Last weekend an international symposium organized by the Yeni Ümit and Hira magazines and attended by scholars from 60 countries was held in Gaziantep. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Religious Affairs Directorate President Mehmet Görmez attended the symposium, titled “Solutions to social problems from the Path of the Prophet [Muhammad].” There was great interest in the meeting and guests from foreign countries were very impressed by this interest. The meeting, which was broadcast live on Mehtap TV, saw an alternative call rising from Gaziantep.
The situation of the world is out there. The capitalist system, within which humanitarian values, the fair distribution of wealth and mercy are off the target, is wobbling. The greed of bosses and top managers of companies, which stems from their penchant for earning more and more money, is causing countries -- even the ones which were allegedly immune -- to go bankrupt. Sequential economic crises are threatening the entire world via successive chain reactions. Humanity can’t remain an onlooker to the tyranny of those who consider themselves to be the ultimate power and who don’t expect there to be a day of reckoning for them.
Longing for a capitalism that is sensitive to humanitarian values is against the law of the instrument. The scars caused by the disasters that resulted from the selfish approach of the West, which has prioritized materialism and positivism, has snubbed human and humanitarian values and accordingly has used imperialism to deliver civilization to the exploited lands for three centuries, haven’t healed yet. Neither have the traumas stemming from World War I and II. And threats like racism and Islamophobia, which have been led by politicians, especially in Europe, are on the rise again. The search for a reconciliation of civilizations under the umbrella of United Nations isn’t futile.
The Prophet’s Way will offer alternative solutions for the many problems of humanity that is in search of solutions. Because this way offers a balanced approach with regards to this world and afterlife, sobriety and the love that is in the core of man. According to Muslim believers, man is an esteemed being. Any thing, any regime or any system that strips humankind of its value is not humanitarian. It may promise to bring peace, but it can’t bring peace. It may promise to provide justice, but it can’t provide it. Here is a communist system and here is a capitalist system; one collapsed easily in spite of all kinds of impositions, oppressions and even massacres. And the other is cracking and collapsing with every breeze, just like a rotten poplar tree.
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| Fethullah Gulen |
Today the burden is on the shoulders of the followers of the Prophet’s Way. We know that each human is the child of the era in which he or she lives. The mentality and universal humanitarian values of the era in which we are living should be taken into account. Today, individual liberty has become prominent once more, and oppressive governments have been replaced by more democratic governments that give more importance to individual rights and liberty. Today we are living in a world where nobody is unquestionable and where the supremacy of law is the main criteria. And the motto of this world is “sharing.”
Both Islamic regions and the world -- in short, all humanity -- need a revival. We need a spring that is based on love, mercy, dialogue, tolerance, dealing with evil by kindness, respecting everybody’s position, justice and fairness. Humanity will discover its core in this spring. This spring is one in which money and interests are not everything. This is the spring of competing with each other in good works and the spring of avoiding evil.
The Prophet’s Way will make us deal with the gap between the rich and poor. The wealth of the earth will be shared most fairly and all discriminations based on race, color, language and ways of living will end. This isn’t a dream. Today the followers of the Prophet Muhammad are giving this hope to people around the world and “universal peace choirs” are already making a hit with humanitarian compositions. The Prophet’s Way is the harbinger of new springs.
Published on Today's Zaman, 08 May 2012, Tuesday
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