Individuals, Religious Communities and the State
Frankly, whoever is working as Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ's consultant is providing him with wrong information. There were so many errors, misperceptions, mistaken deductions and misguided approaches in his recent speech.
For instance, it is a misconception that when poor children coming from villages to cities find no accommodation, "certain religious communities" provide them with accommodation and they are obliged to comply to receive the resources offered by these communities. This is utterly wrong. Perhaps there was some merit to this argument 15 or 20 years ago, but at this point it is a big urban legend, because these social structures that you may call religion communities are joined voluntarily rather than due to any necessity. In other words, people make the choice to not sever their connections to their culture and identity. It is for this reason that there are many children from wealthier families in these communities. Can you explain the extraordinary interest in private colleges, universities or courses that are said to be affiliated with religious communities only through poverty? This does not concern students alone; there are tradesmen, businessmen, industrialists, artists, sportsmen, architects and physicians who are in this community, as well.
If you do not accept this fact, you start from the wrong place: People make their choices freely and willingly, not through coercion. How can one exert pressure on people to force them to feel that they are members of a religious community? Putting the blame on the lack of social welfare is to close our eyes to a social reality. The matter at hand is utterly clear: This is a movement by volunteers, not an illegal organization. Any person who wants to join can do so without formalities and, if he wants to leave, he can also do this without formalities. This is called civil society in modern societies. It is unguided, independent and civilian.
At this point, they voice the fear of prototype men. They suggest that religiously oriented communities create prototypes. Can it be? No. First, any move to destroy individuality does not comply with spirit of Islam, as this religion says that every individual can directly address God. Second, in this age, neither individuals nor societies will yield to establishments that boss them around. Who would willingly become a prototype?
It is obvious that people are not forced to become prototypes, as the people in question can establish dialogue efficiently with people from different religions, languages and ideologies. This community contains people from all ethnicities, religious sects and ideologies. It is contrary to reality to claim that the groups that use unifying and peaceful language in social conflicts and that have passed the test of sincerity with the interest shown in them are forcing people to conform to prototypes.
There is also an important point with respect to the progress the republic has made: Devout groups have no problem with democracy. Their adoption of democracy has gone so far that one may wish that the groups that claim to be proponents of modernization had adopted it at this level. The groups who ask questions, who are properly involved in consultation and who are open to all strands of free thought are accused of forcing people to conform. This is unbelievable. Those who seek to maintain the aristocratic system through anti-democratic methods and to sever the country's ties with the international system are deemed liberal. Isn't that strange?
While "certain religious communities" extend their horizons with cosmopolitan cultures around the world, some groups who are blind to their immediate environment are dragging the country into a sort of fascism. Whoever has broader horizons has a greater range of freedom. Whoever embraces diverse people is more pluralistic, participatory and democratic and whoever forces people to conform to certain patterns will not be liked by the society and will become isolated. I will clearly declare this: If one day religious communities force their members to be conform, they will break down, just like the breaking down of societies when they are urged by the state to conform.
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