Interview: \u015eEHR\u0130BAN O\u011eHAN , \u00a07\/2\/2010<\/p>\n
An Ankara theologian has harsh words in his new book for Muslims who misuse religious marriages or make wishes at ‘pagan’ shrines. K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu, the author of \u201cAhir Zaman \u0130lmihali,\u201d said he had read all the religious texts available in bookstores and claimed that most of them take the \u201cfive conditions of Islam\u201d as their centerpiece, something he called a false conviction based on misunderstanding and mistaken translation.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a belief that it is enough to fulfill those five conditions in order to be a Muslim,\u201d K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu said. \u201c[But the Hadith] does not say \u2018condition.\u2019 It says Islam is based on five principles. Praying is a principle of Islam; does that mean that not drinking, not stealing and not killing are not conditions of Islam?\u201d<\/p>\n Muslims in Turkey mix their religion with paganism, K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu said, adding that the culture of expecting miracles and visiting shrines is in stark contradiction to Islamic tenets. \u201cThere is a place called the \u2018Devil\u2019s Table\u2019 near the Aegean town of Ayval\u0131k. They circled it with an iron fence. Religious women go there to make a wish. To whom do they make that wish? To the devil\u2019s footprint,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need new generations of Muslims who take the Quran and the life of the Prophet as the centerpiece.\u201d<\/p>\n The professor also criticized what he called \u201cmalpractice\u201d of Islam pertaining to relationships, saying that cheating on one\u2019s spouse has become so glamorized that \u201cthe pious try to do the same under the name of religious marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n In Turkey, marriages are performed by the state and religious ceremonies conducted by an imam are considered invalid officially, but couples prefer to have both kinds of ceremonies. Others have used religious ceremonies to \u201cmarry\u201d someone they want to be involved with when they already have a wife.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no Islamic explanation for betrayal. No one forces you to marry. If you can\u2019t make the marriage work, there is divorce,\u201d K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu said. \u201cI believe religious marriage should be abolished.\u201d<\/p>\n The professor said the civil servant who marries couples should provide them with a prayer after the end of the official ceremony, saying that the mentioning of religious values during the official ceremony would be enough and would therefore help avoid the exploitation of religious marriages.<\/p>\n Noting that Islam attributes a positive value to sex between married couples, K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu said, \u201cThe fact that sexuality is perceived as a taboo does not stem from Islam, but from tradition,\u201d adding that the religion offers some advise \u201cto show the necessary attention to have mutual sexual satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n The professor complained, however, about over-sexualization in the media, which he said uses sex to gain ratings. \u201cEven on the Islamic TV channels, women are seen as objects,\u201d he said, adding that he solicited the views of female religious scholars for his book.<\/p>\n K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu also spoke out against religious communities that he said \u201caspire to become a separate religion,\u201d with adherents only reading books written by their leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cEach has a holy book, separate from the Quran. When a brotherhood prepares a book, they print 40,000 or 50,000 copies,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause all the members of the brotherhood have to buy it. These groups make people slaves. They do not liberate them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nAn Ankara theologian has harsh words in his new book for Muslims who misuse religious marriages, make wishes at \u201cpagan\u201d shrines or believe simply following the \u201cfive pillars\u201d of Islam is enough to be a good believer.
\n\u201cI believe there are many convictions that need to be shaken in Islam,\u201d Professor Hayri K\u0131rba\u015fo\u011flu, a member of the academic staff at Ankara University\u2019s Theology Faculty, told daily H\u00fcrriyet in an interview published last week.<\/p>\n