Announcement

I am taking the liberty to post a half-baked announcement of a “spiritual retreat” (a gathering really) I am hoping to host in Istanbul this summer (roughly between June 22 and June 30, 2024). If its not something that interests you, ignore what follows. If you think you know others who may be interested and may benefit from such a gathering, feel free to share. As you have probably heard me say before, I think there are many proverbial “cups of tea” out there and things change of course. This is my cup of tea for now. And there might be others who might find this their cup of tea.

Summer Spiritual Retreat in Istanbul

June 22 to June 30, 2024

Exact location TBD. Daily schedule of activities TBD.

Living Truthfully: Conversations about life, meaning, revelation & God

With

Faraz Sheikh? (You already have someone else you can/do discuss such things with? Then you don’t need to do it with me, and it doesn’t matter who I am. If not, or if you are not satisfied with your current interlocutors, you can give this a try and it still doesn’t matter who I am, except as a person who invites you to discuss the kinds of things briefly mentioned below)  

Claims made by revelation are not evidence of their own truthfulness. As well, something does not become true simply because someone believes or says it is true. To understand whether something is true or not, especially when it comes to revelation, it is necessary to reflect and find evidence that satisfies a willing heart/mind. It would be a lie to call something true without knowing or understanding that it is. Whatever one claims to be true, one needs to understand whether, and how, it is so. Should living truthfully and honestly interest you, should understanding and evaluating the veracity of Quranic claims interest you, this retreat might be useful to you.

This is not a retreat aimed at persuading people that they are created by God or that there is a God (as if the meaning of this three-letter word was self-evident), but we will discuss possible meanings of createdness and God. The focus of the retreat is to understand what it might mean to live truthfully and why it is desirable to do so for a human being. The retreat will offer practical suggestions about how truth, meaning and the wellbeing/contentment of the heart can be consciously experienced in everyday life. As we think together about what truthful living can mean, why it is so critical for human wellbeing, we will also talk about why and how one might turn to books that claim to be revelation from God (in this case, the Quran).

Q&A

Will we study the Quran during this retreat? Yes.

Do I need to believe in God or be religious, to attend and participate in the retreat? No.

Do I need to be an atheist, agnostic and irreligious to attend participate in the retreat? No.

Will we study it in a way that might be different than how people commonly read it? Likely yes (and the answer is still yes, even if you have been studying Nursi’s Risale). Is that a good or a terrible thing? You’ll be able to decide after you attend.

Why do I call it a spiritual retreat? Sounds better than just retreat. The aim is to address spiritual-intellectual concerns and questions. But calling it an intellectual retreat would be misleading in my view.  

Why in Istanbul? We have to be there during the summer to nurse our ailing parents.

Can people join virtually? Unfortunately, they cannot.

What about room and board in Istanbul? If enough people attending agree, we shall all split the cost of renting a place with many rooms so we can stay and have the retreat at the same place. We shall also share the cost of food. Otherwise, we will meet during day at a location (TBD) and then part ways at night, to return to the retreat venue against the following day.

Families with children? Yes, everyone is welcome. If there is need, we can arrange babysitting help and split the costs among attendees.

Why bother having this kind of retreat? Have had enough with religious nonsense, nonsensical religions, monopoly of religions over both the idea of revelation and over particular books that claim to be revelations from God. Interested in meaning and truth that makes rational sense. Interested in making sense of life. Unwilling and unable to blindly and uncritically accept irrational and illogical assumptions, histories, ideas, identities and categories. At any given time, I’ll say yes to only that which makes sense and no to whatever doesn’t make sense to me. Willing to say yes to what I may have said no to, earlier and willing to say yes to, what I may have said no to, earlier. Yes to truth I understand to be true. Non-acceptance of whatever does not make sense and No to what I understand as false. You get the drift.

Will we solve all the problems of this world during/with the retreat? No. we will each get a chance to raise and reflect about our personal questions about life’s meaning and truth and how we may try to answer them.

Have questions? Feel free to email Faraz at fmsheikh@wm.edu