Professor Omid Safi spoke yesterday, June 3rd 2013, at Sehir University. His talk was entitled “Beyond the Clash of Civilizations: The Struggle for a Global and Holistic Justice” and discussed the ideas of Justice in the light of the Qur’an and human thought. Attendees included Sehir University students, Marmara University theology students, members of his tour group who have been touring Turkey during the past month, and your LastProphet editor. His discussion was engaging and led to several questions afterwards.
We were grateful to bring Professor Omid to the Meridyen Association offices afterwards, here in Uskudar. He talked about his love for Turkey and Istanbul in particular, which he has been visiting for more than 20 years, and about the condition of the Muslim community in America; the beloved city of the Prophet, Madinah; and how we might reconcile the rational and mystical traditions within Islam, citing the famous Turkish Sufi poet, Yunus Emre, who said: “A bird can only fly with both wings.”
As he wrote: "we started the day with an amazing meeting with the always amazing Cemalnur Sargut, the most important female religious authority in Turkey and an extraordinary Sufi shaykha. Then went to Shakirin Mosque, the first mosque that we know of designed by a woman. Followed by a talk I gave at Istanbul Sehir university on topics ranging from the absence of love from political discourse to poverty and the usage of pepper spray in Turkish demonstrations, and how religion has to be more than merely legitimizing power. Wonderful, passionate conversations with students and activists."
LastProphet welcomes Omid and any others who wish to learn more about the work of the Meridyen Association to visit us. Our contact information can be found below.
