Prof. Tarhan: "A dervish of the 21st century should hold the Qur'an in one hand and a computer in the other"

"Sufi Thought and Practices from Past to Present Workshop" event was held in cooperation with Üsküdar University Institute of Sufi Studies and Kerim Foundation. President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan made the opening speech of the event and pointed out that one of the biggest diseases of today is the disease of worldliness. Tarhan stated that "Modern human worships the world right now. The type of person who does not think about the afterlife has become very common. If there is no life after death, this life has no meaning, and there is no life for a being like a human being."

Those who have attended the event held at the Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall are as follows: Japan Tenri University Asst. Prof. Makoto Sawai, Meji University Asst. Prof. Kie Inoue, Assoc. Prof. Daisuke Maruyama, Director of the Institute for Sufi Studies Prof. Elif Erhan, Deputy Director of the Institute for Sufi Studies Asst. Prof. Cangüzel Güner Zülfikar, Institute for Sufi Studies Asst. Prof. Dilek Güldütuna, Institute for Sufi Studies faculty member Prof. Reşat Öngören and Institute for Sufi Studies faculty member Prof. Mahmut Erol Kılıç.

Tarhan: "A dervish of the 21st century should hold the Qur'an in one hand and a computer in the other"

President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan made the opening speech of the event. Noting that modern people worship the world at the moment, Tarhan said that "The dervish of the 21st century should hold the Qur'an in one hand and a computer in the other. When you think about whether there is a counterpart to this in the reference, there are 3 types of views of the world here: a person is the type of person who is interested in the evils of the world, forgetting God and pursuing only the pleasures of the world. In fact, one of the biggest diseases of our time is the disease of worldliness. Modern man worships the world at this time. Hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure, living as if they will never die, and not thinking about the afterlife after death, saying, ‘I will die anyway, I will disappear.’ If there is no life after death, this life has no meaning, and there is no life of a being like a human being. There was even a study on bees. If bees disappear in the world, the world will turn into a desert in 50 years. If people disappear, the world will be very beautiful and green for 50 years."

Tarhan: "Everything that can be questioned is science"

Pointing out that there are 4,300 religions in the world and the most suitable one among them is Tawhid, Tarhan said that "There are some societal prejudices. Unfortunately, there are prejudices that we encounter a lot in Türkiye and in the bureaucracy. Globally, there are these biases as well. It came with the age of enlightenment. This practice also affects the distance between the doctrinal dimension and the practical dimension of Sufism. One of them is the understanding of "Religion and science are separate." Hegel, one of the philosophers of the Enlightenment, has a saying that 'Everything that is rational is real, and everything that is real is reasonable.' Anything that can be questioned, then, is science. If you can also question religion, if you can make sense of religion in a logical way by questioning, and if you can explain religion after making sense of it, or if you can somehow put it in a logical framework, then that religion becomes a logical meaning-making in the mental laboratory. It becomes reasonable. There are 4,300 religions in the world. If we think about which of these is reasonable, it becomes Tawhid. In the sense of God's unity and revelation, if there is a God there, that God will only be like the God described in monotheism."

Tarhan: "Misinterpreting religion is an obstacle to progress"

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the interpretation of religion in the 21st century needs formal renewals while preserving the core. Tarhan stated that "True freedom is to be free from one's own wants, desires and impulses. Break the chains, tear down the walls, live!' This is not freedom. This is what the practice of Sufism teaches. With this advice, religion does not prevent human progress. Misinterpreting religion is an obstacle to progress. In the 21st century, it is necessary to interpret religion more accurately, preserving the core; however, some formal renewals are needed. Mevlana compares the world to a sea and man to a ship. In the sea, a ship sinks if it floats and takes the water in. The world is a sea, and if you take the sea water in, you will sink. Have the world in your hands but not in your heart. We need to be able to manage our minds well while doing the affairs of this world and the hereafter. Where does the world work begin, we need to be able to order the timing well between both. Let us not be the object of the world, and let us be the subject of the world. Let us rule the world, let us live in the world in accordance with the divine purpose in accordance with the divine consent. If we can do that, the world will be our slave. Otherwise, we can infer from Rumi that we will be the slaves of the world."

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)