Last Updated on Monday, 26 June 2006 16:00 by Kerim Balci Tuesday, 01 March 2005 05:00
Fethullah Gulen Hodjaefendi's article headed "An Analysis of the Tolerance Process," that was published in ZAMAN's commentary page yesterday (February 27), was extracted from the speeches he made about one year ago. I deemed it necessary to write a commentary when this was published in a website bearing the name of the Hodjaefendi, however, I could not catch up. It means that the necessity reappeared and it was republished. Maybe, the need for this commentary continues, which prompted me to write
In brief, Hodjaefendi says:
1. We did not invent the tolerance process. The Medina Document and Farewell Sermon of Prophet Mohammed Mustafa (peace be upon him) indicate that tolerance is the order of Islam.
Annotation: It is true. As the Hodjaefendi explained in other places, since tolerance is on record in a verse for the People of the Book in particular, it is an eternal order. Support for the attitude of Abel (son of the first prophet, Adam, according to Islamic understanding) by verses in the Koran, puts forward the universality of tolerance being beyond time and space.
2. Hodjaefendi says, "Accepting everyone with his/her own position as well is a duty not a virtue."
Annotation: That is true, however, as the Hodjaefendi said in other places, this is only a part of the truth. If dialogue is a duty, its outcome is about life after death. If the terrestrial aims are taken as a base, their sincerity and outcome disappear. Terrestrial (worldly) aims are the appropriate times for these duties. As drought is the appropriate time for rain prayer, some incidents like the lack of dialogue, the clash of civilization thesis and the spread of religion based on enmities determine the proper time for the duty of dialogue. "The heartening movement of tolerance and dialogue," under the leadership of Gulen, is not a reactionary movement.
3. Hodjaefendi says, "Of course, our relations with people occur because we are human."
Annotation: That is very true, nevertheless, an explanation is necessary for those who cannot understand. Dialogue is not an ethical responsibility as Levinas thinks, but it is an "ontological requirement"; however, this might be a weighty remark. The harmless version of this remark is mentioned in the 13th verse of the Hucurat Sura.
4. Hodjaefendi says, "There were people expressing these views before us, however, their words were not words of life."
Annotation: Ismail Ragi al-Faruki, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Abdurrahman Vahid, Nurholis Mecid from the Sunni wing and Seyyid Hussein Nasr, Abdulkerim Surus and Mohammed Khatami wrote many important articles on the issue. "Dialogue among civilizations" has become Iran's official foreign policy during the presidency of [Mohammed] Khatami. Vahid tried to achieve a similar version in Indonesia, however, none of these intellectual efforts could reach the point motivating youths to rally around this remark by Fethullah Gulen Hodjaefendi: "Action is basic for us. We implement our servitude requirements after summarizing our views." I see it as a waste of words to assert more proofs to clarify the rightness of this remark whose rightness hurts as well.
5. The Hodjaefendi talks about people who labeled him as "enemy" and the days when the eagle will tumble and the sparrow will smile.
Annotation: Time alone will reveal the rightness of this remark. As real belief turns into practice with the renewal of worship, "our we love for creatures because of the Creator" on the intellectual dimension turns into practical love through renewal and by repeating the duty of tolerance. The Hodjaefendi's remark he made during his Tour of Horizon interview (1995). "This service unknowingly and unnoticeably began to solve this problem, embarking upon path of humanity and culture of humanity, "Habil and Qabil" or "Faust and Mephisto," as Goethe's expressions with humans again in the earliest period, dealing with its roots," putting forward that for which the problems of practical love is a candidate in order to find a solution, and giving the title, "Love in the Human Essence," was not an expression for an invention but a search. Those who keep love in their essence within the shells of envy, jealousy, egoism and paranoia will of course reflect the cracklings of their shells on the outside due to the effect of gravity on the flood of love.
The smile of the sparrow will not be a mocking laughter, but the warmest one among the bewilderment of those who have just discovered love
ZAMAN
No comments:
Post a Comment