In April I was asked by Edip Yuksel, my brilliant accomplish and friend in Islamic Reform, to go to Kazachstan with him for a conference. My first reaction was ‘Kazachstan. Who wants us there?’ I told my wife, and she was reluctant about the idea, and we forgot it for a while. Edip mailed me again in late August and was thinking why not, the organizers paid everything, and even agreed for me coming only for 3 days. I work fulltime next to my studies, and it is not always easy to get days off, so my father picked me up from work to bring me to the airport.
One suitcase and one bag full with around 20 books, Qur’an tafsirs, dictionaries and a laptop, it was luck it all fell under hand luggage. The reason I agreed on going was curiosity, to spread information on rational Islam, to see Edip again, meet other scholars, and simply, because I love travelling. I love standing in the line waiting to go somewhere, love sitting cramped in a plane, because I am going somewhere. I didn’t sleep during the flight, which I had planned to do, but an idea came into my head and I started writing. The end result will be published later as an article. As I was the only passenger still awake, the stewardess came to see if I needed something. The seat next to me, and the seat plank, were stacked with books making it sag through to its maximum. She asked what I was writing and starting looking at the books and seeing the word “Qur’an” on almost every one of them. “I am a theologian” gave her reason not to freak out, and started telling about modern Islamic thought. It is weird that I always have the feeling to be careful with having the Qur’an out in the open when travelling. We still have much to do to make the Qur’an seen as valuable for mankind outside of the Muslim world.