Damascus Ambassador Nuh Yılmaz’s remarks on dervish lodges: ‘The traditions we lost continue here’

Turkey’s Ambassador to Damascus, Nuh Yılmaz, made assessments regarding the closure of dervish lodges (tekke and zaviyeler) during the Republican era in an interview with Syria Now, a platform under the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network.

Speaking about the religious and cultural traditions he observed during his visits in Damascus, Yılmaz stated that some shared traditions no longer continue in Turkey, but persist in Syria. Yılmaz remarked, “I see that some of our shared traditions that we have lost in Turkey continue here.”

Yılmaz pointed to the Mevlevi order as an example. He explained that after the closure of the dervish lodges, the post of the Mevlevi leader was moved to Aleppo, and activities have continued at the Mevlevi lodge there. He described the fact that these traditions continue to live on in Syria as “extremely gratifying.”

REFERENCE TO LAW NO. 677

In Turkey, dervish lodges, zawiyas, and tombs were closed by Law No. 677, which was adopted on November 30, 1925. The regulation also banned the use of titles related to religious orders such as sheikh, dervish, disciple, and dede. The law is considered one of the fundamental steps in the Republic’s secularization process.

In the same interview, Yılmaz also spoke about the expected visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Damascus. Using the phrase “a lover of Damascus” for Erdoğan, Yılmaz said that it would make him happy to see Erdoğan pray at the Umayyad Mosque.

Stating that the previously planned visit to Damascus was postponed due to developments in the region, Yılmaz expressed that they expect the visit to take place by the end of the year. Yılmaz also added that he hopes to see Erdoğan and Syrian President Ahmed Shara in Damascus “hand in hand, arm in arm.”

News Source: 12punto