Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Türkiye has not overcome the identity crisis"
Speaking at the panel titled “Where are we in the Republic in its 100th year?”, President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that Türkiye still has difficulties in modernizing by preserving our own culture. Tarhan emphasized that Türkiye has not been able to overcome the identity crisis in his presentation titled "The Republic progresses with evolution, not revolution".
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic Üsküdar University, Risale-i Nur Institute and Şekercihan Association organized a panel titled “Where are we in the Republic in its 100th year?”. The opening speeches of the panel were made by President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan and Prof. Ruhi Yavuz.
Speaking at the opening of the panel held at Üsküdar University Central Campus Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, Prof. Tarhan started his speech titled "The Republic progresses with evolution, not revolution" by celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic.
Stating that the history of humanity has gone through a process of evolution, Prof. Tarhan referred to the development of humanity in this evolutionary process and stated that humanity has become self-governing.
Cultural change in the Islamic world
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "In this development, Türkiye would inevitably continue as a constitutional monarchy; however, it could not continue for various reasons. It continued as a republic because it could not be a constitutional monarchy. It has come to this day by experiencing various fluctuations within itself”. Prof. Tarhan talked about the cultural change in the Islamic world and the relationship between oppression and government.
Prof. Tarhan pointed out that in the 1970s, there was modernization in some countries in the world such as Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Iran and Afghanistan with oppression from top to bottom, and said that "Tyranny, oppression... In psychology, the rule is that difficult already feeds its opposite. It gives birth to the anti-extremist. İfrat (extremeness) yields tefrit (understatement). There was excessive repression, and then there was oppression. When you cannot get results with oppression, you see the opposite as in Iran and Afghanistan. Now, in the same countries, there is religiously based repression."
What would have happened without the democratization of 1950?
Noting that Türkiye moved from a single-party Republic to a multi-party Republic in the 1950s, Prof. Tarhan said: "There was a coup d'état in 1960. If there had been no democratization in 1950 or if the coup plotters of 1960 had remained, Türkiye would have caused the emergence of counter-oppression and social disintegration like Ceaușescu."
Explaining that people in cultures of fear, pressure, threats and obedience suppress their emotions, and that the opposite emerges at the slightest crisis, Prof. Tarhan noted that this situation is similar in Iran and Afghanistan.
Modernization while preserving our own culture
Stating that İstanbul in the 1950s was almost the same as today's İstanbul in terms of attire, Prof. Tarhan stated that the environment of freedom in Türkiye has been shown maturity despite many crises.
Stating that if multi-party democracy had not been adopted in the 1950s, Türkiye would have been facing a counter-oppression right now, Prof. Tarhan said that "Türkiye still has problems in modernizing by preserving our own culture. Türkiye has not overcome its identity crisis."
Prof. Tarhan explained that in the first years of the Republic, a top-down identity change was requested, that the society did not act reactively by showing its maturity with the mastery coming from the Ottoman Empire, and that the fruits of this are now being reaped.
Republican administration in Islamic society
Speaking at the panel, Prof. Ruhi Yavuz from the Risale-i Nur Institute explained that with the birth of Islam, a Republican administration was established in the Islamic society, and the Prophet Muhammad and the 3 caliphs who followed him were elected as the head of state.
After the opening speeches, the panel started.
Those who made a presentation in the panel moderated by Assoc. Prof. Murat Tümay are as follows: Prof. Adem Ölmez with the presentation on "The Historical Roots of the Republic", Prof. Hüseyin Çelik with the presentation on “Where are we in the Year of Democracy and the State of Law on the 100th Anniversary of the Republic?", and Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yıldız with the presentation on "Religion-Society and State Relations on the 100th anniversary of the Republic”.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)