Why All Zealots and Blindly Religious People Must Read the Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 1 October 2022 Nowadays, I'm re-reading the Turkish Nobel Laureate Ferit Orhan Pamuk's works which urge readers to think in a neo-alternative manner without bringing in religion and god. He himself is a cultural Muslim who associates the historical and cultural identification with the religion while not belonging in personal connexion (this is acceptable orthography of the word 'connection' in British English) to god. Orhan Pamuk at the Rustaveli Theater, Georgia. [Wikimedia] ----- Religion as a socio-cultural tool is okay as it fulfils its primary purpose of binding people together and gives an identity to an individual. But the moment it assumes supernatural tones, undertones, overtures and a truckload of superstitions and connects you to an imaginary power, it loses its cardinal objective. This is the leitmotif of most of the works of Pamuk who's disturbed by increasing religiosity of all organized faiths and particularly concerned about Islam's relentless juggernaut towards self-destruction. Friday's suicide attack on Kabul exam centre killing minimum 20 innocent people is yet another feather to its (Islam’s) remarkable violent streak and spree in recent times. Yet, the apologists of Islam will continue to assert that Islam is a religion of peace! Perhaps, the word 'peace' means differently to these brainless zombies. ‘Humanity flourishes in a state of mutual bonding.' Pamuk opined this during his speech at the Nobel Ceremony while accepting world's most prestigious Literary Award in 2006. In one of his books, a character says, “You’re a human. So, think of humans and let monks think of gods and angels. " This should be the motto of all humans. Think of your fellow human beings for, there're enough useless and workless people to think and fight over religious characters, scriptures, gods and shrines. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/zealots-religious-turkish-nobel-laureate-orhan-/d/128081 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism