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It
was almost evening time... Around
17:00 p.m... I
was on my way back home following the second earthquake with the magnitude
of 5.8....
All of a sudden the roads had become very crowded, the traffic was
heavy and there was a state of great confusion. Women
were sitting on the chairs that they have put on the side of the
road. They were looking around with scared anxious eyes
and chatting with
their friends at the same time. Special
arm chairs were provided for the elderly.
The young girls and the children were excited, because their
schools were closed and they had another holiday... I
watched all of these with a smile
on my face. Then,
I parked my car, went through the people who were sitting outside
the buildings having made very accurate measurements about
the safety zone following the collapsing distance of the buildings.
I passed them by and went into the grocery
beneath the closed
projection from the building.... I
was going to buy some bread.... The
grocer looked disturbed. He had loaded his brain with the necessary
flexibility and adaptation for locking up the door of his shop and throwing himself
out in the case of a
sudden aftershock. Meanwhile,
on the left side of the door two people were having a very deep and
excited conversation. It was obvious that they were friends... -Where
are you coming from? -From
work... The
other stopped for a while, thought a little bit... Then
he repeated, -I
am very sorry!... and
he added; -I
know you wouldn’t like it, but I cannot help speaking... To be honest I
want to talk on this subject and pour out what I have been thinking... -Yes,
I am waiting... So,
the words started to pour out... -Recently,
I have met a friend of mine who is a theologist, he told me the
following:- -‘’We
have stayed away from our
traditions, from the
characteristic life style that the local
people have. We have
turned our faces towards the West and adopted with an incredible speed the
morality of the West together with its civilisation. That is the reason of
what we have lived.. -‘’Do
you mean that this is a punishment for us?’’ -‘’Yes,
indeed!’’ -‘’Now,
are you approving the way of
living, the morality
and the value judgements prevailing in our society? Are you thinking that these are in conformity
with Islam, which we have chosen as our religion? Can you show me a single human being who is doing what Allah
has wished’’ The listener said ‘’Look’’... ‘’It is not only us, but the Islamic world too. When I look at the Islamic world, I cannot see anything other than ignorance and poverty in the countries who could not keep pace with the west. Here is the example of Algeria!... Such an understanding of religion which finds it proper to attack the individuals to the extent of making a genocide all over the country. In
addition to these, in Egypt the feasts consisting of bombs prepared
specially for the touristes; the
war which had taken place
between Iran and Iraq in the past years... Do
you want more examples?.. Here
is Afghanistan!... The
Talabanis, those hundreds thousands of people who have been killed because
of the hurricane... There
are a lot more... Well,
what do you say about these? Are you still thinking that Allah has
punished us? -This
time the one who had strong
belief asked.... -
All right then; how are the Westerners?... They
are living the results of their
actions, mainly taking the necessary precautions beforehand. The
serious governments, the educated societies, the stable economic
conditions, knowing the ways of getting prepared for the acts of nature,
the disasters, esteeming
and appreciating the people... Don’t
you agree with these?’’ The
other one who had first started to talk nodded to show that he was
approving what has been said and continued... -
Everything that you have told is true... However, I am thinking that doing only these would not be
enough. -
All right; then what is missing ? -Today
, in the minds of the people
the prevailing opinion is materialism,
therefore this stops them to think deeply about the life beyond death;
what is prevailing is placing the value judgements of this world at the forefront.
If these are lacking, then the system will make up the necessary
conditions and pave the road
for punishment; this is how I
had learned... Isn’t
the earthquake in Athens an example for this?
That is what I wanted to tell you... The
younger one remained silent, he was listening with utmost attention...
However, he was not able to understand much... The
grocery was becoming more active. Ahmet F. YÜKSEL |
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