MESSAGES TO THE WORLD FROM HARRAN Harran Symposium “Symbol of Hope for Dialogue: Our Common Forefather Abraham” April 13-16, 2000 Sanliurfa and Istanbul, Turkey Patriarch Bartholomeos I I wanted to share my pleasure in witnessing that in 2000s, people of different religions speak of more commonalities than differences among themselves. I wanted to leave the subjects of life, good news, struggle of oneness of God of Abraham to the experts who do research on them and talk about his loyalty to God, righteousness, compassion and hospitality. Our need for these qualities inspired me to do so.

We have to live together in order for dialogue to exist. When the history is studied, it can be observed that there have been times and countries where people of different religions lived together without conflict. There one specific one which dominates all the others. This is not other than the Ottoman State where the three religions lived together for centuries in peace. In the Ottoman territories three religions lived together without any disturbance. Mosques, churches, and synagogues kept their doors open and enlightened the spiritual world of the public.

A thousand years of long experience proves to us that conflicts are superficial. The Christians, Muslims, and Jews of this land became friends with the love of Rumi and supported each other for better or worse. I wish to express my dream of a world of love and tolerance and pray to the God that we succeed in our efforts.

Turkish Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II Prophet Abraham obeyed God's instruction while he was still called Abram. He left his home, family, and his relatives and he reached promised bestowments. He had a child at the age of 86. He was declared the father of nations and was abundantly rewarded. We all live in environments where certain criteria and values are observed. God is inviting us to the land of bearing, tolerance, and brotherhood. It will be a source of happiness for all of us to travel in this land by breaking the narrow frames that imprison us, by embracing everyone with love, and observing our basic values. We have to pray to Allah with faith, hope, and love in order to experience this happiness because we do not indeed have the capacity to make this a reality. However, there is nothing Allah can't do. Therefore, we have to trust him and direct ourselves in his infinite power.

Fr. Thomas Michel, Vatican Jesuit Secretariat The title of the symposium draws our attention to two important points. They are the fact that Prophet Abraham was the symbol of belief for Jews, Christians, and Muslims and that his function and influence on the believers and followers of these three religions still continues. As a Christian adhering to the Catholic tradition, I wish to draw attention to the following point: it is imperative on us that we carry Prophet Abraham as the foundation for religious, faith, and human values. After being elected in 1979, Pope John Paul II told the Christians gathered in Ankara during his first visit abroad Muslims too believe in Abraham who obeyed Allah, the most merciful and omnipotent. It is that Abraham whom we Christians, Jews, and Muslims are children of. When this faith influences life sincerely we will have formed a society conducive to human dignity, brotherhood, the principle of honesty, and moral values. Everyone agrees on how important Abraham was for Jews and the importance given to him and his beloved family in the Bible and in biblical tradition. The 25th chapter of the Qur'an indicates the importance of Abraham for Muslims. For Muslims he is Haneef and Halil.

Izak Haleva, Deputy Chief Rabbi of Turkey There are personalities that leave their imprints on human history that are not erasable. Our ancestor Abraham is one of them to whom we are turning today. This is true so much that none of the belief systems today ignore him and they consider sustaining the principles he established as a basis for their beliefs. In my opinion, I consider this 4-day symposium a valuable, productive, and worthwhile effort for reconstructing the future of humanity. I wish and hope that the inspiration we got from our ancestor Abraham for these worthwhile efforts will continue to grow and intensify and humans will appreciate the value of living together in human dignity.

Ravil Gaynuddin, Director General of the Muftis Council of the Russian Federation It is difficult to find another country where the friendly relations among the Abrahamic religions' followers are this important. More than a hundred different ethnic groups live in Russia and most of them are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. Traditionally, followers of these religions form 99% of our population. It is for this reason that there is no other current issue that is more important than establishing harmony and peace among the monotheistic religions, specifically Orthodox and Muslims. Without this we can never have stability and sustainable development and overcome socio-economic and political problems that we are facing.

Thanks be to Allah that the situation of religious organizations in Russia today has changed fundamentally. They acquired the opportunity to function without being hindered by the states. Religious institutions have the opportunities to influence the minds of millions of people today. For example, the number of mosques increased. For the first time, Muslim schools have been opened in sixty years. Newspapers are being published and broad international contacts exist. The same is happening for and in the other religions as well.

George Marovitch, Secretary General of the Council of Catholic Spiritual Leaders There is a close relationship between death and mixing into soil. Now here we have dust and sand all over us from the wind. Let us assume we died. We have committed many sins to each other. Let us do something here today. Muslims say Bismillahirrahmanirrahim when they start something new. Let us say Bismillahirrahmanirrahim like Muslims, bury all the sins we have committed in the soil, and make a new and fresh start.

Sergey Golovkov, Deputy Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate The Russian Orthodox Church has never considered Muslims as enemies. It is known well that Muslims in Russia were always respected by the government and the Orthodox citizens and they were victims of any genocide. In Russia many laws were passed in order to protect the religious sentiments of Muslims. Permissions were granted to Muslims to build mosques and schools that were in the tens of thousands. The brave Muslim soldiers were awarded medals of honor and they were honored in other ways too. During wars, Muslims were not sent to fight Muslims. A mufti was given the same rank as a general. I want to say that the Bible calls us to unite in the path of Allah. And the Qur'an teaches to be in the path of Allah. I hope that the new millennium will be free of inter-religious conflicts and clashes and our father Abraham will be pleased in Heaven about the peace among humans.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet S. Aydin, Theologian, Meeting Coordinator Before the honorable spiritual leaders, I would like to state sadly that the followers of these religions have not been successful enough. In many parts of the world people are experiencing pain and sorrow. 1500 people die of hunger in Africa every day. Think of the latest issue of Chechnya. A disgrace for humanity is going on in the region. How will the believers talk of humanity and mercy if religions are not able to do anything about it? Therefore it is now time to discuss and talk. However if we are going to talk all the time we will have to stop it after a while. The believers and the spiritual leaders have to look into these matters. If our religions have peace and reason and our religions claim to take light to people then we cannot sit back and say, “Let us stay quiet and the next generations can bring this light.” Every generation is responsible for its position and circumstances. Therefore in coming years we need people who have taken the talking and thinking to a certain level to work hard, show action, and declare struggle against injustice, poverty, ignorance, and anguish.

Patriarch Samuel Akdemir, Syrian Congregation Aramaic Syrians have been speaking the language and living the culture that Abraham and Jesus practiced. Aramaic Syrians chose Syrian in appreciation of the names of the apostles of Jesus from Syria and Palestine. It is believed that the name Syria or Syrian came from the name of King Suros, who established Antioch. Aramaics are the ancestors of our Jewish brothers too. It is said in the Torah, “My father was an Aramaic,” when a Jew offered the best of his produce in the Temple of God.

We have gathered here to benefit from the monotheistic belief of Abraham, his righteousness and tolerance. With the beautiful approach we leave a spiritual heritage to the next generations. This is what humanity is awaiting from us. We have to try to make use of this opportunity all together with the grace of God. And we have the opportunity to do this because we have many common values.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Chairman of the Pope's Inter-Religious Dialogue Council On my own and the Council of Pope's Inter-Religions Dialogue Council I greet all the participants with my deepest and warmest wishes. As you would remember the Honorable Pope organized a ceremony to remember our father Abraham before his visit to Egypt. We, Muslims, Christians, and Jews, all together have to take Abraham who obeyed God with his every action as a model of how important it is that we all follow this example and learn lessons. With this thought and spirit I pray to God that this symposium witnesses some useful and productive decisions.

Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, Head of Religious Affairs in Turkey All of us here accept all humans in the world come from Adam. In this sense all humans in the world are brothers or sisters. More specifically, we as the present people here are all proud of being the followers of Abraham. Therefore, we have an even closer relation. Yes, we are different nations but these differences are not obstacles to dialogue. The Qur'an says that Allah could have made us all a single nation if He wished to and that we are created as different nations so that we meet and communicate. The Qur'an invites us to have dialogue with this message. There are many common grounds we can talk about, share, and unite on. Dialogue is nothing other than the moral act of being able to search for ways of living together despite our differences, ending bloodshed for whatever reason, finishing sorrow and affliction, and making sure that everyone lives with human dignity. Therefore, “world peace” is nothing but just a dream without achieving “inter-religious peace” first.

Fethullah Gulen, Journalists and Writers Foundation's Honorary President On the one hand, our planet that has fallen tired of wars and conflicts has the possibility of being the ground for new conflicts because of the human's desires; and on the other hand it is entering a period of being the cradle for brotherhood, peace, and reconciliation. The dynamic that will satisfy the human's endless appetite, which has been the source for almost all the conflicts throughout history, by diverting it to more heavenly goals and to the holiest contest, and the dynamic that will convert the world to a cradle of brotherhood are the same dynamics. As we would all agree, this dynamic is religion.

As it is known to all of you, Abraham, from whom Islam, Christianity, and Judaism derive and who has the special position of being Halilullah (friend of God), started his mission in Harran and from there he went to Keenan, in other words Jordan, Israel, and Jerusalem through Syria, from there to Egypt and then he completed his mission in Mecca and he built the Ka'ba with his son. He established milestones, signs, or projectors for the history that followed him.

Personally, as someone who believes and supports the warm and sincere dialogue among religions and their followers, I would like to have been among you on this unique day. However, as it is known to many, I have been in compulsory seclusion for over a year due to my health condition. These long distances are not able to stop my heart from being with you. I believe the symposium is conducted with the unity of purpose and good will. I also would like to congratulate the civilian and official institutions that organized the event and express my deepest regards and good wishes to honorable intellectuals and thinkers, politicians and state officials, the media and the participating guests.

Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Canan, Marmara University Faculty of Theology, Istanbul We believe that the peace that will embrace all humans in tomorrow's world can only be realized with the love Abraham had for his family and the cooperation of Muslims, Jews, and Christians with the Abrahamic consciousness. Jews and Christians feel as much proud as Muslims for being affiliated to Prophet Abraham. According to a saying among Jewish religious leaders (rabbis), "Abraham is that father of all believers and if he/she was to be given a name it would have to be the son of Abraham." The importance of Abraham according to Christians is not less than that.

Assoc. Prof. Ali Ihsan Yitik, Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Theology, Izmir Abraham is described in the Holy Qur'an as very compassionate, emotional, and deeply loyal to Allah. In the 4th verse of Chapter 60: Al Mumtahina, it is stated that there are beautiful examples in Abraham and those who believe him; in Chapter 4: An-Nisa (verses 54 and 125), it is emphasized that Allah chose him as a friend and he is given reason and the book. It is for this reason that Muslims see him as the greatest prophet after Prophet Muhammad and they consider him as a Muslim with a special status.

Another characteristic of Abraham that is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an is how he treated even unexpected guests and the fact that he could dare to discuss with them even the subjects that had no relevance to him. According to the Qur'an, the Angels sent to destroy the people of Lot first visited Abraham. Abraham and his family were shaken when they entered the house and greeted them. When they did not touch what they were offered and said that they came to give him good news about a very wise and literate son, their fear increased. In order to calm Abraham and his family, the Angels told them that they should trust Allah for a son because only those who go astray do not trust Allah's mercy. They also said they were sent by Allah not to harm them but to punish a guilty society. These words of the Angels cleared Abraham's fears.

Assoc. Prof. Himmet Konur, Dokuz Eylul University faculty of Theology, Izmir Abraham's physical location is Mecca and spiritual status is “hullet,” namely the friendship. Anyone who wishes to achieve this status should refrain from going after his physical desires, sacrifice his comfort, and should abandon worldly desires. In order to show to the people the status he achieved, he was made to deal with Nemrud. Nemrud separated him from his parents and started a big fire to throw Abraham into. When he was about to be thrown into the fire Gabriel came to him and asked if he needed anything. Even in this very difficult situation he did not accept the help offered to him by Gabriel. Gabriel asked him if he needed anything from Allah. Then Abraham said that Allah knows his situation and this is enough for him and therefore he did not have any wish from Allah.

Dr. Hasan Azûzî, Karaviyyin University, Morocco The principle of following Abraham can only be conducted under the umbrella of a religion that encourages the practice of inter-cultural dialogue and formation of friendship bonds. Unfortunately, mostly this principle was observed on platforms where political or religious agendas are observed. Therefore, the followers of some former monotheistic religions have tried to show Islam as not separate from other monotheistic religions, namely Christianity and Judaism, but it is part of them.

Dr. Tarik Mitri, World Churches Union, Switzerland During the last 30 years that witnessed the formation and rapid progress of dialogue between Christians and Jews, the “Abrahamic Kingdom” has acquired a salient position among the religious symbols. Even for those who are not very religious and those who are not interested in theology, the heritage of Abraham was what made the unity among religions possible. However, on the other hand, it has been broken into pieces by political conflicts. They are more interested in the visible and material side rather than the soul of a precious heritage and they used this Abrahamic status for political projects and the benefits of their countries. In the recent years, some churches and Jewish groups have been working to start dialogue between Christians and Jews and they utilized Abraham's message. Some of them hoped that the dialogue would reach Muslims with the brotherhood under Abraham. They invited Muslims to dialogue with terminology that is settling now. Inter-religious dialogue will not be sincere unless everyone appreciates this heritage.

Monsignor Emanuel Adamakis Greek Orthodox Metropolid, Brussels We must see the deep and irreversible change in Abraham when he changed from Abram to Abraham. This later is transferred to his body with the circumcision as a proof that he united with God. Circumcision represents belonging to a holy race, namely a selected society that was selected to believe in him. Of course, this belonging requires a different behavior. Once our heart is circumcised all our organs start beating for God together with your heart. As Origenes stated, "Your ears should be circumcised so that they do not listen to evil and the words of unbelievers; close the ears to lies, provocations. They should get circumcised according to God's wish. Close them so that they don't hear evil and immoral songs and music. They should not accept anything forbidden and turn their faces away from them.”

Dr. Petros Vassiliadis, Aristotle University of Thessalonika, Greece Please allow me express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to the organizers of this meeting. I also would like to express the joy I have of being here as a Christian researcher and a “fellow Greek.” Abraham, for whom this symposium is organized, is a unique figure of our religions. The fact that your initiatives in this correspond to the 2000th year of the celebrations of Jesus or Isa, son of Mariam or a marginal Jew or the father of Christianity, cannot be a coincidence. Therefore, I wanted to underline that this is celebrated in Turkey as a Muslim country as much as in Europe.

Dr. Emilio Platti, Leuven University, Belgium “God is with us” is quite religious but it definitely does not entail any opposition to our neighbors, foreigners, or those we consider as our enemies. However, in this context the expression “God is with us” calls us to humanity and patience in pain and it also gives us the hope that we will return to Him. Abraham's God wants us sacrifice, to leave everything on one side, and even sacrifice your own son rather than to become ourselves closed off to society or to protect all the idols or things that belong to us. The actual paradox of the religion is that sacrifice is not estrangement.

Dr. David Thomas, Birmingham University, England It is told in the Qur'an that Abraham left his father and his people and that he obeyed the instruction of God to sacrifice his son and the Qur'an also emphasizes that he pushed everything away that might keep him away from God. He was the revolutionist of religion. He never accepted a compromise or any doubt in the necessities of monotheism. In the light of this portrait whether or not such a person would follow a Jewish, Christian, or Muslim tradition should be examined. Abraham was very zealous in search for the reality. His position is at the summit of all religions.

Prof. Dr. Gregorios D. Ziakas, Aristotle University of Thessalonica, Greece Despite the initiatives of communication and preparations, until a few years ago a deep fellowship, understanding, and dialogue seemed extremely difficult. However, with the grace of God today, we can sit together and listen to what God taught us with mutual understanding and friendship. There are many signs in the Holy Book and the Qur'an for those with reason.

It would not be true for a third person to think that the divine values of Christians, Jews, and Muslims would disrupt integration. Our communication is that of peace and friendship taught to us by God. This relationship forms the fundamental understanding of each other and they are very important as they produce spiritual benefits that the world needs.

Jules Janssens, Belgium It is impossible to appreciate the value of Abraham as a religious figure in the three monotheistic religions. For these religions, Abraham is an example of a believer who trusts in and obeys God. In our time too, anyone who wishes to be a good believer can learn a lot from his life and actions. Abraham continues to be a guide to those who wish to receive divine messages from God even today. Thus, he can and should play a vital role in religious education. The basic learning and fundamental knowledge which encompasses the whole life happens during the childhood years, although it does not have an end.

Dr. M. Darrol Byrant, Canada I would like to thank the Inter-Cultural Dialogue Platform. Although the long history of the three big religions with long traditions of faith and worship is full of conflicts, the latest efforts of dialogue among the Christians, Muslims and Jews has shown that they can share a common ground based on mutual respect and the problems among the “children of Abraham” are not that important. One of the latest initiatives that invite Jews, Christians and Muslims to dialogue is the work of Dr. Ismail Raci el-Furuki, titled “Trialogue of the Abrahamic faiths.” To improve mutual understanding among the three Abrahamic religions has been the aim in this work. In the preface to the book, Dr. Faruki asserts that Jewish-Christian dialogue has made significant progress since World War II but it is still in its infancy stages, which is trying to survive with great struggle.

PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE SYMPOSIUM

 Prof. Dr. David Thomas (England) "Image of Abraham in the Qur'an and Islamic tradition"

 Dr. Hananel Mak (Israel) "Abraham in the Torah and its explanations"

 Yusuf Altintas (Turkey) "An Old Testament personality with unifying aspects: Abraham"

 Dr. Hassan Azzouzi (Morroco) "Abraham in Modern Translations"

 Dr. Emilio Platti (Belgium) "Who is Abraham's Lord?"

 Zinovi Livovic Kogan (Russia) "Abraham in Jewish resources"

 Emanuel Adamakis (Belgium) "Abraham: Reform, separation, and unity"

 Prof. Dr. O. Faruk Harman (Turkey) "Abraham and Qurbaan"

 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Himmet Korur (Turkey) "Image of Abraham in Sufi literature"

 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Ihsan Yitik (Turkey) "Rational of Abraham regarding faith"

 Dr. Alon Gottstein (Israel) "Abraham as an inter-religious symbol"

 Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Canan (Turkey) "Family education of Abraham"

 Dr. Jules Janssens (Belgium) "Image of Abraham and the education of next generations with the real spirit of tolerance"

 Prof. Dr. Darrol Bryant (Canada) "Abraham: the common ancestor of beliefs and desire for dialogue"

 Prof. Dr. Petros Vassiliadis (Greece) "Reconciliation, peace, and tolerance in the direction of a new religious education"

 Prof. Dr. Gregorios Ziakas (Greece) "Common grounds of three monotheistic religions for peace and security in today's world"

 Dr. Tarik Mitri (Switzerland) "Heritage of Abraham: Obstacles and pledges of inter-religious dialogue"

 Dr. Yahya Michot (Belgium) "Abraham according to Ibn-i Teymiye, another Harranian"

 Mahmut Topuz (Turkey) "A common history of faith since Abraham"

 Judith Banki (USA) "Abraham: Common ancestor, different families, and diversity"