Government and opposition politicians, religious leaders and hundreds of members of the public crowded into a congress hall on Wednesday night for the beginning of Turkey's Blessed Birth Week, which venerates the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The opening event for the April 14-20 Blessed Birth Week organized by the Directorate of Religious Affairs was held in İstanbul's Eyüp district with the attendance of hundreds, including top public officials. Among the attendees were Directorate of Religious Affairs President Ali Bardakoğlu, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Çetin, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin, State Ministers Hayati Yazıcı and Faruk Çelik, Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Yalçın Topçu, and İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş.

In his opening talk, Bardakoğlu extolled the ethics of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), highlighting compassion as a key characteristic of the latter’s dealings with adults and children, animals and even enemies. “We have a need for, as a door of hope for humanity, a refreshment of our awareness and our understanding of religiosity,” Bardakoğlu said. “Our prophet was a leader of generosity and compassion and always encouraged us to be generous. The holy messages of his will always be a healing for the difficulties of our age.” What the prophet brought to humanity, he remarked, was “not a theory of morals -- he personally lived, explained and demonstrated morality.” The religious affairs chief asserted that this code of morality dictated a stance of tolerance and love vis-a-vis people of different religions, understandings and lifestyles and emphasized that the Quran must be read properly in order to avoid misinterpretation and acting in a way contrary to its values.

A message was read on behalf of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was not present at the event. Erdoğan said Blessed Birth Week also marked the day of the Prophet’s birth, noting: “On this holy day, we are illuminating our hearts and souls with the message of peace that he brought, and the mercy, love and compassion that he taught. We hope that today, when humanity has been encircled by blood, tears, pain and cruelty, they will recall that timeless message of love, peace and mercy that he brought.”

Following the talks given by political leaders, the program continued with the performance of poems and music about the prophet. Blessed Birth Week aims to encourage sentiments of national unity, togetherness, fraternity and mutual aid and solidarity by getting to know the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) better, spreading information about his life and values and increasing love by his example. The Directorate of Religious Affairs has designated the Quran as the focus of its activities this year, and so Blessed Birth Week activities, organized nationwide under the title “His life was the Quran,” include Quran recitations, conferences and seminars explaining the Quran’s proper interpretation and meaning and programs focusing on the prophet and the Quran.

Source: http://www.iqna.ir

Date:2010/04/20