SELECTED STUDIES

Muslim Dialogue with
“People of the Book”

By Dr. Muzaffar Khan Awan, MD

 

All Muslims are required to believe in God’s Prophets and Messengers. As we read in the Qur’an 2:136: Say, O Muslims: “We believe in God, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes; that given to Moses and Jesus; and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord. We make no difference between them, and we submit to God.” Qur’an 3:84 and 4:163 convey the same idea.At the very outset, the Qur’an calls Muslims to accept the former Prophets and their Books. Having such a condition at the very beginning seems very important, especially in the matter of interfaith dialogue.

On September 17th, President General Pervez Musharraf delivered the key address at a gala dinner organized by the American Jewish Congress in New York. Many distinguished Jewish leaders, Pakistani Americans, American and Israeli citizens were present. President Musharraf underlined the need to support the endeavor to promote an interfaith - inter civilizational dialogue and harmony. As Israel took bold steps to withdraw from the Gaza, Pakistan initiated an official contact with Israel and foreign ministers of both countries met in Istanbul through the good offices of Turkish government that has friendly relations both with Jewish state and Pakistan. Musharraf also said that as the peace process progresses towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Pakistan will take further steps towards normalization and cooperation, looking to full diplomatic relations with Israel. Speaking on the same occasion Chairman of the  American Jewish Congress, Jack Rosen said President General Pervez Musharraf's presence before the Jewish Congress was ground- breaking initiation of Muslim-Jewish dialogue and the culmination of two years of preparation.

President Musharraf has indeed initiated a genuine campaign for enlightened moderation in the Muslim world and will need all the cooperation he can get from the civilized world including Jewish communities of the world. During his address to the American Jewish Congress, he was courageous, candid and did not shy away from pointing out failures within the Islamic societies to embrace reform, progress and modernity. He acknowledged the resultant economic deprivation and social backwardness in the Muslim countries as sources of extremism and a fertile ground for recruitment for terrorism. He bluntly expressed that the Israeli-Palestinian problem and other political conflicts in the Muslim lands were at the heart of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond with global consequences.  He challenged the international community especially the West and the US to ensure peaceful resolution of the outstanding disputes in the Islamic world. Israelis and Palestinians, he stated, must shun confrontation and pursue peace and reconciliation. He strongly advocated reform, socio-economic progress and rejection of terrorism in the Islamic societies.

Muslims and Jews must learn to live together in peace and harmony once again as they did for centuries before. Islam, which came to dominate much of the world from Arabia to Spain and to South/Central Asia during Middle Ages, was very tolerant of Jews; Muslims to this day consider Jews, along with Muslims and Christians to be "People of the Book". The term Ahl al-kitab (people of the book) is mentioned in the Qur’an twenty-four times, referring to Christians and Jews in particular. The relationship between Muslims and the “People of the Book “(Jews and Christians) has been a subject of discussion among Muslims throughout the centuries.

The ecumenical aspect of Islam and its theological foundations for dialogue are under constant focus. To begin with, Muslims can frame their ideas of dialogue around the primordial Qur’anic verse:

“all mankind, we have created you from male and female and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another” (Qur’an 49.13).

Islam, beyond accepting the formal origin of other religions and their prophets, requires Muslims to respect them on the basis of ethical Islamic/universal values. A Muslim is the follower of Muhammad at the same time that he or she is a follower of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and other Biblical prophets. From this perspective, not to believe in the biblical prophets and their scriptures mentioned in the Qur’an is enough of a reason to place someone outside the circle of Islam.

The peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Jews began at the time of the Prophet of Islam himself. He had begun the initiatives towards good relations with Jewish and other communities in Medina even before his Hijrah (migration).  The Jewish communities of Madina, along with the rest of the city's inhabitants, warmly welcomed the Prophet in Medina at the time his Hijrah. Prophet signed treaties with the city's Jewish, Christian and other tribes. He established the first Islamic state in Medina- actually a Jewish-Muslim federation that extended to religious minorities the rights that were guaranteed to them in the Quran and based on Mithaq –al- Madina.This was indeed the first constitution of the world and one of the greatest politico-social documents ever prepared in human history.  Prophet’s Medina was based on a social contract agreed upon by Muslims, Jews and others treating all of them as equal citizens of the state. They enjoyed the freedom to choose the legal system they wished to live by. Jews could live under Islamic law, or Jewish law or pre-Islamic Arab tribal traditions. There was to be no compulsion in religion even if Medina was an Islamic state. The state of Medina was based on constitution that applied divine law but only in consultation and with consent of all citizens regardless of their faith. Roots of Democracy were thus certainly constitutive to the very first Islamic state in Medina established by the Prophet of Islam.

Caliph Omar also made a pact, in the 7th century, called a pact of Omar that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem -the Holy City after 500-year exile. Omar was known for his tolerance and has been viewed benevolently by the Jewish tradition.

For almost 800 years prior to 1492, a remarkable multicultural phenomenon called the Convivencia took place in Islamic Spain. From the Latin convivere, literally meaning “to live together,” the Convivencia was a period of religious toleration, mutual respect and forbearance among Christians, Jews and Muslims. Muslim Spain was indeed a "golden era" of creativity and advancement for Muslims and also for Jews. The land of opportunity for Jews -- from the 8th to the 14th century -- was certainly Islamic Spain. In Muslim-ruled Spain, members of three communities spoke each other’s languages and shared their philosophies and theologies, their sciences and their cultures.

Saladin (1138-1193) was one of the most charismatic and successful Muslim rulers of the middle Ages in the Middle East. In 1187, Saladin raced through what is now Israel, conquering Tiberias and Jerusalem among other cities. His victory over the Crusaders and retaking of Jerusalem reflects his character as a true Muslim. Sorely tempted to slaughter the Christian Crusaders of Jerusalem in the same way the Crusaders had butchered the Muslims and Jews of the city in 1099, Saladin chose the nobler and humane path of forgiveness for Christian Crusaders. Saladin's magnanimous treatment of the Christians was long remembered, and he developed a reputation in Europe over the centuries as a civilized conqueror

Saladin was also generous in his treatment of the Jewish community in his realm. In 1190, he called on Jews to settle once again within the walls of Jerusalem, since they had been banned from the city during the Crusader’s occupation. The illustrious Maimonides, one of medieval Judaism's greatest thinkers, was court physician to Saladin.

Judeo-Turkic interactions began from the start of the dark Middle Ages when the Turkish Khazar Khans converted to Judaism (AD 740) and into modern times since Muslim-Turks and Jews have enjoyed long periods of remarkable close ties. These relations were always a contrast to the experiences of Jews in Western Europe.

The Ottoman experience, with its millet system, has left behind remarkable memories of harmonious inter-religious relations. The Empire was composed not only of Muslims, but of many Christian and Jewish groups, and even some Zoroastrians. Until the emergence of modern nationalistic ideas, Muslims, Christians and Jews had lived together peacefully and productively in Ottoman times that have not been possible recently in the recent decades.

The Ottoman Empire had always had citizens professing Judaism. The Ottoman Empire was a safe haven for Jews throughout its history until its end at the beginning of 20th century. In 1492 the Spanish Jews (Sephar­dic) were thrown out of Spain, along with Muslims, their homeland for more than seven centuries. On March 31st, 1492 the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issued the edict of expulsion and ordered conversion of all Jews and Muslims to Christianity. Some of Jewish refugees found homes in coun­tries like Holland, France and Italy but by far the most important group prefer­red an Isla­mic country as a refuge. Their reason for this was that they had lived for centuries in Isla­mic Spain (Grena­da, Andalusia) where they were treated as citizens. The Jews who settled in the Ottoman lands were by far the largest of those refugees.

Bernard Lewis records the relation between Jews and Turks in Ottoman Empire as follows: when the Turks conquered part of Hungary in the beginning of the sixteenth century, they brought Jews from Ottoman lands and invited Hunga­rian Jews to go to Turkey.  When they left in 1686, the Jews left with them: there are records of imperial orders to protect them, ensure their safe depar­ture, and resettle them in suitable places in the Ottoman lands after the withdrawal from Hungary.  The greatest centres of Ottoman Sephardic Jewry were Istanbul, Salonika and Sarajevo.  Today only Istanbul is within the boundaries of Turkey.

Salonika was a Turkish territory until 1912. It was an econo­mic center of the Ottoman Europe and a cultural centre of Sephar­dic Judaism. The founder of modern Turkey (Atatürk) was born there, after the loss of Salonika in 1912 to Greece, the Jews of Salonika were exterminated by Nazi forces and collaborating Greeks. The writings of Bulent Özdemir and Yitzchak Kerem deal with Jews of the Ottoman Empire and their lives in Salonica. Mahir Saul's describes the development of nationalism and language at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century in Istanbul’s Jewish population. Ali Güler and Salahi Sonyels talked about the transition from the Ottoman Empire into Turkish Republic and the effects of this on the Jews of the Empire and the Republic.

Jewish people who converted to Islam during the Ottoman times but who have preserved many of  their Jewish cultural  traditions were called Doenmehs/ Sabateans or converts and  are  still very much of  interest  both to Turkey & Israel  in the field of Jewish/Turkish  studies. There had not been much objective information about them for some reason but their impact on modern Turkey and its laicist (secular) nature may have been historically important due to their possible influence on Young Turks and Atatürk. A recent writing by Gad Nassi deals with this particular group and reveals some interesting information about their daily life. Avrum Ehrlich also deals with the Sabateans and their impact on Modern Turkish and Israeli relations.The Ottoman period, espoused ongoing ideas of inter-religious tolerance, dialogue and cooperation.

With ancient heritage, sprawling land and fascinating people, today’s Turkey is literally at the crossroads of East and West. Sitting astride the Bosporus, Turkey bridges Asia and Europe. It has historically been the center for the physical and intellectual struggles between Islamic and Western civilizations. Today, it maintains an uneasy balancing act between Western secularism and traditionalist but modernizing Islam. Modern Turkey’s experiences may offer some valuable lessons and suggestions to those seeking a way out of the international crisis of today. Turkey is crowned with ideal and balanced interpretations of democracy, secularism and Islam. I am confident that Turkey will depict herself as a leading candidate for the role of building bridges between civilizations. The economic and political changes following the ascent to power of Turgut Ozal's pro-market economic  regime in 1983 had  opened up new opportunity spaces—social and economic networks and vehicles for activism and the dissemination of meaning, identity, and cultural codes . These opportunity spaces of print and electronic media, associations, study circles, and political parties have produced the Turkish example of Islamically-oriented political and social movements committed to playing within a legal framework of democratic and pluralistic parameters, thus providing a potential model {1} for other Muslim countries.

While talking about Turkey, I feel obligated to provide here a brief account of Fethullah Gülen (a Turkish scholar, intellectual and prime-mover of constructive ideas) and his endeavors that are increasingly drawing the attention of Muslim intellectuals of the world, and academic scholarship in the West. With his charismatic personality, his ever increasing number of admirers in the world, and his tremendous openness, Gülen and his movement is bound to make tremendous contributions to the welfare of the Islamic countries and   development of positive relationships between Islam and the West. President Musharraf, most probably is aware of Gulen’s enlightenment projects and their ever growing impact and influence in the Islamic countries and the world.

Fethullah Gülen (1941- ) in my view is the most influential Islamic personality in modern day Islamic World. His educational and social institutions include the establishment of hundreds of modern schools and several universities inside and outside of Turkey, a media network (such as STV national channel, Aksiyon weekly news magazine, and Zaman, a leading daily newspaper), and business organizations like ISHAD are  the greatest contributions to the world at large  and Islamic countries in particularly. His moderate enlightenment (practical approach) movement is actively engaged in interfaith/intercivilizational dialogue to prevent the fulfillment of Huntington’s prophecy of a "clash of civilizations." , has  a strong engagement with pluralism based on Islamic  principles, has managed to instigate a vast civic movement through his inspirational speeches and writings, has an enlightenment project to fight  the social ills, has an approach to the relationship between science and religion, has best of precepts on  Islamic culture of tolerance, differentiates between civil Islam and state Islam, has best  of  ideas  on interfaith dialogue. Gülen owes a great deal of his intellectual background to the teachings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1873-1960), early Islamic figures such as Jalal ad-Din al-Rumi (d. 1273), Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1625), Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi (1703-1762) as well as some Western classics such as Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, and Honore de Balzac.Gülen's approach to modernity and his influence on contemporary Islamic thought is profound. {2}

The deterioration in Muslim-Jewish relations really came in 1948 due largely to the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland by the Jews and British colonizers, and their ongoing oppression ever since. The anti-Jewish sentiments prevailing in the contemporary Islamic world are strictly a recent phenomenon and one that runs counter to the time honored Islamic tradition of fraternity and tolerance. The present day notion that Muslim -Jewish hostility is but another chapter in a long history of mutual animosity is totally false. Historically, one thing that remains quite clear is that the Muslims and Jews lived together peacefully for centuries in a mutually beneficial relationship. Reestablishing cordial  relations between Muslims and Jews again will require universal ethical values of  justice, friendship, compassion, love  and mutual forgiveness that are neither foreign to Islam nor to Judaism.

The pressing need for dialogue among people of faith has been dramatically underscored by the events of the past many decades. The current world tensions have been accompanied by a rhetoric that speaks in terms of an escalating "clash of civilizations." Conflict is something that is desired by certain power centers. After cold war ended, a clash between civilizations based on religious and cultural differences is being prepared and a new foundation is being laid for the continuation of the domination by the same power blocks. The masses have been put on alarm against a frequently conjectured and feared new enemy; this enemy is more imaginary than real. It is in this manner that the masses have been prepared for every kind of war. These types of claims seem to me to be determining new goals in an attempt to influence public opinion within the framework of these destructive goals.

Some even speak as if such a “clash”, involving continued violence, were almost inevitable in the future. Others are simply perplexed and distressed about a crisis, that to them seems inexplicable, if not insolvable.

Religious beliefs and other differences among cultures can at times be the flashpoints for deep emotional and sadly destructive reactions to one another. In truth, no divine religion has ever been based on conflict, whether it is the religions represented by Moses and Jesus, or the religion represented by Muhammad, upon them be peace. On the contrary, these religions are strictly against disorder, treachery, conflict, and oppression.

Humility is an attribute of true Muslims, example of an incident that occurred between Rumi and a Christian priest can be recalled here. According to the story, a priest visits Rumi and wanted to kiss his hands out of respect. Yet, Rumi was quicker and he kissed the hands of the priest first. Rumi said that even in humility, he wanted to be the first.  Dialogue with adherents of other religious traditions, is an integral part of an Islamic ethics that has been neglected for a long time. In this connection too there is Jesus’ saying in the Gospel, on the occasion when some people brought to him a woman caught in adultery, asking what was to be done with her. Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). By this, he means that people should not think of their superiority over others. Instead they should be humble and open to dialogue.

 Islam means peace, security, and well being. Thus, in a religion based on peace, security, and world harmony, war and conflicts are negative aspects. True Islam has always breathed peace and goodness. Islam considers war as an aberration. Rules have been placed in order to balance and limit war even if defensive. For example, Islam takes justice and world peace as a basis:

Let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. ( 5:8)

I see two sides of our world, exhausted by the conflicts and wars of our day: from one perspective, it is becoming the potential site for new wars and conflict due to the greedy appetites of man, but from another perspective, it is becoming the cradle of brotherhood, love, and unity due to the efforts of people like Jack Rosen & Musharraf who are ambassadors of peace and dialogue. I have hope that the future will give birth to a more joyful, just, merciful and tolerant world, due to interactive initiatives like this one, among Muslims, Christians, Jews, who, despite having competed with each other and opposed each other for too long, are rooted in and nourished by the same source and share the same principles; and these initiatives among major world religions will grow to include other religions of the world.

Malice and hatred could turn the earth into a pit of Hell. We should carry forgiveness to those whose troubles are pushing them into the abyss. The excesses of those who have no forgiveness or tolerance made the past century the most horrific ever. Thus, the greatest gift today’s generation can give is to teach their children how to forgive and be tolerant.

We should ignore others’ faults, respect different ideas, and forgive what is forgivable. We should do this to touch hearts and benefit from differing ideas that force us to keep our heart, spirit, and conscience in good shape.

Those who do not subscribe to a theory of the inevitability of a “clash of civilizations” propose instead a “dialogue of civilizations”. This would involve consistent exchange of views that enriches our understanding of each other and raises our consciousness about the best of the spiritual insights in the religious traditions that we hold dear.

This would result in the mutual enrichment of all as human beings and in a deeper mutual understanding of the nature of a God of mercy and peace whom our civilizations worship in common.

Plurality of religions, beliefs, patterns of worship, ethics, and nationhood, etc. is existential reality. This is a fact of our contemporary world, both on the global scale and also on the level of specific societies. And religions are life expressions of the experience of revelation in any given historical context. They are, therefore, limited by factors of history, geography, culture, language, etc. 

Dialogue becomes a necessity in order to transcend these limitations. Since no singular expression is ultimately complete and exhaustive, one way to advance in the human experience of fullness is to become more and more enriched by the contributions of complementary and pluralistic expressions. With the encounter of a new expression, a hidden gem of truth is bound to awaken, and new potentials are bound to blossom for humankind. For example, Thomas Merton had a new interpretation of Christian religious experience after his encounter with Buddhism.

Initiatives like the one in New York, are about  ‘Cooperation’ of Civilizations and cultures  to acquaint us to alternatives in Muslim, Christian, and Jewish spirituality which should  lead us toward peaceful, non-violent, and respectful living together as “civilizations” in an otherwise potentially volatile world.

Fourteen centuries ago, Islam made the greatest ecumenical call the World has ever heard. The universality of Islam’s call as the last religion to be revealed to humanity is used as the basis for Muslims to engage in dialogue starting with the People of the Book (Jews, Christians and others):

“O people of the book! Come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we take not, from among ourselves lords and patrons other than God.” If they turn back, say you: “Bear witness that we are those who have submitted to God’s will.” {3:64}

In this call, a divisive matter is mentioned and a warning is given: Don't leave God due to misunderstandings or other reasons, and beware of those who use religion to divide.

When there are hundreds of common bridges between us, it is a mistake to stress a few differences. When people really understand such things, Islam, Judaism and Christianity will contribute positively to relations between communities and countries.
The world today needs peace more than at any time in history, and most of its problems arise from excessive worldliness, scientific materialism and the ruthless exploitation of nature. Everyone talks so much of the danger of war and environmental pollution that peace and ecology are the most fashionable words on people's tongues. But the same people wish to remove those problems through further conquest and domination of nature and others.

The first step during the dialogue is, to leave aside the polemics between different religions and bring to the fore the common points which are far more numerous. As Rumî had said, “One of my feet is in the center, the other rotating among all 72 nations”. Thinking in this way, we must draw a circle wide enough to include not only religious people, but all of humanity, and stretch out our hands to everyone in peace. It is important not to forget that all relations between civilized people are through dialogue, through excluding and leaving behind the use of force to pursue any end against each other.

Tolerance is the most essential element of moral systems, and a very important source of spiritual discipline and virtue. It causes merits to attain new depth and extend to infinity, and mistakes and faults to shrink into insignificance. God’s treatment passes through the prism of tolerance, and we wait for it to embrace us and all of creation. This embrace is so broad that a drunk suddenly shook himself free and became a Companion of the Prophet, and a murderer was turned toward the truth and reached the highest rank.
We expect friendship, compassion, love and respect, tolerance and forgiveness, liberty and affection, especially from God. But can we expect these if we do not first offer them to others?

Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624)   explored the concept of loving friendship (khillah) {3}.and explained the centrality of this concept as follows. He spoke of the task of each believer as being connected “with the spiritual relationship between Ibrahim and Muhammad and with the concept of friendship (khillah).” He went on to say:

This friendship, which is the highest manifestation of love (hubb), is the principal force responsible for the creation of the world and its continued existence. Originally it belonged to Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah (khalil Allah). Having reached this exalted stage, Ibrahim was made the imam of all, and even Muhammad was ordered to follow him. {4}

This idea of friendship inspired contemporary writers and intellectuals such as Nursi and Gülen to cultivate a friendship with all those who profess the faith of Abraham, even those outside the Islamic community among the ‘People of the Book.’

From Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi, Gülen learned how to think about the role of traditional Islamic mysticism in the modern world. {5}In particular, Shah Wali insisted that Muslim thinkers should always incorporate the lessons learned from the Sufi masters of the past into the framework of the traditional Islamic teachings. He said, “Sufis without knowledge of Qur’an and sunnah, and scholars who are not interested in mysticism, are brigands and robbers of the deen (religion).” {6}

A close examination of Gülen’s thought shows that he is one of the foremost Muslim scholars of the present day Islamic World who has been promoting dialogue and tolerance between the Muslim communities, who differ among themselves in many important ways, as well as between Muslims and the adherents of the other religious traditions.

Examining Gülen’s teaching on interreligious dialogue, one notices in the first place that he traces the idea back to basic Islamic themes.  Gülen took the “bism-e-alah arehman-arahim,” the beginning of almost every chapter of the Qur’an, as a starting point. In this phrase, God’s attributes are recorded as, “the most Compassionate and the most Merciful.” The recurrence of this phrase over and over again, one hundred and fourteen times, in the Qur’an must be taken seriously, according to Gülen.{7} He proposes that by this means that  God  teaches us, among other things, to be compassionate and merciful in our relations with our fellow human beings, and with nature. In one of his articles on compassion Gülen says:

Compassion is the beginning of being; without it everything is chaos. Everything has come into existence through compassion and by compassion it continues to exist in harmony. … Every thing speaks of compassion and promises compassion. Because of this, the universe can be considered a symphony of compassion. All kinds of voices proclaim compassion so that it is impossible not to be aware of it, and impossible not to feel the wide mercy encircling everything. How unfortunate are the souls who don’t perceive this… Man has a responsibility to show compassion to all living beings, as a requirement of being human. The more he displays compassion, the more exalted he becomes, while the more he resorts to wrongdoing, oppression and cruelty, the more he is disgraced and humiliated, becoming a shame to humanity. {8}

We can now turn our focus to the concept of love as we find it in his writings. Speaking of love, Gülen focuses his attention on one of the ‘beautiful names’ of God, ‘al-Wadud,’ the Beloved One.  {9} by implication, he points out that Muslims are expected to reflect this attribute in their lives by being a people of love. In fact, Said Nursi, Gülen’s predecessor, made love the motto of his own philosophy. Gülen says, “There is no weapon in the universe stronger than the weapon of love.”    {10}

Gülen’s understanding of love is evident in the following quotation:

Love is the most essential element in every being, a most radiant light and a great power that can resist and overcome every force. Love elevates every soul that absorbs it, and prepares it for the journey to eternity. Souls that have made contact with eternity through love exert themselves to implant in all other souls what they receive from eternity. They dedicate their lives to this sacred duty, for the sake of which they endure every kind of hardship to the end. Just as they pronounce ‘love’ with their last breath, they also breathe love while being raised on the Day of Judgment. {11}

Clearly, then, the concepts of compassion and love are basic principles of Gülen’s teachings based on Islam. With a strong voice, he advocates tolerance, forgiveness and humility as central Islamic ethical values. They are interrelated and the one requires the other. In a recent article, Gülen has the following to say about tolerance:

Those who close the road of tolerance are beasts that have lost their humanity.  Forgiveness and tolerance will heal most of our wounds, but only if this divine instrument is in the hands of those who understand its language. Otherwise, the incorrect treatment we have used until now will create many complications and continue to confuse us. {12}

Gülen finds the roots of these themes in the teachings of the Prophet of Islam himself, from whom he quotes the following tradition, “Whoever is humble, God exalts him; whoever is haughty, God humiliates him.{13}In this thought, which is at the heart of Islamic ethics, Gülen finds the basis for interreligious dialogue. He believes that dialogue will be the natural result of the practice of Islamic ethics. Someone who believes in his own superiority will never come to the way of dialogue. The opposite is the case for one who humbles himself willingly; this person will be more likely to settle differences by dialogue with others.Those among us who want to reform the world must first reform themselves; purify their   inner worlds of hatred, rancor, and jealousy; and adorn their outer worlds with virtue. Goodness, beauty, truthfulness, and being virtuous are the essence of the world and humanity. Whatever happens, the world will one day find this essence. No one can prevent this.

 References:

1- For example, see Bulent Aras and Omer Caha, "Fethullah Gulen and his Liberal "Turkish Islam" Movement," Middle East Review of International Affairs 4:4 (2000).

2- The Muslim World, Special Issue, July 2005 - Vol. 95 Issue 3 Pages 325-471

3- Nursi considers the concept of Khillah as his mashrub (modus operandi) in his treatise on sincerity. See Nursi, Risale-i Nur Kulliyati, Vol. 1, p. 668-672. (Istanbul: Nesil, 1996).

4- Friedmann, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, pp. 18-19.

5- See J. M. S. Baljon, Religion and Thought of Shah Wali Allah Dihlawi 1703-1762 (Studies in the History of Religions, XLVII; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1986).

6- Quoted in Baljon, Religion and Thought of Shah Wali, p. 78.

7- The phrase is mentioned at the beginning of all chapters in the Qur’an, with the exception of al-Tawba (ch. 9) the phrase also is mentioned in its complete form in another chapter, al-Naml, and (27:30). This makes the total 114.

8- M. Fethullah Gulen, Towards the Lost Paradise, (London: Trustar, 1996), pp. 40-2; see also M. Fethullah Gulen, Fatiha Uzerine Mulahazalar (Considerations on the Chapter Fatiha), (Izmir: Nil Yayinlari, 1997), pp. 90-95.

9- M. Fethullah Gulen, Kalbin zumrut tepeler (Pirlanta Kitap Serisi; Izmir: Nil Yayinlari, 1994), p. 215.

10- Compare this to when Nursi said that “We are deveotees of love and don’t have time to hate,” Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Divan-i Harbi Orfi, in Risale-I Nur Kulliyati, vol. II, p.1930. See also Fethullah Gulen, Hosgoru ve Diyalog Iklimi (ed. Selcuk Camci & Kudret Unal; Izmir: Merkur Yayinlari , 1998), p. 132.

11- Ibid., p. 59.

12- M. Fethullah Gulen, “Forgiveness”, The Fountain 3 (April-June 2000), pp. 4 - 5.

13- M. Fethullah Gulen, Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism (Fairfax, Va.: The Fountain, 1999), p. 76.

 

Dr.Muzaffar Khan Awan is a Pakistani-American physician has lived in the USA for over 30 years. He originally hails from Punjab, Pakistan. He practices medicine in Detroit Metropolitan area of Michigan. He has keen interest in the moderate enlightenment thought in Islam and interfaith dialogue and is an amateur writer and has written many articles in the Pakistani English newspapers and magazines. Dr. Awan firmly believes that slowly but surely civil society movements are underway in the Muslim world that are contributing to the development of positive relationships between Islam and the West. His email is Mkawanmd@aol.com.

 


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