Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanic Eruptions
I live near the Cascadia Fault, which marks the edge of Oregon’s active subduction zone;1 these zones are where the most powerful earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and landslides occur—producing eight to nine earthquakes on average every five hundred years, according to experts.
It’s a frightening reality in the back of every Oregonian’s mind. So when I think of the recent earthquakes in Southern Turkiye, the women, children, and families that have lost their loved ones, their homes, and the familiarity of their city due to a disaster, I might not know how they feel, and I can’t imagine. But, I may understand what the sufferers might need from us.
What Could Be More Devastating?
While some might argue that coronavirus was more devastating for the US, with 1,140,401 deaths, those deaths occurred over three years. However, in one shocking moment, the earthquake in southern Turkiye devastated the region leaving behind traumatized, displaced, and powerless survivors after taking countless lives in a single blast. It took merely seventy-five seconds to change our lives forever. Yet, more than a week later, rescue and recovery efforts are still ongoing, and miraculously people continue to be dug out from under the rubble alive. (Cappucci)
Turkish authorities said more than 150,000 survivors had moved to shelters outside the affected areas. The impact of economic and infrastructural damage across southern Turkiye will last for generations, disproportionately affecting children. Still, no one prepared for this upheaval, especially after rising from a global pandemic. (Hughes)
Setback After Setback
Kicked back down, quake survivors now struggle to resist the cold winter in search of warmth, shelter, clothing, food, and water. There is no easy way out of this, and we all feel it. So what do survivors need from us? They need us to have a Heart and to treat them with kindness during their time of setbacks. Sure, the Turkish government has its part; sure, the World Health Organization has its position, and the United Nations theirs. But what about us? Acts of God help humanity to have a heart, not just organizations.
Despite what’s common to our humanity, we all live as individuals. Seeking to think independently to varying degrees, problem-solving with conscious control over our behavior, and defining what is and is not essential to us to ensure that our lifestyle is worthwhile gives life increased optimism, hope, and the capacity for resilience.
At the same time, everyone must answer to someone, a higher authority. Something always guides our direction, even if we’re unconscious of it. Progress can be slow, taking a long while before our time and effort find a return or meaningful way to measure improvement. Imam al-Ghazâlî Hz2 stated in The Revival of Religious Sciences, regarded for nine hundred years as one of the most important writings of the Islamic Tradition, “Verily the heart has two ports, one leading to the world of the senses and one leading to the spiritual world.” And, although we all live our individual lives, our humanity connects us. An invisible bond, a common thread despite our differences, is revealed when disaster strikes. And sometimes, society comes together and stands up against the heartless.
In the same way, the founder of the Naksibendi Sufi Order,3 Khwaja Shah Bahauddin Naksibend, is calling for followers to support the vulnerable and uplift the spirit of grief-stricken people, showing the importance of having a heart, saying:
"It is my order to help the needy, and to serve the weak, and to motivate the heart of the broken-hearted."
For this reason, the Osmanli Dergah4 is sending aid to earthquake victims in southern Turkiye. After doing due diligence and establishing trustworthy partners, the Osmanli Dergah, in collaboration with the City Municipality of Bursa and Turkiye’s AFAD Agency, provides relief in the earthquake zones. The local government has stated that winter and clothing supplies are most needed. With that purpose, we are helping our brothers and sisters in Turkiye, assisting the effort. (Turkiye Earthquake Disaster Relief)
Are there setbacks coming up for you while reading this? Perhaps some discomfort by information about Muslims, Middle Eastern people, and injustice. Is this causing challenges for you to act on that early notion of empathy and concern? It may get so bad that instead of following that urge to help, you resist and rationalize things with pre-conceived beliefs, interpreting how you feel about it and if you should help.
Yes, there will be those who look like they are supporting the earthquake victims but are not and looking to profit off the helpless. They may look harmless outside, ‘like sheep, but they are wolves.’ On the other hand, some may say, ‘do not support them; they look like a wolf,’ but inside, they are sheep.
The time will come, as our Sheykhs have said when black is going to be white and white is going to be black. Don’t trust these physical eyes. Be sincere with yourself and trust your heart. But, to trust your heart, you must first have one. To illustrate this, Sheykh Lokman Efendi, leader of the Osmanli Dergah, has said,
“Those who have no heart now will not have a heart later. Those who don’t know how to share now, they will not share later. Those who are arrogant and selfish now, will definitely be arrogant and selfish then.” (Efendi, Lokman Sh.)
So when the time comes to share, strive for protection from suffering, even by offering ‘half a date and, if not possible, a kind word.’5 Obeying this, I saw the most extraordinary thing.
Can Things Get Better?
If it were me, I’d want desperately to escape the earthquake zone, but for many fleeing the cold and loneliness is their best option. There are people with no place to go, orphans still searching for their parents, and families desperately looking for their young. Our donations can help earthquake victims with a warm tent, new clothing, hot food, and water. At the same time, others brave the rescue and recovery efforts.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Osmanli Dergah or me, there is hope for something new and compelling. So far, our donations have provided one hundred and fifty stoves to provide warmth, hot food, and warm water to earthquake victims.
Suppose you’re open but a bit unsure while hoping to help a grassroots organization; you also want reliability. Your donations are not the first; we’ve raised more than fifty percent of our goal, which reassures you that your contributions are not the first and will make an impact. Nothing is perfect, and something is always missing, but it works for us. Our teams are on the ground in the earthquake zones and neighboring cities preparing winter supplies and clothing for the earthquake victims, and we’re trying to help.
Many organizations are collecting donations for earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria. I’m explaining just a little about what the Osmanli Dergah is doing; it works for us. We don’t “need” anyone, but it’s our job to reach out; the decision is yours.
I’m trying to say that Osmanli Dergah is diligent in record keeping and can offer tax donation letters upon request for qualifying contributions. Insha’Allah, we’ve done our job, allowing anyone to avoid the threat of doing nothing. This way, your sincere desire to help can reach real people, women, children, and families who have survived the earthquake zone in southern Turkiye.
May Allah Almighty forgive me and bless you, fatiha.
Cited Works
Cappucci, Matthew. “What Triggered the Turkey Quakes? Why Was the Second so Big? Key Questions, Answered.” Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/02/07/earthquake-turkey-syria-causes-damage.
“Earthquake Relief.” UNICEF USA, www.unicefusa.org/mission/emergencies/earthquakes.
Ghazâlî, Abû Hâmid Muhammad al-. Mukhtaṣar: Iḥyâ’ ‘Ulûm Ad-dîn. Translated by Marwan Khalaf, 3rd edition, Spohr Publishers Limited, 2020.
Hughes, Trevor John Bacon and Terry Collins. “Death Toll Tops 41,000 as Desperation Grows After Earthquake in Turkey, Syria: Live Updates.” USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2023, eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/02/14/turkey-syria-earthquake-updates-death-toll/11253616002.
Sahibulsaif. “Muslims Have Fallen Into a Deep Sleep.” Sahibul-Saif Sheykh Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi, 5 Mar. 2022, sahibulsaif.wordpress.com/2022/03/04/muslims-have-fallen-into-a-deep-sleep.
Turkiye Earthquake Disaster Relief. www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=K4B2MZGC6V592.
United States COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer. www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us.
An oceanic plate can descend beneath another oceanic plate - Japan, Indonesia, and the Aleutian Islands are examples of this subduction.
Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi (c. 1058 – December 1111), better known by al-Ghazali, is one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theorists, theologians, logicians, and mystics of the Islamic Golden Age. He is considered a renewer of the faith, who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every 100 years to restore the faith of the Islamic community. His contemporaries so highly acclaimed his works that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Ḥujjat al-Islām). Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten. This belief led him to write his magnum opus entitled Iḥyā’ ‘ulūm ad-dīn ("The Revival of the Religious Sciences").
An authentic spiritual path deeply rooted in Islam and the Traditions of the Seal of the Prophets, the Beloved of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (SA).
An organization and buildings explicitly designed for gatherings of a Sufi order and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education.
“The Messenger of God (AS) said, ‘Seek refuge from the Hellfire even by means of half a date, and if not possible, then with a kind word.” (Muslim)
