Page 308 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

A CALL FOR A TURKISH-ISLAMIC UNION

as well as in their religious lives. For instance, the Nestorians
who left the Byzantine church chose to leave their Greek lan-
guage also for the Suryani (Assyrian) language, and were free to
do so. In the Christian and Jewish schools, religious education

continued freely, and monasteries and other institutions that ed-
ucated the community's future religious leaders preserved their
autonomous status. Likewise, the sanctuaries of other religious
denominations were protected by the Muslim authorities.
During the conquest, places of worship were never harmed, for
synagogues and churches were guaranteed protection by agree-

ments made with the People of the Book from the time of the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
In agreements dating back to the initial period of Islam,
clauses allowed Muslims to stay in monasteries while traveling.
This shows that Muslims sought to develop a dialogue based on

mutual respect with the People of the Book. Moreover, these com-
munities were also permitted to rebuild derelict churches or build
new synagogues and churches when they wished. For instance, the
St. Sergius monastery outside Madain was destroyed by Patriarch
Mar Emme (644-647 CE) but rebuilt at the time of caliph Uthman.
Many such examples can be cited: Uqba, the governor of Egypt,

helped build a monastery for the Nestorians; during Mu'awiya's
reign a church in Edessa was renovated, and the Marcos church
was commissioned in Alexandria. The fact that churches and syna-
gogues in Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq still remain is an
indicator of the Muslim's respect for other Divinely revealed reli-

gions. Another example of Muslim compassion is the Monastery of
Mt. Sinai, one of Christianity's important pilgrimage sites.
The source of the Muslim's compassion is the Qur'an's moral-
ity, which says:

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