BY TAHA AKYOL
MILLIYET- This weekend I went to the ‘Civilizations and Harmony’ symposium in Istanbul. State Minister Mehmet Aydin mentioned the contributions of religious scholars in Turkey’s history and the Islamic world which was established in line with it. In addition, defending democracy, religious scholar Ahmet Hamdi Akseki said, ‘Universal values belong to all of humanity, and elements of these values are shared by all religions and cultures. However, they reached their current level in Europe. They shouldn’t be called “European values” but “values of humanity”.’ This thesis is a perfect rejoinder to Christian Democrats and the French who try to put limits on Europe’s religion and culture. During a coffee break, Wendy Asbeek Brusse told Aydin, ‘Your views are invaluable to us. We quoted from your works in the conclusion of a report we prepared on Turkey for the Dutch government.’
Johann Galtung, a Norwegian philosopher at the conference, is well read in comparative religion, and cited verses of the Koran, the Bible and the Torah. His basic arguments can be summed up as: ‘World Moderates Unite!’ He said that such values as justice, solidarity, brotherhood and responsibility came from wisdom in the holy books, adding, ‘We shouldn’t preach our values to those who differ from us, but rather first should listen to them.’ Alvaro des Vascencelos from Portugal also criticized the West’s attitude of superiority, saying that a peaceful world can’t be established marginalizing differences. After listening to the speech made by Ahmet Davutoglu, a foreign policy advisor to the prime minister, Galtung said, ‘I congratulate your premier for working with such advisor.’ Actually Davutoglu’s speech deserved the congratulations. Davutoglu said that the winds of peace and freedom had blown in with the collapse of the Berlin Wall but that winds of security and authority followed the Sept. 11 attacks, causing the exclusion of those with differences. ‘There’s the example of Cyprus,’ he added. ‘We used the term ‘state’ in Annan’s report, and so the European ministers boycotted this symposium.’ According to Davutoglu, the West continued its embargo when the Bosnians were being massacred. And there’s still the embargo on Turkish Cypriots, even after they accepted the international community in referendums. The solution of the clash of civilizations lies not in excluding differences, but embracing them. Turkey’s EU membership will become a model of civilization.