“… emotional aspect of fraternity is essential, but never sufficient. The matter of brotherhood or sisterhood, and alliance rest on volition rather than emotion, and to achieve it, one must be decisive, determined and diligent. Connectedness based on reasoning, which implies that unity of belief entails unity of society, is more salient than emotionalism in what make believers love each other. For this reason, the Sage Bediüzzaman always taught us the logical aspects and dynamics of any matter at hand.¹⁾ Both of you serve the same One Creator, Sovereign, Object of Worship, Provider… so there are as many ties between you as there are Divine Names. Your Prophet, religion Islam, and qibla are one and the same, and the number of such ties amount to almost a hundred.”²⁾

“If it is asked: ‘Can we once again attain that golden age of brotherhood, in which feelings and thoughts, sorrows and joys were shared so completely?’—then the answer is: the formation of such unity requires above all a strong spiritual imbuing (insibagh). In this regard, emotional brotherhood (connectedness based on emotions) is indeed a valuable foundation, but it is not enough. As is well known, siblings born of the same mother and father share emotional brotherhood—yet they may fight bitterly, even kill one another, over something as trivial as an inheritance. Therefore, emotional brotherhood, which cannot even always hold blood brothers together, is not sufficient to establish a brotherhood on the level of the Companions. All the more so, in such a broad circle where everyone has different interests, feelings, temperaments, and dispositions, it is essential to add rational elements in order to make such brotherhood possible.”³⁾

“When faced with both external and internal adversaries sharpened by centuries of hatred and enmity, if we are to pass safely through the tunnel of time before us, we must be both wise and rational. And at the same time, connectedness based on emotions must be transformed into intellectual, rational kinship—so that the unity and solidarity we seek may be nourished by the logic of our age. Yes—if our God is one, our Prophet is one, our Book is one, our homeland is one, and our essence is one—then there is no rational justification for strife.”⁴⁾

Connectedness Based on Reasoning

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