Mass repentance, mass submission: Religion where obedience is sanctified

Following the mass repentance ceremony held by the Serhendi group of the Menzil order in Izmir in recent weeks, I went to the Serhendi Foundation located in Sancaktepe, Istanbul, to hear about the subject directly from those involved.

After a brief greeting, I brought the conversation directly to the issue of repentance and asked: “Why do you perform mass repentance? Is repentance not an individual act?” I then added: “What is the purpose of mass repentance?”

At first, the people I spoke with said they were not authorized to answer this question. However, this official hesitation did not last long; a deep conversation began between us and the disciples.

One of those present took out his phone and showed me a verse: the 103rd verse of Surah Al-i Imran. According to the Diyanet translation, the verse read: “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided...” The continuation of the verse emphasized unity, brotherhood, and salvation.

From this point on, the subject was brought to the Prophet. “Allah sent a Prophet to humanity; people gathered around the words and sunnah of the Prophet,” they said. So, how did one get from there to sheikhs and ghawths? The answer was ready: “Scholars are the heirs of the Prophet.”

The logic chain was clear: If the scholar is the heir of the Prophet, the disciple must also gather around the scholar. He must follow him and walk the path he walks. Mass repentance was also a part of this practice of submission.

THE ASSUMPTION OF INFALLIBILITY

At this point, I asked a fundamental question: Could sheikhs not make mistakes? What was the criterion for knowing that the path they were on was the righteous path? The answer was clear: “Our sheikhs are on the path of the Quran and the sunnah.” They would not chart a path with their own desires, nor would they determine direction based on personal opinions. As long as they followed this path, it was the disciple's duty to follow them.

As tea was served during the conversation, I reminded them of the divisions occurring within orders and communities in recent times. I mentioned the inheritance and management disputes that took place among the sons of Menzil Community leader Abdulbaki Erol following his passing, the fact that this issue was even taken to British courts, and the allegations reflected in the press.

They said they did not want to get into these topics. They emphasized that these were worldly matters and that there was no theological division. The point they insistently underlined was this: Connecting to a murshid (guide) was a vital necessity.

They justified this as follows: Just as a profession, a craft, or a science cannot be learned without a teacher, a correct life in the religious sense cannot be led without a guide. A person is in need of the guidance of someone who knows.

WEALTH, SUFISM, AND OBJECTION

At this point, I asked the following question: Was the order not about the disciplining of the self (nafs) and the concept of 'a morsel and a cloak'? Was Sufism not based on an objection to the luxury and unlimited enrichment that emerged in Islamic society?

They did not agree with this view. “Was our Prophet not wealthy?” they asked. They even reminded me that there were disputes over his inheritance after his death. Therefore, there was no harm in the prominent figures of today's orders being wealthy. Moreover, these assets had been acquired through ‘professional’ means.

I reminded them of the criticism of the palace directed by the companion Abu Dharr toward Muawiyah, and his emphasis on waste and the forbidden (haram). There was no response on this topic; only my failure to say “His Excellency” (Hazret) for Muawiyah was criticized.

THE DEMONIZATION OF BEING WITHOUT A SHEIKH

The relationship between disciple and murshid was at the center of the conversation. I reminded them of the saying, “He who has no sheikh, his sheikh is the devil.” They said they generally agreed with this view. The reasoning was the same again: It was almost impossible to find the right path without a scholar.

Well, in that case, did everyone have to join an order? “No,” they said. However, in the complexity of life, a person must definitely listen to the words of a teacher or a scholar. Otherwise, following the footsteps of the devil was inevitable.

In this context, the miracles (karamat) of saints and sheikhs were also mentioned. A miracle was an indicator that they were friends of Allah. During the conversation, one of those present explained that he had suffered from alcohol and drug addiction about twenty years ago and that he had been saved from this quagmire after joining the order. He had gone to hospitals before but could not find a cure. He showed the razor scars on his arms. “What is this if not a miracle?” he asked.

ABSOLUTE SUBMISSION

Finally, I asked: “It is said that a person who connects to a murshid must submit ‘like a corpse before a washer.’ Are you like this too?”

“I wish we could be,” they said. This was the ideal attitude in front of the sheikh: absolute obedience. Of course, this obedience was not to the sheikh's personality, but to his scholarly competence and knowledge of the Quran and sunnah. It was the disciple's duty to follow the correct knowledge.

GROUP IDENTITY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OBEDIENCE

The issue of mass repentance brought us to this point. Orders, communities, or structures that gather around any belief or thought do not only offer individuals a sense of belonging; they also build a strong identity. This identity inevitably brings group dynamics with it.

Group dynamics redraw the boundaries of an individual's compliance and objection; it offers them a ready-made life map. The boundaries of this map are determined by the group's internal structure, discourses, and management processes. Members are obligated to comply with this framework.

A human is not only an individual being; they are also deeply social. The network of relationships in which they live inevitably shapes their thoughts and behaviors. Being part of a group makes this effect even sharper; most of the time, group identity takes precedence over individual identity.

Therefore, to understand group dynamics, one must look at two fundamental phenomena. The first is life itself, with its economic, political, and sociological integrity. The second is the group's internal motivation, that is, sacred narratives, forms of authority, and mechanisms of obedience.

For, as Tayfun Atay also points out: “Religion emerges from life.” However, what is in question here is not a religion that faces all the contradictions of life; it is a form of religion that is intertwined with political, economic, and organizational relationships and produces obedience.

Today, order and community structures do not exist only with the claim of spiritual guidance. They have also transformed into structures that manage economic resources, discipline human resources, and establish implicit or explicit relationships with the political sphere. Mass repentance functions not only as a purification practice within these structures, but as a ritual in which collective loyalty, alignment, and commitment are reaffirmed.

Therefore, the issue is not just the individual's sin or repentance; it is how obedience is legitimized and how questioning is “criminalized.” The analogy of “a corpse before a washer” points to a form of political obedience that demands the suspension of critical reason, rather than a call for religious humility.

The question that must be asked is this: Does faith offer an opportunity that morally liberates the individual; or does it make them part of a group, a leadership, and increasingly, worldly power relations? Mass repentance ceremonies show that the answer given to this question is no longer produced individually, but institutionally.