Today is the first day of the two biggest festivities of Islam, Eid
al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, also marking the completion of the
annual pilgrimage around Kaaba in Mecca.
Leading Turkish pilgrims
in Mecca this year, Mehmet Görmez, Turkey’s Religious Affairs (Diyanet)
Director, delivered a khutbah (sermon) and a prayer there Sept. 23, on
the eve of the festivities’ start.
Pleading for the mercy of
God, Görmez said it was no one but Muslims who are responsible if there
are those who think that this religion of God’s grace was a “religion of
fear.”
Underlining that Muslims start every action in the name
of God, Görmez said, “But [Muslims] failed to do our works with justice,
mercy and love. We called violence as jihad, oppression as victory.”
Though
there is no direct reference in his prayer, which could be counted as a
self-criticism in the name of Muslims around the world, the words of
Görmez came after a speech he delivered in
Ankara
on Aug. 17, when he condemned movements like al-Qaeda and Islamic State
of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as being of “terrorism” and all good Muslims
should “unite against their deception.”
“This fact cannot be
ignored as provocations of ‘exterior conspirators,’” Görmez continued.
“We have to ask ourselves: ‘What have we done wrong that those
provocations have found ground?’” That was a follow-up of a report by
the Diyanet on Aug. 10, under the title “Aims, Activities and Islamic
Understanding of the Terrorist Organization Daesh,” referring to ISIL by
its Arabic initials.
The message of Görmez coincided with the reopening of the Central Mosque in Moscow by
Russian
President Vladimir Putin, which was joined by Turkish President Tayyip
Erdoğan among political leaders from countries with Muslim populations.
At such a conjuncture, the self-criticism of Turkey’s top religious
official is actually a strong criticism against radical movements using
terrorism in the name of Islam. On this day of festivities, in different
parts of world, they are actually Muslims of different sects and
different shades of radicalism killing each other.
Without drawing a
thick red line between violence and politics in the name of jihad
(whatever their root causes be), the political leaders in the Islamic
world are likely to fail in their efforts to give an end to the current
re-generation of violence in the name of faith.
Read more: A self-criticism of Islamic world by top Turkish official in Mecca - MURAT YETKİN
