By Phil Gerson, Special to JTNews
My name is Phil Gerson. I’m a member of Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue and I have been involved with interfaith dialogue programs in Seattle over the last seven years. I recently returned with my wife Ellen from a two week trip to Turkey sponsored and arranged by local Turkish groups, including the Acacia Foundation of Seattle and the Pacifica Institute of California. The mission of these groups is to:
Promote cross-cultural awareness within and outside of Turkey
Attain peace and appreciate diversity with our neighbors
Support Turkish efforts to strengthen their civil society by promoting human values.
The local members of our Turkish travel entourage included a multifaith group consisting of Seattle Jews (Ellen and me), Christians (Andrea Nenzel and Patrick Howell from Catholic organizations; Presbyterian ministers Barry Keating and Gary Skinner, with Gary’s wife Janet; Paul Roby of Seattle First Baptist Church; and Karen Lindquist, co-founder of the Interfaith Community Church of Seattle); and Muslims (Jawad and Kaniz Khaki from the IMAN Community of Kirkland and their daughters Ateqah and Asiya).
While the Jewish story has a definite historical chapter in Turkey — there are currently 20,000 Jewish residents, most of whom live in Istanbul and Izmir — this is a story of how Turkish historical values and ethnic culture in this Islamic nation are building a more educated human society that strives for dignity for all, and fosters an environment that appreciates a diversity of views and cultures.
The trip’s itinerary was formed around the visiting of Turkish historical sites, and also had a focus on an in-depth dialogue with institutions and individuals inspired by the teachings of a Muslim scholar, M. Fethullah Gulen, who, through his teachings on education and his interfaith dialogues both within and outside of Turkey, is truly changing its civil society.
Gulen believes in something called Turkish Islam, which is shaped by Sufism, Turkey’s positive experience with the West, and Turkey’s transformation. It is an understanding of Islam shaped by both the history and contemporary experiences of Turkey.
In Gulen’s view, Turkey’s virtues include its Ottoman heritage, as well as its secularism, market economy, and democracy.
Turkey’s move to secularism came about in 1923, when, under Kemal Ataturk, a traumatic transition was made to a modern, Westernized republic.
With a constitution that still reflects a military rule from early changes in the nascent 20th century, tensions still exist today between secular groups and the followers of Gulen.
For our group, focused on spiritual values derived through interfaith dialogue, it was both profound and uplifting that we found so many of Gulen’s followers contributing so much toward a more educated human society.
Before leaving Seattle, I had had a positive impression of Turkey, as it was the only country consisting of a predominantly Muslim population that recognized Israel.
I also had some understanding of the Ottoman Empire’s acceptance of the Jewish people who had left Spain after the Inquisition in 1492, but until that point, had little historical context for their practice of religious tolerance. I came away with a completely unexpected insight into this unique country.
Upon our arrival in Istanbul, certain geographic and historic realities made themselves immediately apparent. When you sit in a restaurant in European Istanbul and look across the beautiful Bosporus Straits at Asian Istanbul, you immediately sense the significance of how geography and associated economic forces created the inevitable clash of ethnic cultures which ultimately yielded the rich diversity we all appreciate today. When we visited the Hagia Sophia Museum, a church later converted to a mosque, as well as the Blue Mosque, we began to understand the history of the confluence of Constantine and the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the rise of Islam. This convergence of Christianity and Islam clarified in some depth this richest of historical times and religious leanings in a way I had never fully comprehended.
My favorite site in Istanbul was that of Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Ottoman Empire (1299–1923). The openness and beauty of the palace, the authentic Turkish art, and the physical layout all gave me a feeling of stability and serenity. Being there also allowed me to visualize the critical meetings which have taken place there over the years, where the governing policies and decisions were made that contributed to the 500-plus year lifespan of the site.
We flew to Izmir (known historically as Smyrna), Turkey’s third most populous city and the country’s largest port after Istanbul.
We immediately went to breakfast and had our first in-depth discussion with the executives of a textile manufacturing factory. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear the CEO talk about the human values necessary for peace and understanding between diverse societies, institutions and groups. The company’s second in command discussed how the history of the Ottoman Empire and its tolerance of religious diversity positions Turkish society to become a model to the world on how Islam can peacefully co-exist and flourish with Western civilizations. I believe this encounter set the tone for all of our subsequent discussions.
We then visited Ephesus, with its amazing history of cultural transformation brought about by the Hittite, Persian, Greek, Roman, Selçuk, and Ottoman regimes. Walking through these ruins, we were witness to the marvel of Roman engineering, Jewish communities established in the 4th century BCE, and the fledgling Christian communities led by St. Paul. With the guided tour, we got a sense of history viewing ruins that have only been 15 percent excavated so far.
Konya and Nigde
Konya is the spiritual home of Rumi and the Islamic mystical Sufi movement. We visited Rumi’s Tomb, where we learned about Sufi history and the disciplines required to become a Sufi dervish. We were even able to see a “whirling dervish” dance performance by two young men at the school.
The highlight of this part of the trip, however, was a wonderful visit to a Gulen-inspired private grade school and a discussion with its principal on teaching philosophy and the accomplishments of their hard work. The major difference in their system from ours, I believe, is the set of expectations they have placed on their teachers. For example, there is an expectation that they will spend six days a week working with their students, which includes home visits to guide the students and their parents toward effective involvement. The school is indeed an extension of the family.
We then drove to Nigde and were heartily welcomed with a late evening dinner and special children’s show at Sunguroglu High School. Their enthusiasm was very contagious; I can’t ever recall enjoying a show put on for any group I have been involved with as much as we enjoyed this one.
It was in Nigde that we experienced first-hand Turkish/Muslim hospitality, and answered questions about each others’ lives in our respective homelands.
The next morning, we breakfasted with the city’s Imam and the high school principal. The Imam discussed the role he plays in the Muslim community. For me, these in-depth dialogues were a real highlight of the trip.
After visiting the fascinating caves and monasteries of Cappadocia, we made our way to Kayseri, where we flew to Istanbul to conclude our journey.
While visiting the new, Gulen-inspired Fatih University, (an excellent private institution), I learned a bit about the civil rights issue of whether, in a secular society, it should be permissible for female students to wear traditional Islamic headscarves, as had been recently allowed by the ruling Islamic AK party.
Just a quick visual observation of half of the women wearing these headscarves tells the story: this Muslim population wants the opportunity to express its religious traditions.
However, a June 5 article from the BBC reported the latest chapter in this struggle: The Supreme Court did indeed strike down the right of university women to wear headscarves on campus, raising the specter of increased tensions on the path to this emergent new Turkey.
Overall, the trip solidified my understanding of the history making up Turkish cultural heritage, and its influences on modern day Turkey.
Of most significance was the ability of the Ottoman Empire, through its policy of tolerance of religious diversity, to sustain the empire through hundreds of years. This tolerance is part of the energy that accepts diversity today.
Even now, tensions in Turkey between their early 20th-century secularist/military constitution and the expression of religious freedoms challenge the emergent trends in a civil society where the values reflect those of the Koran more closely than anywhere else in the Middle East.
Many of us are committed to deepening the relationships with our Turkish friends in both the U.S. and Turkey.
Additionally, we have seen the impact that Fethullah Gulen’s values have had on strengthening Turkish civil society, and we would like to explore how his works can continue to inspire all of us to promote interfaith dialogue, both here, and around the world.