Nasreddin Hodja is a character from Muslim folklore who stars in hundreds of satirical and philosophical stories. His adventures are told from the Balkans to China. There is a tombstone with his name in the city of Akşehir, in Turkey, where an annual festival is held in his honor. Nasreddin, whose name has many versions, is said to have lived in the 13th century, but it is not clear if he actually existed or if he was a committee of experts. Sometimes, Nasreddin is a ridiculous character, other times he is strangely wise. His stories, which fascinated screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, reveal the inconsistencies of our logic. “Sublimes paroles e idioties de Nasr Eddin Hodja,” a wonderful collection by Jean-Louis Maunoury, contains many stories of the character.
One story recounts how Nasreddin loses a ring on his way home at night; his friend bends down to search for it while Nasreddin stands in the middle of the moonlit street. When his friend tells him that the ring is not there, Nasreddin says to do as he pleases, but he prefers to search where there is light. In another story, Nasreddin goes out in the middle of the night and hides behind a bush to see if what his wife says is true: that he sleepwalks. In yet another tale, he goes to a store, tries on a tunic, and at the last moment swaps it for trousers. When he is about to leave and they ask him to pay, he replies, “I exchanged them for the tunic.” The shopkeeper tells him he hasn’t paid for the tunic either. “How can I pay for it if I haven’t taken it with me?” Nasreddin responds.
However, the favorite story of the author is titled “What if it were true?” In this story, Nasreddin encounters some boys on the street who often make fun of him and decides to teach them a lesson. He tells them, “What are you doing here? Don’t you know that the judge’s wife is organizing a party for all the children in the city?” Although they initially do not believe him, Nasreddin convinces them, and the boys run off to the judge’s house, shouting with joy. When he sees their enthusiasm, Nasreddin reflects. “What if it were true?” he wonders. “And behold,” the story concludes, “Nasreddin runs towards the judge’s house, running like a child.”
The story of Nasreddin believing his own lie and running towards the party he just invented shows an almost universal impulse and perfectly describes the attitude of the government and its cheerleaders when they talk about the amnesty law, defend tricky interpretations of the Venice Commission’s report, and distort the goals that are aimed to achieve. Nasreddin’s humorous and thought-provoking tales continue to entertain and enlighten readers of all ages and backgrounds.
