The capital of understanding and moderation, once again: a Friday prayer at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, and glad tidings

This is my fourth visit to Damascus since the revolution, but although I had visited the Umayyad Mosque and prayed there many times, it was my lot for the first time to perform a Friday prayer there. This time I wanted it especially. Truthfully, it is not that I attribute any very special meaning to "performing the Friday prayer at the Umayyad Mosque." It is very important that this mosque, which for years was torn from its historical and spiritual atmosphere under Shia displays, has returned to its original identity, with its many symbolic intensities as a place that gathers and assembles the congregation and addresses all of humanity in a unifying, embracing way. In the mosque, which contains separate mihrabs and corners for all the schools (madhhabs) of Islam, the shrine of Prophet Yahya (John) and even traces from ancient Rome have not been erased, and can speak to visitors as if emerging from the depths of history.

For women, places have been set aside that are much wider and more comfortable to enter and leave than even in our own mosques, and moreover, even if this area is in the back rows, it is not separated from the rest of the mosque by a curtain or a wall.

THE PILGRIM MEETS THE PILGRIM IN MECCA… IN DAMASCUS: THE MERCY OF COINCIDENCES

At the time of the Friday prayer the mosque is jam-packed, as expected. Through the courtesy of the officials we find our place in the very front row, right behind the imam. There we happen to come side by side with our Ambassador to Damascus, my dear brother Nuh Yılmaz. An unplanned meeting; joking "the pilgrim meets the pilgrim in Mecca…" we sit down to listen to the sermon. In fact, I had visited him two days earlier, and we had had a very productive conversation, of the brainstorming kind, on Syria, developments in the region and Türkiye-Syria policy in general. We share a common background in METU Sociology and in the tezkire tradition. The vision he laid out with his very valuable experience from the bureaucracy and the Foreign Ministry was very valuable, and indicates that he will accomplish very valuable work at this junction in Syria-Türkiye relations.

A SERMON READ WITH SIGHTLESS EYES: THE RAMADAN THRESHOLD OF A FREE SYRIA

This week the sermon is delivered by İbrahim Şaşo, the imam of the Aleppo Umayyad Mosque, who is visiting Damascus. He lost the sight of both eyes during Assad's bombardments. He began with the meaning of the approaching Ramadan, and, especially in view of a liberated Syria, he explained the meaning of the trial God has made this nation live through and that He is preparing this nation for greater tasks, and called on the congregation to give thanks for this blessing. He also called on them to be aware of the martyrs who paid great prices for this blessing and of their Syrian brothers who are still paying great prices in refugee camps and tents, to pray for them, and to work harder for Syria's development.

THE QASIDAS OF THE MUEZZINS: A RENEWAL THAT DOES NOT TOUCH TRADITION

After the prayer, we went with the imam and the muezzins, along with people from the Syrian state leadership who had attended the prayer, to the protocol hall to the left of the entrance of the Umayyad Mosque to converse. There, as we listened together to the magnificent voices of the muezzins in their special garments, to the qasidas they recite in disciplined maqams, the possibility occurred to us that in Salafi logic these might be considered innovations (bid'ah), and of course we could not help asking. From the very first day this possibility had come to everyone's mind and had been presented to the administration of Ahmed al-Sharaa. Contrary to all expectations, al-Sharaa and his friends said that this is a product of the centuries-old traditional structure of Islam and a practice that gives flavor and color to lived Islam, and that it will not be touched. Of course, without abandoning, as they understand it, the increased emphasis on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. It was truly worth being in this setting just to catch this gesture.

THE REFINEMENT OF DAMASCUS: FROM THE REGIME'S ABUSE TO THE REVIVAL OF THE CITY

At that moment there came to my mind what he said when I reached Damascus right after the revolution and met with al-Sharaa. Back then I had asked about those who worried, because of the known origins of al-Sharaa and his friends, that they might impose a sectarian Islamic understanding on others. And I had asked this, in fact, again by referring to the embracing and moderate approaches in his own speeches: "You mentioned that your aim is the public good of society and that you generally prioritize morality and compassion. This is undoubtedly a form of Islamic interpretation. There are those who call this line you represent 'Damascene Islam.' Why? Because Damascus has a local historical trace. You are a Damascene; could you say that Damascus, in all this circle, within two parentheses, has an effect on your interpretation or style of Islam?" And he had answered this question as follows:

"This expression was right in saying that Islam in Damascus is very strong. Yes, I grew up in the mosques of Damascus and received instruction from some of the sheikhs of Damascus. I left Damascus with the same idea in my mind. How can we reach a stage in Syria where justice and compassion spread? Of course, the social and historical environment has an effect on those who live and are educated in it. The Damascene atmosphere is peaceful, very affectionate and emotional. The regime exploited precisely this gentleness and good will of the Damascenes and made no investment in Damascus at all. Yes, the regime did not give Damascus its due and did not look after it; on the contrary, it belittled and humiliated it, damaged its dignity, turned it into a huge Captagon factory, and turned its prisons into torture slaughterhouses. I say that Damascus deserves every kind of good, that it must return as a great guide, and that it will be built as an exemplary capital of development."

FROM DAMASCUS TO THE WORLD: A POLITICS OF SERVICE AGAINST SECTARIANISM

One of the most important features of Damascus to be underlined these days is, I think, that it houses the tombs of both Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Arabi.

By the way, two days ago a conference of the "Islamic Discourse Union," attended by 1,500 Islamic scholars, was held in Damascus. The messages given at this conference, organized by the Ministry of Endowments and attended by Ahmed al-Sharaa, showed that Damascus is both aspiring to and ready for precisely this role it promises. For instance these words from al-Sharaa's opening speech: "We do not have the luxury of entering intellectual debates that have lasted for centuries. We must focus on our priorities. We share the duty of guiding society with preachers, schools and the media."

These are words that show how aware he is of the most important ideological and mental obstacles that have kept contemporary Islamic politics from its path and how ready he is to overcome them. They invite us to draw a curtain over many debates carried out until now in the name of Islamic politics and to open to a new paradigm. Truly, whatever happened at Karbala happened, whatever happened in the time of the Umayyads happened, whatever was lived among the noble Companions was lived; what is the point of carrying their lawsuits into the present?

Syrian Minister of Endowments Muhammad Abu al-Khayr Shukri also said in his speech that strategic plans are being prepared so that the mosques in Syria may be guides of moral values and the understanding of moderation.

Stating that they aim to reach this goal with an inclusive and moderate religious discourse, Shukri said, "We adopt a language that reinforces social closeness and love and rejects provocative hate speech, strife (fitna), sectarianism and discrimination."

The new political consciousness rising from Damascus does not only illuminate Syria; even though it makes no such claim or demand, it also heralds a new and inspiring experience for Muslims all over the world.

ON THE EVE OF THE BLESSED MONTH OF RAMADAN, may this good tidings endure and be a means of good things. May our Ramadan be rich in the Qur'an, rich in obedience and worship, and may God's mercy and compassion be upon you.