Cooperating in Interreligious Learning and Teaching, Based on Common Abrahamic Principle
By Prof. Dr. Bunyamin Duran
Interreligious learning may be directed to create a new religious environment in its own area representing men’s soul in this new era. Generally said the mind of the people in this new age is pluralistic and postmodern.
Pluralism is not the sheer fact of plurality alone, not simply tolerance, not simply relativism, and not syncretism. Rather it involves active engagement with people. Pluralism requires that people make a genuine effort to understand their similarities and differences through encounter with one another. While recognizing the relative nature of truth, pluralism requires commitment to one’s own tradition and community. Pluralism is based on a respect for `honourable opinions and traditions, also if they are quite different from our own opinions or traditions. It is not our aim to promote a merger or a syncretistic new common opinion or tradition. Our aim is to promote a dialogue, and forms of communication, involving "meeting, exchange, traffic, criticism, reflection, reparation, renewal. (1)
Another feature of this new era is post modernity. Post modernity includes deeply hedonistic tendencies and meaninglessness. Postmodern age is assumed to be more secularized than until now. In this postmodern age people have many gods. (2). The dominant character of this age will be refined consumption, according to one’s own will. The highest value will be regarded as the quantity of consumption per person. These tendencies lead us to slavery of consumption as pointed out by a lot of thinkers. Postmodern society with too much stressing on refined consumption produces an environment wherein freedom is lost. As Weber pointed out in a modern society the freedom and heart has been lost by producing a ‘specialist without spirit, sensualist without heart’ namely an ‘iron cage’. (3)
The challenge of postmodernism against the Abrahamic religions will be more destructive than the modern one. The faithful people belonging to the Abrahamic religions should be aware of the fact, that all Abrahamic religions are basically very similar in essence. This notion can be a starting point for us. We should also wake up to the fact that interreligious encounter broadens one’s spiritual scope enormously. The believers of the Abrahamic religious traditions must answer to the challenge of postmodernism by collecting their efforts and energies. In my opinion it is hard for religious institutions to compete on their own to the destructive challenges of postmodernism. So, believers must join hands and share their spiritual energies, economic possibilities and intellectual capabilities. We know obviously that Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in the same one God, as point out by Hans Küng. Common belief in God could be the base for better understanding and mutual solidarity between those three religious communities. All the three of them couldn’t understand their essence completely without looking at the other two religions, according to Hans Küng. We shouldn’t consider each other as “unbelievers”, “renegades” or “backward peoples”, but as “brothers” and “sisters”, or at least cousins, under the one and same God. (2). Starting this common point we may be cooperate in more fields of social and cultural life. Firstly we must realize interreligious dialogue depending on Abrahamic general principals. This good will at the end will produce a social climate in which interreligious learning can be possible.
Dialogue and cooperation in interreligious solidarity
The goal of interreligious dialogue is the transformation of long standing feelings and misconceptions that Muslim, Jews and Christians have toward one another. Interreligious dialogue moves beyond simply learning about the other to an active engagement with Islam, Judaism or Christianity.
Interreligious dialogue, resting on good will, objective studies, and positive cooperation, improves the following elements: 1) the ability to enter into another religious tradition without losing one's boundaries, 2) movement beyond tolerance to a genuine pluralism, and 3) keener awareness of both commonalties and differences among religious traditions.
By processing the interreligious dialogue, the trust, openness and respect between believers will be established. This atmosphere can be achieved by deeply committing own faith traditions, by accepting the critics on own traditions, by knowing about and respecting others traditions, and by keeping the importance of educational processes in promoting transformations of longstanding feelings and misunderstandings in mind.
One of the first religious thinkers in the course of this century to propose and promote dialogue between Muslims and Christians was Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. (4), (5). His advocacy of Christian-Muslim dialogue dates back to 1911, a full half-century before the Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council. He urged Christians and Muslims to resolve their differences, to move beyond the conflicts of the past and to build relations of respect and cooperation. Bediuzzaman’s repeated promotion of Muslim-Christian dialogue is even more striking, if we bring into consideration that his recommendations frequently date from times of tension and even warfare between Muslim and Christian peoples.
The experience of the Thomas Michel as a Christian theologian is also very interesting. He admitted that he, as a Christian reading the voluminous writings of Said Nursi, found many attitudes and viewpoints expressed that had immediately impact on his mind. He discovered in the writings of this committed Muslim thinker many points of contact with his own faith in the One and Only God, as well as many areas in which he found himself wishing that he had known the man in person, so that he could have raised questions, pursued further various elements of his teaching, and profited from his responses. (6)
Peace, reconciliation, and friendship between Muslims and Christians
Said Nursi was aware that Muslim-Christian relations were not limited to an alliance of believers in critically confronting the dangers of modernist ideology, to the resolution of conflicts, but should move in the direction of peace, reconciliation, and even friendship. Five years before his death, in supporting the Baghdad pact, he noted that an advantage of the pact was not only that Turks would gain 400 million brothers and sisters among Muslim peoples, but that the international accord would also gain for Muslim Turks “the friendship of 800 million Christians” (5) and be a step towards the peace that was needed so badly and towards general reconciliation between these two communities of faith.
Also he argued that according authentic traditions of the prophet that the end of time the truly pious among the Christians will unite with the People of The Koran and fight their common enemy, irreligion. And at this time, too, the people of religion and truth need to unite sincerely not only with their own brothers and fellow believers, but also with the truly pious and spiritual ones among the Christians, temporally refraining from the discussion and debate of points of difference in order to combat their joint enemy-aggressive atheism. (7), (8)
In his final years, Said Nursi exerted his personal efforts at building reconciliation and friendship with Christians. In 1950, he sent his collected works to Pope Pius XII in Rome and received in reply, on 22 February 1951, a personal letter of thanks. One observer notes that it was only little over ten years later that, at the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church proclaimed its respect and esteem for Muslims and asserted that Islam was a genuine path of salvation. (5) In the same way, a few years later in 1953, Said Nursi visited the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in Istanbul to seek cooperation between Muslims and Christians in the face of aggressive atheism.
Interreligious learning in the light of Abrahamic principles
We are living in a multicultural age. Our modern style of life is more intensive particularly in our big cities. Most of Christian schools have a lot of Muslim pupils. Even in some protestant schools in Nederland the number of Muslim pupils is more than Christens. For René Kil the proportion of Muslim pupils in some protestant school which belongs to `De Stichting Protestans Christelijk Onderwijs te Utrecht en Leidsche Rijn` can be increased to 80 and 90. (9) In the globalization process the education of Muslim generations, living in Western Europe is confronted with vital problems. Many questions arise about the Islamic education of Muslim generations in non- Muslim countries. Which Islamic elements could be introduced in the interreligious learning process? Are the Islamic religious sources can allow interreligious learning and if so, do they encourage?
Before starting to explain the possibility of interreligious learning on the basis of the general common Abrahamic basic ideas, I want to analyze the current situation of Muslim’s informal education out of school in West Europe. This situation is important for feature of both the Muslim generation and also West Europe.
As well known, most of migrants living in Europe are coming from Muslim countries where Islam is a dominant factor in every area. And most of them are Muslims; only a few of them are atheists. In his or her heart every Muslim parent living in Western Europe is concerned with passing on Islamic values to the children and fear is present that the children might grow up non fearing God. How can the flame of faith, the light of the spiritual life and faithfulness to the teachings of Islam be preserved in environments that are generally secularized and in which the effects of every religion are eliminated from every sphere in society? The first generations of migrants, who were frequently families of limited means, were often successful in transmitting the faith and values of general Islamic principals. A lot of them came from rural areas and were not provided with a well-educated background. They transmitted to their children an intuitive understanding of and respect for faith.
The second generation is lucky to have received education in the well-equipped public schools and economically and culturally well-developed environment of Western Europe. They feel the need to know more about their religious roots and want to have real knowledge about it.
The more educated generation quickly understood that there was a need to create modern structures of ‘Islamic education’ for the youth. The Muslims in Western Europe are inspired by developments and experiences in their countries of origin, where the Qur’an, the Prophetic traditions, the life of the Prophet, and something about law, and jurisprudence related to religious activities began to be organized in mosques. Madrasa-type patterns began to appear in western Muslim communities, especially between Indo-Pakistani and Turkish Muslims. So-called Suleymancys, Diyanat and Milli-Görüs organizations work in this way strenuously among Turkish people. (10) But this education system has a lot of pedagogical limitations. The dissatisfaction is of several kinds: although the Islamic message is universal and ‘comprehensive’, and although it should provide the tools for everybody who needs an answer to the challenges of the more secularized environment, current Islamic education is confined to the very technical memorization of Qur’anic verses, Prophetic traditions and rules without a real spiritual dimension. The learning of rituals and the practice of mechanical religious ritualism are completely insufficient to cope with European realities.
In addition, it is a problem that these educational methods are not democratic and it is to be feared that they do not interact with the individual possibilities of the students.
While the public school system is educating the students to become critical thinkers, to express themselves, to develop and utter their personal opinions, and to articulate their doubts and hopes, this way of Islamic education in mosques and in some Islamic organizations is carried through in an archaic style. Here one must be quiet and listen: there is no room for discussion, exchange, or debate. (11)
The well known problem in the Islamic education in Western Europe is the education of teachers and imams. Only very few imams are well-educated persons. On the contrary, most of them are imported from original Muslim countries and they are naturally alien to European culture and social-political environment. In addition, only few of them can speak a European language. So there is a lack of sufficient interaction between these imams, the students and the culture.
Being aware of the aforesaid realities we must develop new Islamic education programs, which are appropriate to the needs of the believers, living in the western European culture.
What are the aims of European Islamic Education?
Before we start with a presentation of some concrete interreligious-learning project, we should determine the basic meaning and content of this Islamic education, depending on the Qur’an and Sunna.
In my opinion one of the basic aims of the Qur’an and the Sunna is that a person attains a physiological balance in his or her behaviours. This position is stressed in de Qur’an as sirat al mustakim, (Koran, 1/6), this means in the terminology of psychology neither a sadistic nor a masochistic position, but a physiologically balanced position. Both sadistic and masochistic attitudes are pathological situations. We know that every person has more or less sadistic and masochistic tendencies. A masochistic tendency means a feeling of oneself as meaningless and worthless, this emotion brings about that a person eludes his responsibilities and ethical obligations. One of the destructive results can be the submission of oneself to the will of political or religious leaders, or disappearance of the identity of a person in idolizing actors, football players or movie stars. According to the psychologist Erich Fromm the religious protestant approach of the unimportance of the human will has favoured the submission of the German people to the will of Hitler and the Nazi party. (12)
Whatever may be of this opinion, as theologians we have to investigate carefully the boundaries of Divine predestination and providence and of the freedom of will of man, particularly in respect of the responsibility of man for human actions? We could interpret the function of Divine predestination and providence as well as the power of choice of man as remedies against human masochistic and sadistic behaviour.
Concerning this question can be said that a believer attributes everything to God, even his actions and himself, till finally the power of choice confronts him with his obligation and responsibility, so he cannot evade this obligation and responsibility. It tells him: “You are responsible and under obligation”. (14) Another aspect of mankind is the inclination to sadistic behaviour connected with the feeling that man is comparable with God. A sadistic man considers himself as the centre of the universe and wants badly that everybody and everything is willing to serve and even to worship him. In this situation Divine Determining confronts him, saying: “Know your limits, you cannot be God, you are only a weak creature”. Divine predestination and providence and man’s power of choice are the final degrees of belief to save the soul from pride and sadistic actions, and the latter, to make it admit to the responsibility. (14) Another attribute, which the Qur’an and the Sunna envisage, is a strong identity. Without achieving a strong identity a person could not fulfil a religious mission. It is my conviction that religious thinking is man’s highest form of thinking. To be able to realize religious thinking one needs a well developed mind and a refined logical system.
Even an utmost developed human intellect is not necessarily able to understand adequately religious matters. For this reason, a lot of scientists could not understand religious subjects, although they had a highly developed intelligence. Intelligence is the ability of discovering materialistic aspects of every thing, while the mind is the capability of discovering the essence of things. (12) Religious faith and thought, in according to Kierkegaard is above the aesthetics and ethical thinking and thought. Thus an important question is raised, how can a strong identity be achieved? Max Weber pointed out that true religion is the matter of city-dwellers, not the matter of peasants. According to Weber the essence of peasant’s religion is not true religion, which is based on scripture, but is archaic religion based on idolatry. In this theory the bearers of true religion must be city-dwellers; because the city is the sphere of freedom. A strong identity shapes well in city-dwellers. A strong identity requires a high economic level of prosperity and a most refined culture, as well as institutionalized freedom. (13)
How we can develop en interreligious learning paradigm?
To be able to develop a common interreligious learning paradigm we must firstly establish a strong theological base to interreligious learning and common working. In order to realize this aim we must return to the true religious sources and explain religious Texts in the light of dialogue. In this process we can benefit from some Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars such as Nursi, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber and Hans Küng. However we are aware of the fact that there are very different scholars among all religions. While some of them support interreligious dialogue en solidarity, others do not. Thus we must regard in this area only positive scholars.
From the aspect of the Catholic world, the Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council is an important starting point to dialog. Also Pope John Paul II support interreligious dialogue.
In the Muslim circles there is not an Islamic spokesman representing all Muslims. There are scholars commenting religious texts in the direction of dialogue and others do not. But Nursi’s approaches in the aspect of Muslim world could be a strong base for interreligious dialog and solidarity. In fact, Nursi’s methods of interpretations of Texts are very effective and usable. Nursi has given more attention to the importance of working together with the Peoples of the Book against destructive atheism. He has been trying to promote good relations among god-fearing persons and to eliminate misunderstandings. I want like to give only one example of his attempts to contribute to rehabilitation of good relationships. A very important argument which many Muslim scholars use against interreligious dialogues and solidarity is a verse of the Qur’an that apparently forbids the positive relation among Muslim and non-Muslim believers: “O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors” (Koran,5: 51). Many years before in 1910-1911, Said Nursi was questioned concerning his desire to build relations of friendship with Christians. In the light of this verse, he was asked, why did he say that Muslims and Christians should be friends? His answer is instructive, not only for understanding Said Nursi’s desire to encourage love and friendship between Muslims and Christians, but for his approach to Qur’anic interpretation. In his view, the Qur’anic proscription is not general but absolute and, as such, can be restricted. This is an important tool of interpretation, which there is a lot of differences among jurisprudence schools. In according to Nursi “Time,” “is a great interpreter; if it determines its limits, it cannot be gainsaid.” (14)
He discovered an important tool that made possible the interreligious dialogue between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. According to him the true cause (ille), which prohibits Muslims from all relations, is regarding the attribute of Jewishness and Christianity as one attribute in the relations, apart from other attributes. This involves only pure religious prefer. But, he concludes, just as not all of the characteristics of an individual Muslim necessarily reflect the teaching of Islam, so also, not all of the qualities of individual Jews or Christians reflect unbelief. If Muslims find in a Jew or Christian qualities that are in agreement with Islamic teaching, they should consider those qualities praiseworthy. It is those good qualities that form the basis for friendship with Jews and Christians. “Can a Muslim love a Christian or Jew?” he asks and in answer gives as example a man married to a woman of the People of the Book. “Of course, he should love her.” (14)
His argument is based on the very fact that the Qur’an permits a Muslim man to marry a Jewish or Christian woman presumes that he can and should love her. As was mentioned above we must cooperate as Muslim and People of the Book, refraining from the discussion and debate of points of difference in order to combat their joint enemy-aggressive atheism. (7), (8) This process of dialogue will be improved our relations and produced a suitable social atmosphere between believers wherein interreligious learning possible.
Presentation of Texts, which support interreligious solidarity
After founding a theological base to interreligious learning it is possible to present in class some selected texts, which support the style of interreligious speaking and discussing. It must be express continues to the children that we are living in post modern age, the soul of this age is dialogue and solidarity, also our religions orders us to speak among us not as arrogance but as gently word. In this process Qur’an can attain us more sufficient arguments, which support interreligious dialogue and learning. The In fact, Qur’an encourages dialogue and good discussions not only between Muslims and other god-fearing people, but also with non-believers. There is a verse in the Qur’an, which explains the style of relationship between Moses, and the Pharaoh of Egypt that is an appropriate religious source for us, as a method of religious dialogue and discussion. According to the relevant verse, God had ordered to Moses and his brooder Aaron (Harun) to go the Pharaoh of Egypt and to speak to him a gently word:
“Go both to Pharaoh, surely he has become inordinate; then speak to him (mildly) gentle word, perchance he may mind or fear.” (Qur’an, 20/43-44) There are a lot of verses in the Qur’an explaining that Judaism and Christianity (and Sabianism) are vehicles for bringing essentials truths to humanity at large. The Qur’an accepts other Abrahamic religions as religions with elements of truth. According to the Qur’an not only Muslims, but at the same time Jews and Christians (and the Sabians) can attain God’s reward. “Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians (and the Sabians), whoever believes in God and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve”. (Qur’an, 2/62) The gospels and the torah are mentioned in the Qur’an as books of guidance and light: “ And We sent after them in their footsteps Jesus, son of Mary, confirming what was before him of the torah and We gave him the gospels in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of torah and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil).(Qur’an,5/46) The Qur’an prays the positive actions that come from Christian peoples: “…. And you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly”. (Qur’an, 5/82) “And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger you will see their eyes overflowing with tears on account of the truth that they recognize; they say: Our Lord! we believe, so write us down with the witnesses (of truth). (Qur’an, 5/83) And finally the Qur’an addresses to the people of book as a society, which is well knowing and well understanding the message of God: “ Say: O followers of the Book! Come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve none but God and (that) we shall associate no partners with Him, and that we erect not from among ourselves lords and patrons besides God; but if they turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (bowing to God’s will).” (Qur’an, 3/64)
These verses can be used intensively in interreligious learning process to produce a theological legitimacy for all Abrahamic religions among pupils and to develop a theological trust among them.
Presentation of tales of prophets as a common discourse
In the next step we can strengthen their trust to each other with various tales, which are common in the Qur’an and the Bible. If we investigate the Qur’an and the Bible we will find a lot of tales which are common, such as the creation of the cosmos, the tale of the first man, Adam and his wife Eve, the tale of the first sin, the tale of the fall of Adam and Eve, their expulsion from paradise, the tale of Noah, the tale of king Solomon (Schlomo, Suleyman) and so on. These tales can be a common theme to the interreligious learning. It is possible to present to the class to express the oneness of God, God’s manifestations, good names of God, revelations of God, prophet-hood, holy books, the will of God and so on. Also it is possible to distil from these tales some universal ethical principals. The book of Francien van Overbeeks-Rippen is more usable for primary school as interreligious learning materials. She has written a booklet (in Dutch) called “Ibrahim and Abraham – Qur’an and Bible” retold for children, feels that looking for things in common create a good base for interreligious teaching. She has recorded forty stories with references to the Tenach, the Old and New Testament and the Qur’an. This booklet was adopted by the CPS (Christian Pedagogic Study centre) and used in their (PC) so-called “meeting”-schools. “Knowing” can lead to “recognition” (of names for example)- where are the stories the same, where do they differ, etc.
The CPS gave hereby five tips:
a good preparation is half of the work; § learn from each other, teachers as well as pupils; § continued asking leads to deepened understanding; § connect to the environment of the pupils; § attention for autobiographic aspects: pupils sharing their own experiences with each other. (15)
Also the work of Frans Hitchinson as a inspector-adviser in Rooms-Catholic education in bishopric Gent in the title of “The Islam, within the religion of Catholic in the primary education” is more interesting. According to Hitchinson religious tales, can be used as teaching-materials in interreligious learning in Roman-Catholic schools in (Flemish) Belgium. According to him opportunities for interreligious learning are offered in those materials, which are very much in demand in particular at schools with large minorities – sometimes majorities – of Muslim-pupils. These courses give background-information which enables the teachers to get Christian and Muslim-children together on common ground and also identify each others differences.
In this way children can share experiences, come to respect each others convictions, learn a certain openness, tolerance and loyalty towards each other. F.H. comments that the primary school is of course not intended to study other religions extensively, but such an interreligious method or program can contribute to a better understanding on both sides and remove feelings of being threatened or alienated. (16)
Religious Tales and modern sciences
It is very important that the religious materials must be designed in harmony with the modern scientific discoveries and the technology of our era. As pointed out by Nursi, the functions of prophets are not only spiritual and religious, but at the same time are materialistic and worldly. The aim of sending Prophets and giving them Holy Books are encouraging people to benefit from them and follow their example. At the same time the other aim is to trace the final limit of man’s science and industry.
For example, the verse: “To Solomon [We made] the wind [obedient]: its early morning [stride] was a month's [journey], and its evening [stride] was a month's [journey]” (Qur’an, 34/12) which describes one of Solomon's miracles, the subjugating of the air, says: "Solomon traversed the distance of two months in one day by flying through the air." Thus, it is suggesting in this that the road is open for man to cover such a distance in the air. In which case, O man! Since the road is open to you, reach this level and draw close to it!
And for example, “I shall heal the blind and the leper and I shall quicken the dead, by God's leave” (Qur’an, 3/49) which concerns a miracle of Jesus. Just as the Qur'an explicitly urges man to follow Jesus’ high morals, so too it allusively encourages him towards the elevated art and dominical medicine of which he was the master. Thus, this verse indicates this: "Remedies may be found for even the most chronic ills. In which case, O man! And O calamity-afflicted sons of Adam! Don't despair! Whatever the ill, its cure is possible. Search for it and you will find it. It is even possible to give a temporary tinge of life to death." (7), (8)
CONCLUSION
As generally known new millennium is a postmodern and pluralistic millennium. Pluralism is the necessary result of post modernity. Modernity was based on the doctrine of monopoly and superiority of Western modern culture. There was only unique, true an appropriate culture, which has capability to transform to the rational industrial capitalism. But other traditions have not capability to transformation from their stable structure to the dynamic modern capitalism. The results are well-known: imperialism, colonialism and destructive struggles. On the contrary the main idea of post-modern approach is equality and plurality of cultures. As I noted above, the pluralism is the sheer fact of plurality alone, rather it involves active engagement with other traditions. Pluralism requires that people make a genuine effort to understand their similarities and differences through encounter with one another and to be open to the possibility of change by every partner.
Modernism has a destructive challenge for all Abrahamic and other religions, particularly for Christianity. By the secularisation process in the modern times the role an effect of religion in daily life of people is decreased to minimal level. In the beginning of modern capitalism, the Protestant Ethic was the “spirit of capitalism”, but as noted by Weber “to-day the spirit of religious asceticism has escaped from the cage. But the victorious capitalism, since it rests on mechanical foundations, needs its support no longer. (3) We know clearly that secularisation process will not be end but on the contrary will be continued as a most refined and separated in the post-modern times. Moving from relevant assumption we can say that the treat of post modernity to all religions will be more destructive than modernity. To be able to meaningful answer to the treat of post modernity we must cooperate as believers all our energies, hoops and intellectual capabilities.
In this process e can realize a good dialogue and know one another and depending on this positive climate we can build a good cooperation in interreligious learning.
FOOTNOTES
1. Eck, Diana L. Encountering God: A spiritual journey from Bozeman to Banaras. Boston: Beacon,1993.
2. Kung, H., Christen Zijn, (trans. P., Heldens), Eindhoven, 1981.
3. Weber M, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, tr. Talcot Parsons), London, 1992-
4. Mardin, S, Religion and Social Change in Modern Turkey; the Case of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, New York: State University of New York Press, 1989
5. Vahide, S., Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Istanbul,1992
6. Michel T., “Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Co-operation in the Thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi”, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in the view of Western Writers, Istanbul, 1999
7. Nursi, B. Said, The Words, (trans. Sukran Vahide), Istanbul, 2000.
8. Nursi B. Said, The Flashes collection, (trans. Sukran Vahide), Istanbul, 2000
9. Kil R., “Ontmoetingsonderwijs, Actueler dan Ooit” Moslim Begrijp Christenen, Juni/Juli 2002, Jaargang, 28,no:3
10. Landman N., De institutionalisering van de Islam in Nederland, VU Uitgeverij Amsterdam, 1992
11. Ramadan T, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2004
12. Duran B., Akil ve Ahlak, Istanbul, 2002.
13. Turner B., Religion and Social Theory, Sage Pup., London, 1991
14. Nursi B. Said, Risale-I Nur Kulliyati, vol. II, Istanbul, 1995
15. Overbeeks-Rippen, F, “Interreligieus leren door Verhalen uit Bijbel en Koran” Muslim Begrijp Chiristenen, Juni/Juli 2002, Jaargang, 28,no:3
16. Lambergs, S., “Interreligieus Leren in Vlaanderen” Moslim Begrijp Christenen, Juni/Juli 2002, Jaargang, 28,no: 3
17. Thomas M,” Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Cooperation in the Thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi”