A wise and prolific theologian: Hayri Kırbaşoğlu

Human beings are not living creatures merely by breathing; we also keep our thoughts, emotions, and attitudes alive; we protect and cherish them to the extent that we claim them. When we are sent off from this world, it is they that will remain behind, not our bodies. So much so that some people have been among us for hundreds of years with their ideas; those ideas are even a guide for life and a model of meaning for millions of people.

For humans are also creatures in search of meaning; it is quite difficult to sustain a meaningless life. Meaning reveals the essence, not the form; it emphasizes the substance, not the procedure; it underlines what is permanent and brings what is structural to light. Meaning itself is built through a process; effort is exerted, labor is given, and time is spent for this cause. Today, I want to talk about an academic who has dedicated this effort to his field: Prof. Dr. Hayri Kırbaşoğlu.

Hayri Kırbaşoğlu was born in Manisa in 1954, during the years when the Democrat Party was dominant. He completed his academic education at the Ankara University Faculty of Divinity. Later, he completed his doctorate as an assistant in the Hadith department of the same university. At this point, Professor Kırbaşoğlu is one of the most important names in Turkey in his field. He is an authority on Hadith. On the other hand, Kırbaşoğlu also sheds light on the present day with the thoughts he expresses regarding morality and principles concerning Muslims and Islam. These thoughts, of course, integrate with the attitude Hayri Kırbaşoğlu adopts toward life and are completed by the words that accumulate in his world of meaning and are reflected to us.

So, what does Professor Kırbaşoğlu say about religion and the Islam that is practiced? If you wish, let us start with these words he expressed in the context of the essence of faith: “The most important feature that distinguishes Islam from other religions is that it is a project to liberate the human being in an absolute sense from all authorities on earth, and even from all kinds of powers, except for the one creator, Allah. One bows only before Allah. Every other authority can be questioned, and there is never any question of absolute obedience to them.” Describing Islam as a religion of absolute liberation, Kırbaşoğlu distances the human being from all approaches that put them in shackles. For religion itself says this. Therefore, let us say that everything that puts it under its control and eliminates its ability to criticize is “outside of religion,” or at least that religion is free from it. So, do Muslims, in their current practice, comply with this? According to Kırbaşoğlu, the dominant official and traditional institutions are free from an understanding of faith that is libertarian. At this point, he speaks exactly as follows: “Al-Azhar in Egypt, the Diyanet in Turkey, the mullahs in Iran, the religious authority there in Saudi Arabia. These certainly do not allow for an Islamic understanding that is libertarian and holds its rulers accountable. Secondly, there are the traditional communities and sects that lean on the powers that be.”

A libertarian interpretation of faith is vital for religion according to Professor Kırbaşoğlu. Indeed, when this principle is moved away from, and furthermore, the moment religion begins to be imposed on people, it ceases to be the Islam that is practiced. In Kırbaşoğlu’s words, what is practiced is now the order of the Pharaoh. No matter what is written on paper, no matter what is put into practice, we can no longer speak of religion. “In that respect,” says Kırbaşoğlu, “the fact that Muslims use Islamic symbols, use Islamic jargon, perform prayers, and fast does not mean that what they are doing is Islam.”

In this context, Hayri Kırbaşoğlu views all interpretations that are kept alive, especially sects, as an “approach.” He expresses the basis of the approaches that are dominant today with these words: “In the most general sense, it seems possible to evaluate the imitative-traditionalist-conservative thought of today as a continuation of the Ahl al-Hadith tradition, and the innovative efforts that advocate that tradition should be approached critically and that are open to ijtihad and innovations as a continuation of the Ahl al-Ra'y.”

Another important thought that appears in Hayri Kırbaşoğlu’s world of meaning is the subject of “values.” Kırbaşoğlu says, “In the Islamic worldview, the highest value that should be taken as a basis in individual and social relations is Justice, followed by Competence and Merit.” The Professor does not count “closeness in worldview” among these values; on the contrary, he says that taking such a situation as a measure would mean discrimination and would produce injustice. At this very point, Kırbaşoğlu also makes quite striking remarks about the practice in Turkey. According to the Professor, at the stage reached, Islamic values have been left aside, and almost all values have been trampled underfoot on the plane of “desk, safe, and women,” that is, power, money, and sexuality. “A great fiasco, a collapse is being experienced,” says the Professor. His words are like nails: “New generations see that religious people, who should be moral, just, honest, and fair, are not actually so, and that unfortunately, the only concern of some people is to share the existing power rent. Naturally, the young generations who witness this collapse, and even the children of the AKP and MHP themselves, are cooling off from Islam and Muslims.”

In this context, Kırbaşoğlu is a name who warned society years ago, in 2013, by signing off on these words, and he has been proven right in his warning. Let us read together: “...It should not be difficult to predict that in the coming period, we may enter into a serious struggle not only with immorality and immoral people in general, but also with “immoral Muslims” (!!!). Of course, it should not be forgotten that one must struggle with such immoral Muslims not only on the plane of religious and moral discourse, but also by resorting to all kinds of legal means of struggle. Otherwise, we too will start saying ‘our thief, our immoral person, our briber, our corrupt person.’”

Kırbaşoğlu, who speaks by taking all risks into account when expressing his thoughts, continues to write, research, and carry on his work as a wise and prolific pen. It should not be forgotten that religion, throughout history, has not been able to save itself from power centers, interest groups, and circles of influence. In this context, every effort and work shown by sincere believers, especially those who are laborers of the pen, to save religion from the domination of these circles is commendable. Undoubtedly, Kırbaşoğlu is at the forefront of the intellectuals who fulfill this responsibility today.