'Dear Muslims, don't wait for a savior'

On Oct. 22, an interesting symposium was held by Kuramer, or the "Qur'an Research Center," at May 29 University, a government-owned Islamic institution for higher education in Istanbul. The topic was "The Faith in the Awaited Savior." More specifically, what was addressed was the Islamic belief in the "Mahdi," or the Islamic version of the Jewish Messiah, who is expected to emerge at the end of times and save Muslims, and ultimately humanity, from evil.
The speakers of the event, which was publicized in the media, included prominent scholars of theology, some of whom are also columnists in the pro-Islamic media. Many of them argued that while neither the Qur'an nor the undisputed sayings of the Prophet Muhammad foretell a savior to come at the end of times, this belief emerged in the first centuries of Islam due to the political needs of the Muslim community. Some argued that the myth was incorporated from pre-existing faiths such as Judaism and Christianity, and even pagan traditions. 

What makes these arguments timely, and politically significant, is their relation to the controversy over the Gülen Community. There is now almost national consensus in Turkey that the Gülen Community was not only responsible for the failed coup attempt, but also that it is motivated by its belief that Gülen is the "awaited Mahdi." (Gülen and his spokesmen publicly deny this notion, but certain defectors of the group confirm that there is such a belief in the core group.)

This controversy does not make all other Islamic voices in Turkey condemn the notion of the Mahdi - which is also very powerful in Shiite Islam - as a myth. Some of them merely condemn Gülen as a "fake Mahdi," assuming that there could be a "true Mahdi" someday. But this particular symposium...