Religion In Turkey

Islam is the religion of the Turks, although secularism is the policy of Turkey. This apparent discrepancy is compunded by the fact that while 99 percent of all Turks are avowed Muslims, only 18 percent, according to arecent poll, pray the obligatory five times a day, and only slightly over half observe the holy month of Ramazan. But one should not be misled by these figures. Turkish society is still deeply rooted in Islam, and the Prime Minister himself, Turgut Özal, is a haci – someone who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Sadly, thanks to the late Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, many people in the West have come to think of Islam as a religion of blood-thirsty fanatics who enjoy executing people (a description that, lest we forget, could just as accurately be applied to certain Christian zea lots of earlier centuries). However, since a proper understanding of

the Islamic faith society, it is worth putting the record straight regarding the true nature of Islam.

Like the other two great Middle Eastern religions, Judaism and Christianity, Islam is a monotheistic religion. There is only one God, the same one worshipped by Jews and Christians. And like Jews and Christians, who have the Talmud and the Bible, Muslims depend on Holy Scripture, in their case the Koran, for spiritual guidance. But they also nonethelss value the Bible as asacred book, and Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus are all revered as prophets. Likewise, the holy men of Judaism and Christianity are considred holy men by Muslims as well.

On the other hand, of course, Islam does not accept the divinity of Jesus, instead regarding him as one of the great prophets preceding the Great Prophet, Mohammed. This does not mean that divine status is claimed for Mohammed; he is merely the messenger of God, of Allah. And the message is a simple one. Indeed, Islam is the simplest of the wold’s great religions, and its simplicity is mirrored in the unadorned interiors of most mosques.