Zaman, Turkey
June 10 2005
Voice of Spiritual Leaders: Religion Rejects Terrorism
By Erkan Acar
Published: Friday 10, 2005
zaman.com
Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate President Professor Ali
Bardakoglu has said that religions are never the source of terror,
violence, and brutality. The President made his speech as part of the
ongoing “Istanbul Conference on Democracy and Security”.
The priority of religious clerics should be the prevention of
misrepresentation of religions as approving of terror, violence, and
injustice. All religions should stand against any kind of
misperceptions that terror, violence and savagery stem from
religions, stressed the Director. Terror is a crime against humanity,
whomever it comes from, Bardakoglu said: “We should explain and teach
religion in a true way. Religious clerics and theologians should be
as courageous as those who support terrorism and stand against
terror, violence and every kind of injustice in an open hearted and
frank way.” Turkish Armenian Patriarch Meshrob II also made a speech
on the issue of religion and terror with excerpts of holy books.
Noting that events that terrify, injure, and kill people are crimes
against humanity, Meshrob II said: “Whatever its goal, terror should
be damned by all believers ethically. Those, who commit acts of
terrorism, cannot be accepted as martyrs. This is against the law of
God.” The Chief Rabbi of Jews in Istanbul, Isak Haleva, on the other
side, said that it has been claimed that many acts of terrorism in
history were committed in the name of religions, but that religions
do not approve wars and destructions. Vatican’s Turkey representative
George Marovitch noted that the main reason for humanity’s problems
are insufficient justice, spiritualism and morality.