A
gentleman whom I greatly respect recently asked me what percentage of Turkey I
thought was Muslim. I told him I suspected it to be around 98%.
“Exactly,” he exclaimed adding, “ It’s a very dangerous place.”
(The
actual percentage of Turks claiming the Muslim religion is 99.8%.)
I write this post to simply express my opinion that the “danger” of a people, any people, cannot be determined by the faith they proclaim and that it is short-sighted for us to fall victim to the temptation of cultural generalization - especially when we are fighting a real enemy.
The
people of Turkey and their nation are very close to my heart. I have spent time
there on several occasions and look forward to returning soon. I have driven
from Ankara to Istanbul across Anatolia and seen and felt the beauty of this
remarkable country. I have walked at night along the Bosporus
photographing the “New Mosque,” the Spice Bizarre and the colorful nightlife of
vendors, couples and families enjoying their city. I have eaten amazing
meals in the homes of strangers turned friends and wandered the back streets
surrounding Taksim Square looking for the restaurant that sits at the bottom of
steep and winding stone stairs and sells the best lemon ice in
Istanbul.
What I have not done, however, is feel in danger.
Certainly the political unrest of the past 12 months has generated heated exchanges between the government and protesters seeking greater civil liberties. There has also been a marked shift by the current Erdogan administration toward a more religiously oriented government which threatens the secular foundation of the country. This does not mean, however, that the nation or its people are dangerous because they follow Islam.
It
has been my experience that the people of Turkey are gracious, friendly and
anxious to share the beauty of their country and culture, but more importantly eager
to build relationships that go beyond politics and center on family and deep,
lasting and mutually respectful friendships.
It
was through these relationships, especially with a number of Turkish immigrants
to the U.S,. that I shaped my views of and feeling for the Turkish people. I
have spent many evenings visiting with these friends either in their homes or
mine. These evenings are framed by wonderful meals, sweets and tea and filled
with wandering conversations about family joys and difficult times, as well as,
politics here and abroad.
These
friends are Muslim and they know I am a Christian. We know that we share different
views theologically and because we are not in a race to convert the other
first, we are not afraid to let our conversations go into these areas.
Are there religious writings that we could grab onto which would make our conversations awkward at best? Of course, there are - from both Islamic and Christian perspectives. Should we? - Of course not. I would prefer to spend my time teaching a 6 year old how to fish for the first time or laugh about the sweating chaos of Disney World in the heat of July or explore ways to bring Turkish business to the U.S. or local business there.
There
are extremists who use the mantle of Islam to declare war against Christians as
well as Jews and other faiths. These same militants, however, use their
twisted ideology to declare war with equal or greater fervor on Muslims who do
not hold to their ideology of hate. This is a fact and cannot nor should not be
ignored. I have written on a number of occasions long before the current
actions by the U.S. against ISIS that it was in our national interest to take
military action against these groups.
I
will not however accept the poisonous notion that every Muslim is somehow
dangerous or should be viewed suspiciously. This view is not only
unChrist-like, it is misguided. Someone once said that the person
who chooses to clutch onto the small ideas does not have free hands to embrace the truth –
I certainly don’t claim to have the “truth,” in terms of geopolitics and
inner-cultural relations, but I prefer to leave my hands free to grab it when I
find it.
Until
then, I will proudly call my friends my friends and be honored to be just that
– a friend.
(Before
being inundated with Facebook messages directing me to the verse in the Quran
that seems to instruct Muslims to not have friendships with Christians or Jews,
let me put a link here and direct commenters to read this interpretation then
let it be. I am not a Muslim scholar nor will I play one on my blog. http://seekersguidance.org/ans-blog/2009/09/07/friendship-with-non-muslims-explaining-verse-551/)
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