Muslim or Christian, Mullah or Pope

A friend

15.10.2011 Black-Sea-Coast between Sile and Agva

Chapter one: A week with a Friend

Trygve is having a heart-attack in Kilitbahir

Yesterday at noon I left Trygve in Istanbul. He took the Shuttle to Ataturk-Airport, while I went out of town back to Asia. When we summed up the week we had spent together, we agreed that it had been a success in almost every kind of way. Only the thing we could control the least, the weather, was not quite as good as Trygve, who came from 8 degrees and rain in Bergen, would have hoped. We can at least say that we had a little bit of everything.

The New-Mosque seen from the Anatolian side

As I reported last week, the trip started with sun and a lonely golden beach, and gin-clear water. A visit in Edirne gave us the first taste of kebab and grand mosques, while the Gallipoli-Peninsula and Canakkale told a great war-history. We would have seen the mighty UluDag on our ride to Istanbul, but instead witnessed clouds and natures powers, with the ability to transform lovely gavel-roads into soap-like mud-tracks.  And last, not least – Istanbul, a destination in itself, with History, Religion, two continents and a grand-bazaar.

King Trygve looks for enemy ships on the sea of Marmara

To travel with Trygve was good and trouble-free. Those who know Trygve, know about his energy and will to see and do (and eat) things. One of the things I enjoyed the most was, not having to plan everything by myself. Trygve would be sitting next to me while I was driving, reading in the guide-book and the map and suggesting where to go. None of us had had the time to research much in advance, so we were both very flexible, and went where the road took us.

 Still I got to say that it is good to be alone again. I have leaned to appreciate the quiet. Nature is so much in peace. I won’t be alone for long anyway. Wiebke, a friend of the family will arrive in Antalya on the 29 of this month, and leave from Adana a week later.

Chapter two: The good Muslim

Meeting students from Istanbul's NLA. 

After Mosques and battlefields, beaches sun and rain, it was still the meeting with a group of young Muslims that turned out to be the highlight of our week.

Trygve managed to make me smile on the walls of
the Kilitbahir fort. Photo taken by Trygve

After rushing through the highlights of Istanbul, the Aya-Sofia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand-Bazaar we took the ferry to the Anatolian (Asian) side of Istanbul. We walked along the seaside, and found a nice place to sit and look over to Sultanahmet. While I was still taking pictures, Trygve started to talk to a young man who was sitting there with his friends. This young man turned out to be from Denmark. I guess he heard us talking Norwegian and thus started talking to Trygve.

This young man and his friends were all students of religion, and mainly Islam. They were taking part in a study for people with Turkish background who had lived there lives outside Turkey, so two or three of them were from Germany, one from France, and so on. When we went away from that place, we had been sitting there more than three hours, talking, eating sunflower-seeds and of course smoking water-pipe.

Yellow

While Trygve spent most of the time talking with the Danish fellow, I had a very good talk with one of the German boys. Our main theme was religion, and I got confirmed once and for all, what I have known for a long time. A real Muslim is a good person.

Blue. Note that the pictures are not identical.

What we call a Muslim extremist, isn’t even a Muslim at all. If extremist would mean a person who is “extremely much Muslim”, then he couldn’t do anyone any harm. The great Koran forbids every kind of violence, except if in self-defense, and as soon as an enemy surrenders, you HAVE to take him to your hospital, and treat him as best as you can, and when he is fine again, he can go. Terrorists are a small minority who has leaders that teach Islam terribly wrong. It’s like the “Christians” that have their confirmation only for the sake of tradition and money, and without knowing nor believing the teaching of the bible. Are they Christians? I haven’t traveled a lot in Muslim countries, but what I have seen here in Turkey has been very promising. There is little violence (I haven’t seen any at all), little alcohol and people are reminded of their God five times a day.

So, to conclude for all of you back home, who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting young and welcoming Muslims at the seaside in Istanbul, I got to say that Muslims are no different than Christians. They have a good teaching, and the once who follow it are good people. Among every people there are good and bad once, but if a Muslim is a bad person, it is not because of Islam. It might well be because of the lack of Islam. So lay aside your prejudice. Travel to a Muslim country, and I think you might change their view on Muslims.