Cultural Exchange

By Staff Writers, *Being Muslim for a month in Istanbul* - Hurriyet Daily News with Radikal - Istanbul, Turkey; Thursday, May 19, 2011

A small NGO based in northern Thailand that aims to help people experience different religions starts a nine-day program in Turkey that includes lessons on basic Islamic practices and Sufism, joining in communal prayer, choral singing, workshops and discussions and watching whirling Dervishes. 'We are followers of Jesus, we are religious. But we also like getting the perspectives of other people,' says one tour participant

One-day fasting, performing ritual Islamic prayers, visiting mosques and learning more about the Muslim faith… all without having to convert. That is what a Thailand-based program is offering to tourists from around the world who want to dabble in a new religion during a stint in Istanbul.

The program, “Muslim for a Month,” promises an inside look at the Islamic faith, with a focus on the Sufi path and the universal spiritual teachings of Mevlana Rumi. Created by the Thailand-based Blood Foundation cultural exchange it is being run in cooperation with Islamic scholars and peace activists in Turkey.

“This is a cultural exchange program. There is no intention to impose the [Islamic] religion. Each culture, each religion is taught in its own place ... I believe the best place for a Westerner to learn about Islam is Turkey, where the religion is experienced best,” said Muharrem Altığ, a theologian and the guide of the program’s second tour, which started this week with four participants in their 20s and 30s, daily Radikal reported Thursday.

“I participated in the program to see the real Turkey myself,” said Jennifer Brown, a 30-year-old librarian from New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States. She added that she was also trying to understand whether there was any prejudice by Turkish people toward Americans.

Participants in the “Muslim for a Month” program attend lectures on Islam and listen to Quran recitations in the 300-year-old Nakşi Mausoleum. They also participate in prayers, following the motions and saying prayers in their own languages. A one-day fast is also a part of the program.

“We allow them to sleep until noon at the fasting day, so they do not find it too difficult,” Altığ said, adding that participants with health problems and smokers were not forced to fast until the end of the day. “[The important thing] is to teach them the idea [of fasting].”

Eating pork and drinking alcohol is not forbidden during the free evenings in the city.

Scott Bertrand, 33, and Abby Bertrand, 32, an American couple from Texas who have been living in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district for a year, are also participating in the tour. “We are both followers of Jesus, we are religious. But we also like getting the perspectives of other people,” Scott said. He added that they could now better understand the lifestyle of their neighbors in Üsküdar, one of the city’s most religious districts.

The youngest member of the group, 22-year-old Aly Neel from Louisiana, is also living and studying in Istanbul with a scholarship from the Journalists and Writers Foundation. She writes a blog about Turkey in which she tries to combat misperceptions about the country, such as that its inhabitants all ride camels.

She said she has now become used to customs unfamiliar in America, such as taking off her shoes when entering a house or getting a strange look when wearing too-short shorts or T-shirts. “I am considered a conservative person in my hometown. However I realized I cannot jog in such [short shorts] here,” she said.

Despite the name, there are two versions of the “Muslim for a Month” program: a nine-day short course, which consists of a broad introduction to Islam, Sufism, Rumi and Turkish culture, and a more comprehensive 21-day program that offers a deeper exploration of Sufi mysticism and a more thorough immersion into the life and works of Rumi.

The nine-day program combines conventional tourist activities – including visits to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, a boat ride on the Bosphorus, sightseeing and shopping at the Grand Bazaar, daytrips to the provinces of Konya, Edirne and Bursa – with religion-related activities. These may include lessons on Islam and basic practices of the religion, as well as on Sufism, choral singing, workshops and discussions, watching whirling Dervishes, working with charity organizations and visiting sites such as the Eyüp Mosque, Süleyman Mosque, Selimiye Mosque, II. Bayezit complex, Ulu Mosque and the tombs of Muslim saints.

The first tour in Istanbul was organized in February of this year with the participation of 13 people from eight different countries. Most were Christians, but two Jewish people and an atheist also participated.

The Blood Foundation

The Blood Foundation, a small nongovernmental organization based in northern Thailand near the Thai-Burma border, also operates other cultural and educational activities. Its “Monk for a Month” temple-stay program in northern Thailand’s Fang Valley offers guests an immersion experience in Buddhism and Thai culture and an opportunity for personal spiritual growth.

The NGO runs a number of education and income-generation projects directly benefiting Burmese refugees, hill tribes and Thai people. It also organizes volunteer teaching programs, bringing volunteer English teachers from all over the world to work in schools along the Thai border.

The foundation cooperates with the Belgesel Agency in Turkey to organize tours in the framework of the “Muslim for a Month” program.

Picture: Participants in the 'Muslim for a Month' program visit Süleymaniye Mosque. Photo: Radikal / Hüseyin Alsancak.