In an effort to relay the content of our classroom experiences here, I have decided to post some of my favorite classroom quotes from the past few weeks.
These are all completely out of context, and as such, even more provocative. Please recognize that they have all been said in measured and academic settings, as such, don't freak out about any of them. Take them for what they are and laugh at a few. Most of the speakers names have not been included, and only are when necessary for contextual purposes.
Regarding Religion
On Islamic Prophets...
"Allah tried Moses, and Aron messed it up. He tried Jesus and Paul messed it up. So this there was to be no human agency. Muhammed was going to get it right."
"Many churches/denominations treat the Bible as the Fourth Person of "the Quadrinity". It's a very good Islamic way to be a Christian."
"The idea that the Bible fell down from heaven is Islamic - not Christian."
"The Bible is a divine fusion of spiritual inspiration and human agency."
On the lack of an Armenian speaking congregation...
"It is not very godly to teach the gospel in a language the people don't understand." - Father Zakeus
On the intercession of Saints...
"The Miracle of Mary: When the wine ran out, Mary insisted on Jesus doing something about it. He replied, "it's not my time", but, he turned the water into wine anyway. Why? Because Mary insisted. This illustrates why we pray for the intercession of saints." - Father Zakeus
On Orthodoxy...
"If you want to understand Orthodoxy, come and join the Liturgy - the Eucharist."
On Salvation as a transformational process...
"God became man, so that man can become God."*
(*Don't take this as a blunt instrument, even though I've presented it as one.)
"The Courtroom Mentality: 'There was a verdict. You are guilty, but you have no money, so Jesus paid your fine.' This does not exist in Orthodoxy."
On Sufism...
"Sufism at the beginning of Islam was a reality without a name and it has become a name without a reality."
Regarding Politics
On Politics...
"Coffeehouses are still the center of politics in Turkey. The unemployed/retired old men get together and gossip - about politics. When we drink coffee, we talk about politics; when we drink Rakı, we talk about politics; when awake, we talk politics; when drunk, we talk politics."
On the Ottoman Empire...
"Under the Ottoman-Constitutional rule (1908-1909), Syrians and Egyptians actually had their first free and fair elections."
"The Balkans were the real heart of the Ottoman Empire. Anatolia is a leg or arm."
On Coups...
"Why have you never had a coup d'etat in America? Because there isn't an American embassy in Washington, D.C."
On Civil-Military relations...
"The State does not exist without a form of military."
On Turkey Joining the EU...
"I'm pro-EU. But I care most about the process, not membership. The idea though, is that we need to become more 'good', but they need to be more 'fair'."
"The EU needs to decide: does it represent the Renaissance (Christian Club) or the Enlightenment (based on universal values).
On Atatürk...
" There is a pathological love affair between the Turks and Atatürk."
Regarding Society
On "Turkishness"...
"As minorities have stressed the diferences in ethnicity, the idea of Turkishness has become increasingly ethic."
"[A Turkish general said during the 1980 coup] They are not 'Kurds'. There people are Mountain Turks. They live in the mountains. And when they walk on the snow, their boots make a sound that sounds like 'kurd, kurd, kurd' and that is where they get this name." Note: highly controversial and widely unaccepted view in the present.
"To be a Turkish citizen is to be a Turk" - Constitution of the Turkish Republic (since altered)
On Shanty-towns...
"If oppression is invisible, it wan be maintained."
On interviewing people in the Gecekondu (shanty-towns)...
"No trust. There was always the police. Undercover police. Plain-clothes police. Or the ghost of the police."
On Youth...
"Every society sinks or swims depending on what it does with its 20 year old men."
Quotes from a guest lecture by Dr. Feroz Ahmad
"[Nasr] was knocked off his perch in 1967 and the Arab world has been in decline [since]."
"All US wars have been Far Eastern wars."
"The tragedy for Armenians is that they found no supporters for their national movement."
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