Toward a culture of coexistence

Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz
Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz


Date posted: November 23, 2011

Ihsan YILMAZ 18 November 2011, Friday

ABUJA, NIGERIA — I am currently attending a conference titled “Establishing a Culture of Coexistence and Mutual Understanding.” As the conference organizers rightly underline, Nigeria is an important and relevant place for this conference not only because of its cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity, but also because it is where volunteers of the Hizmet movement inspired by Fethullah Gülen’s ideas have established 16 schools, a university and a hospital.

Students from all backgrounds are studying in peace in these schools, in a culture of coexistence of mutual understanding. Renowned professors from many different countries, from Bangladesh to South Africa, from Jordan to the United States will analyze how the movement has been proactively contributing to the establishment of a culture of coexistence through education, dialogue, poverty alleviation and media activities.

I believe the Turkish experience of contemporary attempts to revive the peaceful coexistence of the past, which the Hizmet movement took the lead in, is highly relevant for a diverse Nigerian society, which is unfortunately suffering from attacks targeting its culture of coexistence. Here about 60-65 percent of the nation is Muslim while about 30 percent is Christian and 5 percent are from other religions. In such a society, in order to guarantee its citizens their rights of freedom of speech, expression and religion, the state has to be neutral toward all religions. In such a society in the public sphere there will be some demands based on religion but the faithful must endeavor for a shift in their epistemic attitudes so that they can actively and emphatically contribute to the efforts of politicians to translate religious demands into a secular language.

It is my contention that this is something that has been achieved by the Hizmet movement. With an ijtihad (the decision making in Islamic law by way of personal effort, free from a particular school of thought) and tajdid (Islamic revival) understanding in sociopolitical issues, Gülen has argued, unlike the Islamists, that a human rights friendly passive Anglo-Saxon secularism could provide a wider framework to Muslims to practice their religion comfortably where other religious minorities could also benefit from human rights. He has highlighted that Islam does not need a state to survive and civil society in liberal-democratic settings is sufficient for its individual and social practice. In the political public sphere, religious demands could be negotiated by politicians in a secular language and this is how this has recently been done in the Turkish context.

Former Turkish Islamists have realized that instead of provoking the political public sphere with religious demands, a human rights friendly setting and a passive Anglo-Saxon secularism would be enough for the practice of Islam in the public space and even for making religious demands in the public sphere — even though the Turkish application of laicite does not make room for it at the moment.

The greatest danger to Nigeria’s well-being, prosperity and unity is ethnic and religious nationalism that is intolerant of the other and aims to suppress the other’s demands. This was a mistake made toward the end of the Ottoman Empire by Turkish nationalists who provoked Albanians and Arabs with their narrow-minded Turkish nationalist actions, and we all know the end result of their nationalism. Turks have also suffered a lot at the hands of the nationalists, and our current Kurdish problem is a result of these nationalist policies and attitudes. Having very rich oil reserves, Nigerians must be doubly vigilant and there are good lessons to be drawn from the Turkish experience.

Source: Today’s Zaman http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-263245-toward-a-culture-of-coexistence.html


Related News

French coach Tigana to donate computer lab to Turkish school in Mali

A large educational facility is being constructed on 14 acres of land by Turkish education volunteers in Bamako. While the construction of the school, which will be situated along the Niger River, is still in progress, the volunteers were delighted by the unexpected support from French coach Tigana for the education complex. Tigana first drastically reduced the price of the land and then promised to sponsor the construction of a computer lab in the school.

Report: Erdoğan’s anti-Turkish school rhetoric damages Turkish-African ties

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unrelenting denunciation of schools affiliated with the Gülen community and calls for the closure of the schools over the past two years have been harshly criticized in the central African country of Cameroon.

Rumi Forum chooses solutions to problems for essay contest

The Rumi Forum, an international organization established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to foster intercultural dialogue, has chosen the Hizmet movement and solutions to today’s problems as the topic for this year’s essay contest.

Turkish Cultural Center Holds Annual Friendship Dinner

The Turkish Cultural Center Queens held its 12th annual friendship dinner and award ceremony at Flushing Town Hall last week. In the words of Turkish Cultural Center representatives, the dinner and awards ceremony brings together community leaders, elected officials, non-governmental organizations, clergy, academicians and others “to foster mutual understanding, respect and love.”

Volunteer doctors to perform surgeries in Mali under leadership of Kimse Yok Mu

Antalya’s Manavgat Medical Foundation’s (MASADER) volunteers in cooperation with Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) will perform cataract and fistula, a postnatal disease in women, surgeries in Mali.

TUSKON awarded damages, to build orphanage in Uganda

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) said it has won compensation in separate cases for the illegal wiretapping of a phone conversation which turned into a smear campaign against the confederation and that this money will be used to build an orphanage in Uganda, the country at the center of the smear campaign.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Medialog debates new media challenges at İstanbul conference

GYV announces the third international family policy conference

State Department: US concerned by rhetoric from Turkey on Russian envoy killing

Kimse Yok Mu to stop beggary in Sakarya, Turkey

Intellectuals from West, East agree Gülen movement works for a better world

Academic freedom at universities under growing threat

Deputy Minister of Culture Igor Șarov met the participants of the International Festival of Language and Culture

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News