Today is Eid al-Adha...
· Halil ETYEMEZ
Bir kez daha aynı tekbirlerin göğe yükseldiği, aynı duaların semaya karıştığı, aynı kıbleye yönelen milyonların aynı ümmetin parçası olduğunu hatırladığı mübarek bir zaman dilimindeyiz. Bayramlar sadece takvim yapraklarında duran dini günler değildir. Bayramlar; kalbin yeniden merhameti hatırladığı, vicdanın yeniden insanı çağırdığı, kırgınlıkların onarıldığı, küslüklerin bittiği, affetmenin büyüd
We are once again in a blessed period where the same takbirs rise to the heavens, the same prayers mingle with the sky, and millions turning to the same qibla remember they are part of the same ummah.
Holidays are not just religious days marked on calendars. Holidays are times when the heart remembers mercy anew, the conscience calls to humanity again, grievances are mended, estrangements end, and forgiveness grows. Because Islam is a religion of mercy, not anger; of brotherhood, not conflict; of justice, not oppression.
Eid al-Adha teaches us not just to sacrifice, but to temper the ego, reduce arrogance, share, show solidarity, and remain human. It carries within it the submission of Prophet Abraham, the loyalty of Prophet Ishmael, and the common conscience of humanity.
But today, sadly, there is a world entering the holiday with a heavy heart...
In Gaza, children are entering the holiday under bombs. In Palestine, mothers are burying their children. In Lebanon and across different geographies of the world, people are struggling for life in the shadow of war, hunger, fear, and oppression. While women, children, the elderly, and civilians are dying, humanity often just watches.
Yet, the death of a child is a piece of humanity's conscience breaking off.
Islam is a religion of brotherhood, a religion of peace, a religion of solidarity. It is the morality of feeling each other's pain. A picture where people who believe in the same God point weapons at each other, where the same ummah is fragmented, and where anger and hatred grow towards one another, is not just a political but also a moral devastation.
Today, the greatest need of Muslims is not to blame each other, but to understand each other. Not to divide, but to unite. Not a power struggle, but a unity of conscience. Because the meaning of being an ummah is not just to share the same faith, but also to feel the same pain.
We always say the same thing...
'The old holidays had more flavor...'
'Holidays were more beautiful when we were children...'
But did the holidays really change?
Or did we change?
As we grew up, did we become more crowded but our inner world more lonely?
Did our homes get bigger, but our tables smaller?
Did our opportunities increase, but our sense of sharing decrease?
Perhaps the issue is not that the holidays have lost their old flavor.
Perhaps the issue is that we have forgotten how to live the holiday as a holiday.
Because a child feels the holiday not just with candy, but with love.
They know how to knock on doors, to hug, to sit at the same table, to forgive, to rejoice.
For a child, a holiday is sincerity, not show.
Perhaps as a person grows, they age, but their heart gets tired.
Therefore, what we need most today is a conscience that can remain childlike again.
A heart that can still carry love, mercy, brotherhood, and sharing with excitement.
We have been saying this for years.
Where there is no mercy, even if power grows, humanity shrinks.
Where conscience is silenced, even if technology advances, civilization decays.
And where brotherhood is lost, holidays remain only in form.
May this holiday be one where estrangements end, hearts unite, and brotherhood is strengthened again.
Let us pray for a world where weapons fall silent...
Where children do not die...
Where mothers do not cry...
Where the oppressed are not left without support...
Where humanity remembers its conscience again.
Because we know that
peace is not just a matter of politics.
Peace is also a matter of conscience, morality, and remaining human.
With these feelings and thoughts, I sincerely congratulate the Eid al-Adha of our noble nation, all our brothers and sisters in our spiritual geography, and the entire Islamic world.
May the holiday bring mercy to humanity, peace to the world, unity to the ummah, and hope to the oppressed.
To many more holidays...
In brotherhood, justice, and peace
May your holiday be blessed.