& the IurCan &eman&s from each true Muslim that he or she /e a s"m/ol of .eace an& su..ort the maintenance of /asic human ri$hts. Af a shi. is carr"in$ nine criminals an& one innocent .erson0 Aslam &oes not allo1 the shi. to /e sunk to .unish the nine criminals0 for &oin$ so 1oul& %iolate the innocent .ersonCs ri$hts. Aslam res.ects all in&i%i&ual ri$hts an& states clearl" that none of them can /e %iolate&0 e%en if &oin$ so 1oul& /e in the communit"Cs interest. The IurCan &eclares that one 1ho takes a life unMustl" has0 in effect0 taken the li%es of humanit" as a 1hole0 an& that one 1ho sa%es a life has0 in effect0 sa%e& the li%es of humanit" as a 1hole. !lso0 our 2ro.het Muhamma& sa"s that a Muslim is one 1ho &oes no harm 1ith either his or her han& or ton$ue. A stron$l" con&emn this latest terrorist attack on the Unite& #tates. At onl" &eser%es con&emnation an& contem.t0 an& it must /e con&emne& /" e%er" .erson in the 1orl&. A a..eal to e%er"one for calmness an& restraint. Before !mericaCs lea&ers an& .eo.le res.on& to this heinous assault out of their Mustifie& an$er an& .ain0 .lease let me [email protected] that the" surel" un&erstan& 1h" such a terri/le e%ent occurre& an& ho1 similar tra$e&ies can /e a%oi&e& in the future. The" are also a1are of the fact that inMurin$ the innocent masses to .unish a fe1 $uilt" .eo.le /enefits no one0 /ut onl" stren$thens the terrorists /" fee&in$ e@istin$ resentment an& $i%in$ /irth to more terrorists an& more %iolence. 2lease remem/er that terrorists re.resent an e@tremel" small minorit" 1ithin an" societ" an& reli$ion. Eet us tr" to un&erstan& each other /etter0 for onl" throu$h mutual un&erstan&in$ an& res.ect can such %iolence /e .re%ente& in the future. A feel the .ain of !merican .eo.le from the /ottom of m" heart0 an& assure them that A .ra" to Go& !lmi$ht" for the %ictims an& that 8e ma" eOui. their lo%e&6ones an& all other !mericans 1ith .atience. A take this o..ortunit" to rene1 m" &ue re$ar&s to e%er"/o&".

TO MA>E THE EA(TH INTO A C(ADLE OF B(OTHE(HOOD AND SISTE(HOOD
At can /e sai& that the .erio& /e$innin$ rou$hl" 1ith the Denaissance0 1hich co%ers the last fi%e centuries in human histor"0 has /een a .erio& in 1hich0 to$ether 1ith much $oo&ness an& /eaut"0 there has /een $reat e%il an& u$liness0 like t1o streams flo1in$ se.aratel" in time. Ge can sa" that the main conce.t 1hich a..eare& in .artial reaction to the reli$ious thou$ht an& un&erstan&in$ of the Mi&&le !$es that 1as re.resente& es.eciall" /" the 3hurch an& 1hich has $i%en mo&ern times R the last fi%e centuries R their main color0 has /een that humanit" is the center of e%er"thin$. De$ar&less of 1hether or not humanit" has /een .ut in the center in thou$ht an& .erce.tion or in the &ominant .ara&i$m0 it is Ouite o/%ious that all the .ro/lems on earth /e$in an& en& 1ith humanit". For humanit" has the free&om to choose /et1een ri$ht an& 1ron$0 $oo& an& e%il0 /eaut" an& u$liness0 in fact0 amon$ the thousan&s of tones of these main .olarize& %alues an& then to act in

accor&ance 1ith that choice. B" contrast0 none of the /ein$s /esi&es humanit"0 at least %isi/le creatures0 ha%e this s.ecial .ri%ile$e. Thus0 /efore the emer$ence of humanit" an& in areas of the uni%erse /e"on& humanit"Cs &e%astation there is an amazin$ .eace0 harmon" an& tranOuilit" /e"on& [email protected]. 8umanit" is the onl" creature that can turn its life an& the li%es of others0 .lus the face of the earth0 into hea%en or hell. 8umanit" has al1a"s /een /oth the su/Mect an& o/Mect of its acti%ities throu$hout its life on earth0 an& it has taken its .lace in the center of not onl" $eneral life on earth0 /ut in all cosmic life as 1ell. Trul"0 humanit" has not onl" al1a"s taken its .lace in the center of life on earth0 /ut in the center of all cosmic life as 1ell0 /ecause it is the fruit of the tree of e@istence. Just as all the acti%ities of a tree an& its 1hole life are &irecte& to1ar&s its fruit0 then humanit" has al1a"s com.rise& the tar$et .oint of all the sta$es of e@istence since the K/i$ /an$L R if it [email protected] an" meanin$ more than Must theor". B%entuall" 1hen it 1as time for humanit" to a..ear on the sta$e of e@istence0 accor&in$ to the 8ol" IurCan0 Go& informe& the an$els that there 1as $oin$ to /e a %ice$erent 1ho 1oul& im.ro%e an& rule the earth. An all .ro/a/ilit"0 1hen the an$els sa1 that humanit" ha& man" .otential ca.a/ilities in its make6u. that it coul& use in a .ositi%e or ne$ati%e 1a" for $oo& or e%il an& that it 1as a t1o6si&e& creature 1ith the free&om to choose0 the" sense& that it 1as one 1ho 1oul& Kmake mischief an& she& /loo&.L The" aske& the 3reator0 KGill ,ou .lace therein :the earth< one 1ho 1ill make mischief an& she& /loo&Q Ghilst 1e &o cele/rate ,our .raises an& $lorif" ,our hol" NameQL !t this .oint the ans1er that Go& $a%e the an$els is of the Oualit" that full" .uts forth humanit"Cs true nature an& function.
Go& tau$ht !&am all the names an& then0 sho1in$ the an$els the o1ners of the names0 8e sai&0 KTell me the names of these if "ou are ri$ht.L The" re.lie&0 KGlor" /e to ,ouN 1e ha%e no kno1le&$e [email protected] that 1hich ,ou ha%e tau$ht us: #urel" ,ou are the !ll6Kno1in$0 the !ll6 Gise.L Then Go& sai& to !&am0 KTell them their names.L Ghen !&am informe& the an$els of the names0 Go& sai&: K+i& A not tell "ou that A kno1 the secrets of hea%en an& earth0 an& A kno1 1hat "ou re%eal an& 1hat "ou concealQL :(:3)633<

These %erses [email protected] humanit"Cs essential nature an& its function on earth. 8umanit" 1as create& 1ith man" a/ilities an& mi@e& emotions0 an& /" learnin$ to kno1 other creatures0 it can rule them an& in this 1a" make the earth a li%a/le ha/itation for itself. !s o.enl" [email protected]& in the %erses Ouote&0 this is .ossi/le throu$h kno1le&$e. The most im.ortant factor &istin$uishin$ humanit" from other creatures is kno1le&$e. An or&er to com.rehen& from another .ers.ecti%e the essence of kno1le&$e an& its .otential &an$er0 it is a..ro.riate to $i%e a fe1 %erses from the Bi/le:
!n& the Eor& Go& sai&0 KThe humanit" has no1 /ecome like one of us0 kno1in$ $oo& an& e%il. 8e must not /e allo1e& to reach out his han& an& take also from the tree of life an& eat0 an& li%e for e%er. #o the Eor& Go& /anishe& him from the Gar&en of B&en to 1ork the $roun& from 1hich he ha& /een taken. :2enesis0 3.((6(3 R 2i!eons "nternational4 01KL.<

8umanit"0 1ho has /een eOui..e& 1ith man" ca.a/ilities0 es.eciall" the a/ilit" to learn0 has also /een create& 1ith man" 1ants0 &esires an& a..etites. !ctuall" these 1ants0 &esires an& a..etites 1ere $i%en to it as a foun&ation for man" %irtues it can attain /" channelin$ them to1ar&s $oo&ness0 /eaut" an& truth. But as lon$ as humanit" remains un&er the influence of ne$ati%e factors like selfishness0 self6interest an& self6centere&ness0 its &esires0 1ishes an& a..etites each ser%e the function of a /om/

that can turn the 1orl& into hell. !s a matter of fact0 humanit" has taken amazin$l" $iant ste.s in the last fi%e centuries of human histor" in the fiel& of scientific kno1le&$e an& its .ro&uct0 technolo$"0 es.eciall" un&er the lea&ershi. of the Gest. But in contrast to makin$ this $reat intellectual .ro$ress0 it has ne$lecte& its heart an& s.irit. !s mentione& in the %erses of the Bi/le Ouote& a/o%e0 rel"in$ on the science an& technolo$" it .ossesses0 humanit" has &eifie& itself. At is true that in the .ast the 1orl& 1as shaken /" 1ars fou$ht on reli$ious $roun&s. But as a result of the scientific an& technolo$ical a&%ances0 it has /een shaken to its roots /" such calamities as t1o 1orl& 1ars0 incessant re$ional conflicts0 economic $a.s amon$ in&i%i&uals an& countries0 .olitical fi$htin$0 mur&er0 $enoci&e0 en%ironmental .ollution0 racism0 se.aratism an& terror. A /elie%e that the cessation of these calamities an& the turnin$ of the earth into a Kcra&le of /rotherhoo& an& sisterhoo&L 1ill /e .ossi/le throu$h e&ucation. An a&&ition0 for [email protected] 1hile animals come to this 1orl& as if the" ha%e /een traine& in another 1orl& an& feel no nee& for e&ucation or trainin$0 humanit" comes to this 1orl& kno1in$ nothin$ an& learns e%er"thin$ necessar" for life later on. This sho1s that &e%elo.in$ an& e%ol%in$ throu$h e&ucation com.rises the essential &imension of its earthl" e@istence. An this case0 e&ucation is the most in&is.ensa/le factor in humanit"Cs life. But this e&ucation shoul& not /e of the kin& of the reli$ious e&ucation that reMects the use of reason0 scientific kno1le&$e an& [email protected] metho&s an& is /ase& on &o$matic un&erstan&in$ of reli$ion o.enin$ the 1a" to /i$otr" an& fanaticism. Neither shoul& it /e of the kin& /ase& on solel" on .ure rationalism0 .ositi%ism an& materialism in a 1a" that 1ill $i%e rise to &enial an& atheism an& that science an& technolo$" 1ill chan$e the earth into a hell or an arena 1here floo&s of /loo& flo1 freel". 8umanit"Cs min&0 s.irit an& heart shoul& all /e e&ucate&. B&ucation must $ain for it moralit" an& refine& /eha%ior alon$ 1ith kno1le&$e0 an& it shoul& /e of a nature to a&orn it 1ith %irtues. Bssentiall"0 reli$ion is an e@tremel" im.ortant /arrier to 1ars0 anarchists an& terror in the 1orl&. Firtues like lo%e0 merc"0 com.assion an& &oin$ $oo& to others ha%e s.route& mostl" in the K$ar&ensL of reli$ion an& their stan&ar& 1as raise& /" reli$ion. An a&&ition0 for [email protected] the 8ol" IurCan [email protected] that Kkillin$ a .erson unMustl" is like killin$ all humanit"0 an& sa%in$ one humanit"Cs life is like sa%in$ the li%es of all humanit".L Moreo%er0 it is the $oal of reli$ion that anarch" an& &isor&er not remain on this earth. Justice is as an im.ortant .rinci.le as reli$ious faith. But unfortunatel" in s.ite of this0 formerl" 1ars [email protected]$ reli$ion 1ere ne%er a/sent in the 1orl&. 8o1e%er0 it can /e sai& that in mo&ern times the acce.tance of laicism0 1hich $uarantees free&om of thou$ht0 /elief an& conscience0 at least has /een a reason for s1or&s once &ra1n in the name of reli$ion to /e .ut /ack in their sheaths an& has .re.are& a foun&ation for closer relations /et1een .eo.le an& societies of e%er" thou$ht an& /elief. #econ&l"0 e%en if it is as a slo$an in man" cases0 human ri$hts ha%e /een a&o.te& /" most countries in the 1orl&. !lso0 there has /een acce.tance of uni%ersal moral %alues0 1hich 1ere al1a"s raise& hi$h at least theoreticall" throu$hout human histor" e%en if the" 1ere not full" .ractice&. The a&o.tion of /asic human ri$hts an& free&oms has &e%elo.e& another foun&ation for all human /ein$s to come to$ether an& for .eace0 tranOuilit" an& harmon" to rei$n on this earth. These t1o foun&ations affor& an o..ortunit" for a /ri&$e to /uil& not onl" /et1een mem/ers of %arious reli$ions0 /ut /et1een all .eo.les an& countries re$ar&less of their %ie1s0 color0 race0 lan$ua$e an& /elief. !lso0 the" .ro%i&e a chance that shoul& not /e misse& to .re%ent terror0 1hich is one of the /i$$est .ro/lems facin$ to&a"Cs humanit". Gith the fall of the Aron 3urtain an& the 1orl&Cs /ecomin$ the Kfree 1orl&L 1ith onl" one .ole0 a %er" im.ortant &oor 1as o.ene& for those 1ho 1oul& stri%e in this &irection0 es.eciall" for NGHs. B" usin$ this &oor that has o.ene& in the name of .eace0 as a /ein$ in 1hose essence $oo&ness an& /eaut" .re&ominates0 humanit" 1ill fin& the o..ortunit" to realize the .ur.ose of its creation in

all its /eautiful as.ects. This must take .lace one &a"N other1ise the creation of humanit" an& its &esi$nation as %ice$erent on the earth 1oul& /e useless. Because A /elie%e that Go& ne%er &oes an"thin$ useless0 A ha%e encoura$e& Turkish .eo.le to the /est of m" a/ilit" to esta/lish centers of e&ucation. Gith the &esire to com/ine this 1ith a 1orl&1i&e tolerance an& &ialo$ue mo%ement0 A ha%e ma&e /roa& contacts0 %isits an& meetin$s0 first in the Turkish societ" an& then 1ith the ho.e an& in an attem.t to coo.erate 1ith the or$anizations 1orkin$ to1ar&s this en&. A /elie%e that humanit" 1ill one &a" turn to the $oo&ness an& /eaut" that is in its essence an&0 e%entuall"0 our ol& earth 1ill 1itness that these Oualities .re&ominate throu$hout itself. B%en one sin$le ste. taken to1ar&s this cele/rate& .ur.ose R re$ar&less of 1ho takes it R is 1orth" of honor an& a..reciation. An m" hum/le o.inion0 this is one of the most im.ortant con&itions for a .eace that is $oin$ to s.rea& in 1a%es amon$ in&i%i&uals0 societies0 countries an& nations. Ghile $o%ernments an& official international or$anizations fulfill their &uties in the name of .eace0 ci%ilians an& NGHs 1ill .erform an im.ortant ser%ice in the &irection of actualizin$ .eace. Gith the [email protected] of one or t1o mar$inal e@tremist $rou.s on the ri$ht an& left0 all intellectuals in our countr" R sociolo$ists0 Mournalists0 artists0 statesmen0 .oliticians an& sol&iers R 1ho ha%e e@amine& the acti%ities of e&ucation mentione& its results or the tolerance an& &ialo$ue mo%ement0 ha%e em.hasize& that these acti%ities 1ill make an im.ortant contri/ution to re$ional an& 1orl& .eace. Af our en&ea%ors in this area make the &esire& contri/ution to .eace that 1eCre ho.in$ for0 there 1ill /e meanin$ to li%in$ in this 1orl&l" inn as human /ein$s. Because 1e /elie%e that the most esteeme& .erson /efore Go& is one 1ho /elie%es in 8im an& is most /eneficial to humanit".