The opening event for the April 14-20 Blessed Birth Week organized by the Directorate of Religious Affairs was held in İstanbul's Eyüp district with the attendance of hundreds, including top public officials. Among the attendees were Directorate of Religious Affairs President Ali Bardakoğlu, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Çetin, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin, State Ministers Hayati Yazıcı and Faruk Çelik, Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Yalçın Topçu, İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and singer İbrahim Tatlıses.
In his opening talk, Bardakoğlu extolled the ethics of the Prophet Muhammad, highlighting compassion as a key characteristic of the latter’s dealings with adults and children, animals and even enemies. “We have a need for, as a door of hope for humanity, a refreshment of our awareness and our understanding of religiosity,” Bardakoğlu said. “Our prophet was a leader of generosity and compassion and always encouraged us to be generous. The holy messages of his will always be a healing for the difficulties of our age.” What the prophet brought to humanity, he remarked, was “not a theory of morals -- he personally lived, explained and demonstrated morality.” The religious affairs chief asserted that this code of morality dictated a stance of tolerance and love vis-a-vis people of different religions, understandings and lifestyles and emphasized that the Quran must be read properly in order to avoid misinterpretation and acting in a way contrary to its values.
 Blessed Birth Week has been celebrated on the streets, too. In Antalya’s Manavgat district, representatives of the mufti’s office distributed 1,000 roses to residents. (L) In Balıkesir’s Edremit district, representatives of the mufti’s office distributed 2,000 roses and 3,000 balloons reading, “I love my prophet.” |
Staunchly secular CHP leader Baykal was also among the officials who gave talks at the event -- and some of his remarks were contentious. Even as he praised the prophet, some of Baykal’s words seemingly contradicted both the purpose of the event and the talks given by the other speakers that night. “The Quran tells us that the Prophet Muhammad is the best example. Being an example does not mean to be imitated. The Prophet Muhammad does not need to be imitated, but needs to be understood,” Baykal said. Muslims believe that as a prophet, Muhammad was sent as an example of human behavior that is to be followed by the faithful in order to attain individual and societal betterment.
 CHP leader Deniz Baykal participated in a Blessed Birth Week event organized by the Religious Affairs Directorate in İstanbul. |
“Nobody can be coerced into being Muslim or living Islam because there’s no compulsion in religion,” Baykal continued, going on to assert that religion is primarily an individual affair. “The greatest disrespect of Islam that can be committed is for the religion to be used by people with an expectation of accomplishing a certain goal, attaining a means or gaining an advantage as if they have a monopoly over religion. Islam takes faith, responsibility and salvation into account on the individual level. … Only those who deserve it will go to heaven. There’s no opportunity for members of a certain congregation to make a group reservation to heaven,” he remarked.
A message was read on behalf of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was not present at the event. Erdoğan said Blessed Birth Week also marked the day of the Prophet’s birth, noting: “On this holy day, we are illuminating our hearts and souls with the message of peace that he brought, and the mercy, love and compassion that he taught. We hope that today, when humanity has been encircled by blood, tears, pain and cruelty, they will recall that timeless message of love, peace and mercy that he brought.”
Following the talks given by political leaders, the program continued with the performance of poems and music about the prophet. Blessed Birth Week aims to encourage sentiments of national unity, togetherness, fraternity and mutual aid and solidarity by getting to know the Prophet Muhammad better, spreading information about his life and values and increasing love by his example. The Directorate of Religious Affairs has designated the Quran as the focus of its activities this year, and so Blessed Birth Week activities, organized nationwide under the title “His life was the Quran,” include Quran recitations, conferences and seminars explaining the Quran’s proper interpretation and meaning and programs focusing on the prophet and the Quran.
