LAUSR

Like all of us, I have my story. Mine began in a multicultural and multi-religious city. Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey where religions, languages, and cultures meet. In my childhood, I had friends who spoke different languages and who had different religions. I played, went to school, sometimes got along and sometimes fought with them just like any child. Sometimes we shared painted eggs or candies or shared small toys or dolls with each other. We grew up together and in a way brought each other up. My father used to say, “keep in mind that you are on common holy ground with your friends.” I wondered for years what this common holy ground could be. Could it be actual physical common ground, like the backyard of the mosque where we played together? Or the churchyard where we took shelter at times? Could it be the blending of the sounds of church bells with that of the Azan in the city of Mardin? My father once spoke of a new priest that came to the Monastery in Mardin. He mentioned that the two of them recited the Surah of Mary together from the Quran. I then thought that this common holy ground must be the Surah of Mary. At a certain point, however, Imust have stopped enquiring about this common holy ground, for I remembered little more about it—that is, until I began my studies in the Faculty of Divinity at Ankara University. There I learned new things about this idea of a common holy ground. I learned that our holy Quran refers to Jews and Christians as “People of the Book.” It further describes their Holy Book as bearing the qualities of Light, Divinity, andGuidance. I learned that theQuran invites Christians to a common word between us. The Quran praised the “People of the Book,” yet it also criticized them at times. Some of my professors said that such criticisms were not directed to the religions themselves but more so to the wrongful conduct of its adherents at that time. Other professors stated that these criticisms were still legitimate, and that we should always exercise caution toward adherents of other religions. Once one of my professors wrote an essay titled “No One has a Monopoly on Heaven.” In response to him, another professor wrote an essay titled “Muslims have the Monopoly of Heaven.” I think there are different opinions in different faiths on this issue. But why should people care so much about who is to be admitted to heaven? Is it not up to God to decide? I started to ask the question when pursuing common ground: “What is the purpose of our diversity?” “Why are there these differences among religious people?” These were not the kinds of questions I had ever asked before, for diversity had simply been a natural part in my youth. So why are we different from each other? God could have created us all the same if he had wished to do so.