Religion inside the sack and Narin

Is it possible to understand how a religion is practiced from inside a home? Or can we understand the state of a practiced religion from a dervish lodge, a tekke, or a community house? And what about religion—can it fit inside a sack, and can we understand how it comes to life from there? 

On the social media page of Salim Güran, who offered 200,000 liras to Nevzat Bahtiyar to dispose of Narin's lifeless body, there are images of President Erdoğan reciting the Quran and many other such religious contents.

“Interior view of the Cave of Hira” is a photo the murderous uncle shared, for example. It says, “May those who like this see no trouble.” Yet, the greatest trouble for his eight-year-old niece became one of her executioners. While he was talking about faith and religion on his own page, he also had the blood of an innocent, angelic soul on his hands. So, what and how did Salim Güran, and even the mother and Narin's brother who are accused of committing the murder, believe? Why could their faith not prevent this brutality? Where and how had they abandoned morality, fear, and conscience, and how could these people appear “pious” at the same time?

For instance, did the faith of Nevzat Bahtiyar, who made a deal with Salim Güran to dispose of an innocent life in exchange for a bribe, never cross his mind while committing this crime? Did no religious word, commandment, or parable resonate in his soul while he was killing an innocent child? If Bahtiyar erased all of these in an instant, then what and how was he believing? “When I came home,” says Nevzat Bahtiyar, “I performed my prayer, then I joined the search efforts for Narin”Prayer, religion, God, and Narin inside the sack... It is like a summary of religion experienced in one breath. 

According to reports, Narin was last seen at a Quran course. The village was known for its conservative voter base. As reported by Fatih Altaylı, in the last election, 100 out of 154 voters cast their ballots for the AKP, and 16 for HÜDAPAR. AKP member Galip Ensarioğlu, after stating that he had a 40-year friendship with the family, added the following: A family coming from the Welfare Party tradition. 

Therefore, we can say that we are facing a community deeply intertwined with religion. On the other hand, the issue is not just about one village: when it comes to lawlessness, corruption, nepotism, unfair wealth transfer, irregular tenders, and sexual crimes, there is a significant mass that forgets their religion, the 'fear of God,' sin, and what is forbidden.

You would think that 'haram' (the forbidden) is limited to the kitchen and that religion is lived only for the kitchen. I think looking at metrics like the rule of law index or the corruption index is enough to see this.

One of my close friends told me recently: A member of one of the well-known religious communities in our country gets married. They remain married for a long time, then the woman is diagnosed with a serious illness, and it is said that she might die within a few years. Even though her husband knows this, while his wife is sick, he performs a religious marriage ceremony with someone else and they start living in the same house. And unfortunately, our friend's relative loses her life after a while. There is no description for the pain, of course, nor for the evil. But how can these people, who talk a big game when it comes to religion, become so evil all of a sudden? 

When it comes to being all talk and no action, please allow me to recall this incident: In 2015, members of the Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim Sen) in Artvin were distributing a leaflet demanding "secular and scientific education." Subsequently, prosecutor Yusuf Bahadır Özay launched an investigation into the matter, asking what was meant by the "superstitions" mentioned in the leaflet. The response provided was, "telling young children about genies and fairies is one example."

Upon this, the aforementioned prosecutor deepened (!) his questioning by asking, "There is a Surah of the Jinn in the Quran, don't you know this? Do you not believe in the Quran?" effectively turning his bench into a "religious court." People's religious beliefs were being directly interrogated.

Ultimately, Özay referred the defendants to the judgeship to be tried while in custody on charges of "insulting religious values." However, the defendants were not arrested; subsequently, the prosecutor of the case changed, and the new prosecutor became Nusret Alper Pazarcıklı.

Pazarcıklı, on the other hand, emphasized that the leaflet in question fell within the scope of freedom of expression and that, according to ECHR case law, criticisms directed at religions should be met with tolerance within certain limits. Furthermore, the decision reminded the teachers that they could file a compensation lawsuit regarding the time they spent in custody. Two prosecutors, two different realities of Turkey. It is clear which path leads where, and how the country will experience the practice of religion, conscience, and justice. As long as we do not close our eyes to the truth. 

I recounted the example above because the paths followed by countries and religions, and the practices exhibited by the figures who pave those paths, ultimately produce a result. 

Lichtenberg says, "What matters is not what a person believes, but what the thing they believe in turns them into." For example, if you become an ISIS member, after a while that "belief" leads you to burn people alive. You have transformed; you have become someone else. This is the transformative, changing aspect of the matter. Depending on your interpretation, the religion becomes a different religion, and you become a different person. 

After all of this, how should one explain the prayers performed by the collaborator who threw Narin into a corner inside a sack, the religious posts made by the murderous uncle, the situation of the individuals mentioned in the murder, and the supposedly religious structure of the village? As Maalouf says, "People act as if they no longer need morality because they have a religion."The answer to the question is difficult, but I think the crux of the matter lies here.