Tolerance necessary for world peace, says Gürsoy

“My family and I reflect interfaith dialogue well. Coming from a family that attaches great importance to religion, I was educated by clergymen in my high school years in Saint Benoit and had many non-Muslim friends. We lived without any problems, and this peaceful atmosphere can be achieved again by tolerance,” said Gürsoy. Recalling his grandfather Kenan Refai, who was the leader of an Islamic community before the tekkes were abolished in 1925 and had been a teacher at Fener Secondary School, which catered to Orthodox children.

Gürsoy drew attention to his grandfather's non-Muslim visitors, saying: “We have a tradition of being tolerant toward ethnic, cultural and religious differences and coexisting with them. Unfortunately, we have lost it. If we regain tolerance for these differences we can generate a new visionary civilization in Anatolia.”

Gürsoy also underlined the importance of interfaith dialogue to fight against Islamophobia in Europe and praised the initiatives carried out by the Vatican and Turkey.

When asked what Turkey's role in interfaith dialogue is, he underlined the importance of the Ottoman Empire's past experiences and said that if this experience is refreshed and transformed to meet today's needs, Turkey will play a significant role in world politics for peace. “Muslim Turks have had an experience which provides an appropriate atmosphere for differences to remain in coherence,” added Gürsoy.

He noted that interfaith dialogue is a test for each side as to whether or not they have the self-confidence to encounter the other on which their identity is constructed. “We are identified according to the other; thus we have to know the other to respect it,” said Gürsoy.

Stating that those criticizing the dialogue process in Turkey on the assumption that interfaith dialogue will cause the deformation of Islamic identity, he said, “They should understand that we cannot remain closed any longer and that the process of dialogue will not damage our religion.”

Commenting on the role of interfaith dialogue and fighting against Islamophobia in the Western world, he praised the initiatives of the Catholic leadership. “The Vatican is carrying out significant projects regarding upholding interfaith dialogue even though they receive harsh criticism from radicals,” said Gürsoy. He said Vatican authorities are aware that a marginal group of people promoting terrorism in the name of Islam by politicizing it cannot represent all Muslims.

All divine religions are considered inclusive and are not based on exclusive understandings. They all have a universal message and invite humanity into their religion. Therefore, it is impossible for these religions to engage with violence and exclusion. This characteristic of divine religions should now be employed in the establishment of world peace.

 Yet a policy that continuously exaggerates the violence alleged to be produced by a marginal group of Muslims is pursued by Westerners, especially since Sept. 11, 2001, but providentially, they do not constitute a majority of the Western public, and many Western institutions do not associate themselves with Islamophobia.

“The West is not closed to Islam. I honestly believe that because modern research on Islam has been carried out by the last three generations in the Islamic world and there have been senior scholars in Islamic studies for seven or eight generations in Europe, they know what Islam means. They seek ways to communicate with Muslims, and I have attended many events and conferences to which many scholars from Islamic countries have been invited. Furthermore, there are groups related to the Catholic Church that carry out interfaith dialogue projects in various European countries. What we should do is present a true example representing the Islamic world and show them a peaceful establishment.”

He highlighted the words of Yunus Emre, a 13th century Sufi mystic in Anatolia -- “Let's know each other” -- saying it should be the main policy targeting Islamophobia in Europe. “We should know each other but it does not mean only learning about our opposites, it also includes respecting all others,” he said, adding this is the first condition on which to establish the basic ethical principles that will direct humanity toward the common goal of peace.

Lastly, he pledged, if the appointment goes ahead, to make efforts to support interfaith dialogue in the Vatican and to attempt to meet Christian and Muslim scholars with regular events.