«Tied up» Hodjas in Hala Sultan's at Laylatu l-Qadr

THE «TIED UP» HODGAS

This year it was the first time that by permission of the approximate Ministry that the Hala Sultan Tekke has been opened at night time for tarawih prayer the whole Month of Ramadan. In the years before our brothers, for two years Sheikh Salim, and for one year Sheikh Shakir, have made salatu l-tarawih in front of the closed main entrance of the tekke. This year the Ministry also informed the Turkish Muslim Administration, and they organized about 150 people to come to this event, accompanied by half a dozent Hodjas, and also reporters and a televison team. They made iftar, Qur`ân-recitation. Salatu l-maghrib. Sheikh Shakir had made an arrangement with these hodjas, that he would lead salatu l-’isha, and one of them the tarawih prayer.

ABOUT 150 PEOPLE CAME

A short time before the beginning of salatu l-‘îsha and the tarawih, Sheikh Salim, Imam of the Mosque in Dali and a representative of Maulana Sheikh Nazim at the Hala Sultan Tekke, arrived there with a group of people from the Mosque of Dali, and he was surprised by the number of people. But he was more surprised to see the six Hodjas, very strange looking, all of them so similar to each other, that you would think they had been made in a factory, all wearing a bright jubba, this plastic turban, no beards, and – astaghfirullâh! – a tie. All of them wearing a tie, that symbol of the Christians with the hidden cross in the form of a cross-knot.

SHEIKH SALIM WITH THE HODGAS

So Sheikh Salim, medded ya Sayyidi, stood up, went “on the stage”, giving the Hodjas, one after the other, his salams (see the picture at left side) and asking them to take off their ties, saying: «Muslim cannot wear a tie, especially those who lead the prayer, we don’t accept a Hodja wearing a tie. How is it possible that you wear this symbol of Christians, representing a cross, you all knowing the Prophet’s word, peace be upon him: “man tashabbaha bi qaumin, fa huwa minhum!”, which means: “Whoever you appear as, you will be counted from them”. And with a tie you will go directly to Jehennam! – Please, take off your tie.» The Hodjas refused to take their ties off. One of them, terrified, put his jubba around his tie to prevent it from beeing seen.

Some people, looking like they were very pleased, come to Sheikh Salim to welcome him. Then, TRNZ-Mufti Yu-suf Suiçmez, with a tie, led the tarawih prayers with his very high, nearly unaudible voice. After the salatu l-witr, al-hamdu li Llâh, one brother recited “Amana rassul”, and Sheikh Salim could finish with the du’â “rabbana taqabbal…”. Al-hamdu li Llâh.

After that performance, that so called “Mufti”, who led the tarawih prayers, explained to Sheikh Salim, that it is a rule in Islam that if the big important things are alright, small things which are not so good, are acceptable. But in fact, in every thing you have to start in a small way with small things, and upon these you build up the bigger ones. And Sheikh Salim answered, wearing this tie “you will not follow the sunna of the Prophet, peace be upon him, but the sunna of that Shaitan …”, and he took the tie of the mufti, pulling him in different directions, explaining that this piece of equipment is only to lead animals like goats or sheep or donkies …

About 150 Turkish Cypriots came in three buses and spent the Holy Night at Hala Sultan. Three of them got no permission to cross the checkpoint because their parents have not been born in Cyprus. The whole service was sent life by Bayrak TV. In spite of what had been said before, the tekke was closed surprisingly at 22:00.

About the most powerful spiritual place of Cyprus, see here