A distinguished group of theologians released a joint statement asserting that the owner of the "Yer6" channel, the young man who is accused of "using disrespectful language against our Prophet and Islam" was criticizing Sharia, not Islam, emphasizing that "Sharia is not the same as Islam." This statement aligns with fundamental religious truths and reflects the profound transformations that the world, nations, and societies have undergone over Islam's 1500-year history.

Due to the theologians' detailed explanations and space constraints, I will limit my discussion to the principles at the heart of this debate: the relationship between Islam and Sharia.

Historically, cries of "we are losing our Religion" have sparked many bloody uprisings. However, the Soviet Socialist Republics' collapse in 1990, after more than 70 years of banning all religions, demonstrated that religion will not disappear under any circumstances.

Iron and steel can be melted and vaporized, but no discovery can eliminate a person's faith and sense of nationality.

There are four books of divine revelation sent to chosen prophets: the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and the Quran to Muhammad. The Torah was written 500 years after Moses' death, and the Gospel was written 90 years after Jesus' death. These books do not contain an abstract belief in God. When Jesus, claimed to be of the same essence as God, was crucified at 31 by order of the governor of Judea after being found guilty by the Sanhedrin court in Jerusalem, the divine power did not intervene.

RELIGION IS INDEPENDENT OF SHARIA

In Islam and the Quran, there is no irrationality or contradiction. Quran-based Islam is universal. Sharia, although sometimes referencing questionable hadiths and rarely verses revealed for different reasons than jurisprudence, is not synonymous with Islam. Islam is singular, while Sharia is manifold. The diverse interpretations of Islamic law (fiqh) by jurists across the broad Islamic geography, influenced by historical, periodical, and social conditions—including the Ottoman mecelle—do not meet 21st-century needs.

In 1926, the Turkish Civil Code was enacted. Turkiye is a secular state governed by the rule of law. Among the new generation conducting research in philosophy, sociology, mythology, religion, history, and various fields, there is a prevalent deist and atheist tendency. These individuals understand that the economic collapse is not solely due to poor governance but also to a systematic and insatiable plundering. Their reaction to the concealment of this exploitation behind a religious facade leads them to distance themselves from religion.

In Germany—and across Europe—hundreds of thousands speak against Christianity without hindering the continent's advanced level of prosperity. Similarly, efforts to encircle our entire society within the sphere of the Muslim Brotherhood's Islam have not raised our national income above $10,000 per capita. Conscience development and intellectual freedom, which open up space for reason, are the foundation of civilization. Unlike other Islamic countries ensnared by ignorance, Turkiye will continue to defend the independence of Islam from Sharia while remaining secular, as guided by Atatürk, alongside its Muslim population.