Ertugrul Ozkok: Would Bardakoglu ever make the sign of a cross?

Yes, it was me. I was the one who posed the question: "Can Minister of Religious Affairs Ali Bardakogly make the sign of the cross?" And yesterday, Bardakoglu issued a statement in response to this question. It was an extremely tempered response, making it clear that he did not agree with my views. Bardakoglu basically said he would not make the sign of the cross, if only for the sake of dialogue. What I had really been asking though in my question was whether Bardakoglu would make a gesture similar to the one the Pope made while he was here-by praying in the Sultanahmet Mosque. But now it's clear that Bardakoglu is just not in a situation where he could do such a thing.

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Yes, I asked a question and received my answer. He has one idea, I have another. But answers I received from other quarters were not as tempered as what I heard from Bardakoglu; some were full of swear words, others accusing me of everything under the sun. I am not angry though, in fact, I cannot even get angry. My skin has become too thick to be affected by such primitive responses. But what I am is saddened. I find it not only sad but dangerous that certain people, no matter how few they are in number, cannot even handle certain question about religion. In fact, this entire argument has taught me that in this country, there is a despotic minority which is full of noise. They are no different from one another, this minority. They wear different outfits, and some are religious, others nationalistic. My only consolation is this: I am not the only one troubled by this all.

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Last week in the Yeni Safak newspaper, I read the complaints of a very troubled intellectual in an article by Huseyin Hatemi. This writer had told of his attendance at a mass held in Istanbul by the Pope, and had written his feelings on this all. The letters which came in criticizing the writer were of a level so angry, so unaccepting that Hatemi was nearly at the point of complaining "Rather than being with Muslims of this mind, I would rather be with Christians." Hatemi was this angry, this upset. And outside of his anger, he asks a very important question: "Is it not clear that the main reason that missionaries are snatching up our youth is because of this lack of love?" And he also asks: "If we don't change our stance, how can we ask for changes from Allah?"

OK, never mind me-I may be ignorant, lacking religious knowledge, all those other things. But the above comments are made by a professor writing in the Yeni Safak newspaper, a publication known for its sensitivity to religion. If people can respond to his writings with such anger and profanity, never mind what they write to me.

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This is why they cannot make the same gesture the Pope made. Our religion allows for it, but those speaking in the name of our religion do not have an understanding which allows for it. '