Among them, “Vesiletü’n Necat” (A Means for Salvation), written by Süleyman Çelebi, a muezzin of Ulu Cami in Bursa in the 14th century, has become very popular. Turks tends to read and listen to this poem frequently, as if in worship. This poem -- which religious officials with beautiful voices would read in a holy atmosphere where everyone would listen reverently -- has come to be known as “Mevlid” (Birth).Mevlid is a tradition peculiar to Turks and Kurds. Other Muslim societies such as Arab societies do not organize special celebrations for the birth of the Prophet. The beginning of this tradition among Turks and Kurds dates back to the 12th century. Salah al-Din Ayyubi, popularly known as Saladin, a Kurdish commander who defended the Muslim world against the Crusaders, and Muzaffereddün Gökbörü, a Turkish commander who was married to the sister of Salah al-Din Ayyubi, are two of the major figures behind this tradition. In particular, Gökbörü, the governor of Arbil in northern Iraq, organized big celebrations to mark the anniversary of birth of the Prophet. In Islamic literature, mevlid is a genre comprising poems about the birth of Prophet. There are poems galore that fall under this genre.
Modern Turkish Islam
Since 1989, Turkey has marked the Mevlid under the name “Blessed Birth Week.” This is an important indicator of how Turkish Islam has undergone a transformation. A tradition introduced eight years ago has gained brand new content. As I was among those who started this tradition, I know this transformation closely.
In 1989, I worked as a member of the editorial board of the Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation (TDV) that was founded with the purpose of supporting the Religious Affairs Directorate. We developed new projects with Süleyman Hayri Bolay, a professor of theology, Bahaeddin Yediyıldız, a professor of history, and Ayvaz Gökdemir, who later emerged as a major figure in Turkish politics. Among these projects was the idea of taking the Mawlid an-Nabi celebrations outside the mosques and in a modern way. We decided that instead of reciting Süleyman Çelebi’s “Vesiletü’n Necat” in mosques as is customary, conferences, panel discussions and concerts of religious music should be held.
Our proposal received enthusiastic support from society in seven meetings we organized in Ankara in 1989. Thus, our project was approved and became a tradition. The fact that a project envisaging the celebration of the birth of the Prophet in a modern way was readily accepted is proof that Turkish society is open to change and innovation even in religious matters.
Later, a problem emerged. We had based our Blessed Birth Week on the lunar calendar and coupled it with Mawlid an-Nabi, and this meant that every year, this date would correspond to 13 days before the last year’s celebrations in the Gregorian calendar. So we decided to take the Gregorian calendar as the basis for the Blessed Birth Week and declared the third week of April as the “Blessed Birth Week.” Despite some initial objections, this change was accepted as well. Today, this week is jointly celebrated by different religious groups in Turkey, and this should be seen as a sign of the capability of the Turkish version of Islam to be innovative and adapt to the modern world.
Blessed Birth Week of military coups
The last abortive military coup of Turkey, the e-memorandum of April 27, 2007, was launched in response to Blessed Birth Week festivities. This memorandum was a prime example of both Turkey’s progressive face and its reactionary face.
The real purpose of the e-memorandum of April 27 was to meddle with the presidential election and prevent the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) candidate from being elected president. The military attempted to do this by claiming that reactionaryism was on the rise. To prove this, they referred to the Blessed Birth Week celebrations of three years ago. All of the so-called reactionary events listed in the e-memorandum of April 27 had been held within the framework of the Blessed Birth Week festivities. Subsequent investigations showed that none of these events could be described as criminal. In short, Blessed Birth Week emerged as the symbol of peace and tolerance, while the memorandum signified tyranny supported by weaponry. These memorandums represent the reactionary face of Turkey, while its progressive face is embodied in Blessed Birth Week activities.
Turkey can freely enjoy its religious beliefs and at the same time communicate with the modern world in a healthy manner. Relying on its natural dynamic, it can efficiently produce peaceful and tolerant interpretations of Islam.
Rising star of Blessed Birth Week: Baykal
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal attended the Blessed Birth Week festivities for the first time this year, though it has been held for 21 years without interruption. He delivered an impressive speech that was applauded enthusiastically by a religious audience. Baykal attending these festivities and delivering a speech is in itself an important development for Turkey. It signifies that many things have changed and that social consensus is improving.
Baykal’s speech was a contemporary interpretation of Islam. His assertion that Islam is essentially based on improving people’s moral values, that it has made significant contributions to science and the liberation of human beings and that it relies on justice and fairness were among the things that many people would readily accept. Baykal used arguments acceptable to everyone as he defined an individualist and liberal interpretation of religion. For instance, Baykal reformulated the secularist position that “religion is a matter of conscience between man and God” with a reverent manner when he said: “Every person believes with his/her own reason and free will. No one can be held responsible for other people’s sins. Only those who deserve to will go to Paradise. No religious community can make collective reservations in Paradise. If you are a good man, then you don’t need anyone to act as a mediator.” His analogy of “collective reservations in Paradise” is a vivid one that will be remembered. It targets religious communities and religious orders. However, religious communities or orders do not make such claims.
Baykal’s attendance and impressive speech are a major indicator of the changing nature of politics and society in Turkey. The debates and developments concerning Blessed Birth Week offer us clear hints about the dynamism of Turkish society and its capability to adapt to change and innovation.
History has progressive forces. Reactionary forces step in to block these progressive forces and maintain the status quo. In Turkey, progressive forces are represented by democratic players, while reactionaryism is embodied by subversive forces.
The ongoing enlightened debates about religion and the Blessed Birth Week that we mark this week show that Turkey is moving confidently toward a progressive world.
