A delegation from the Afro-Asian Universities Association visited Üsküdar Üniversitesi. The visit, held in the Senate Meeting Hall, was attended by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Muhsin Konuk, Former Yemeni Minister of National Education Prof. Dr. Abdülmecid Mihlafi, Chairman of the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation Board of Trustees Said Yüce, Head of the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation Arabic Department Ali Hanife, and Head of the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation Russian Department Prof. Dr. İlham Miraç.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “There is spiritual poverty currently”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan spoke about how materialism impoverishes society spiritually. Tarhan said; “It is not economic poverty right now, but spiritual poverty. The area where materialism has the most impact is in spiritually impoverishing us. We need to strengthen ourselves morally right now. The West is starting to realize this now. There is even a Marxist philosopher named Slavoj Žižek. He says that the new refuge of the Capitalist is Anatolian wisdom. Anatolian wisdom needs to be taught as a subject. What all humanity needs right now is to show the viability of Islam. It is a time for representation, not propagation. Thank you for coming. I would like to say that great things start with small steps. Hopefully, this will be the case. As my professor said: “Humanity, not us, needs such a project.” he stated.
“The strength of the Islamic world is the family”
Tarhan stated that cultural imperialism is currently very prominent in the world; “Western civilization cannot currently produce solutions for incidents of violence, suicides, and divorces. And now, in the Islamic world, cultural transmission from generation to generation used to be done by families, but now the media does it. If this continues, Muslim families will also be included. In 20-30 years, the world will be under the influence of Hollywood culture. Anti-family movements have especially begun globally with various projects. We have material that we can present to the world as a good model. Economics is important, and the economy is important, but our strength, the strength of the Islamic world, lies in the family. I think it would be more appropriate to proceed strategically in this direction. Economic unity does not happen without unity in minds and hearts. After that, political unity comes as the third stage. The best places to ensure unity in minds and hearts are institutions independent of politics. These are universities. That is why we strategically do not enter into any interest relationships with politics. Therefore, we prioritize cultural relations. Cultural imperialism is currently very prominent in the world. Thus, protecting our culture is strategically our priority. For this reason, this symposium here might be for economics, but the next symposium could be in the field of culture, which humanity needs most right now.” he expressed.
Peyman Jafari: “We have students from 95 different countries”
Peyman Jafari, Head of Üsküdar Üniversitesi International Relations Department, stated that agreements are made to strengthen relations with countries. Jafari said; “We have students from 95 different countries at our university. Approximately 78 of them are from Asia and Africa. We are making protocols and agreements to strengthen our relations with every country.” he stated.
Prof. Dr. Eşref Abdulrafi Durfili: “Our reason for embarking on this journey is to serve humanity”
Prof. Dr. Eşref Abdulrafi Durfili, Secretary General of the Afro-Asian Universities Association, provided information about the Afro-Asian Universities Association. Durfili stated; “It was founded in 2016. At its establishment, there were 29 universities and NGOs from Asia and Africa. One of them was the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation. Currently, it includes 180 universities. The Afro-Asian Universities Association is completely independent of politics and provides beneficial services to society and its member universities. Our reason for embarking on this journey is to serve humanity.” he stated.
The delegation stated that as the Afro-Asian Universities Association, they have two expectations from universities in Turkey. They noted that their first expectation is for universities to promote themselves in Asia and Europe as well. It was particularly emphasized that many universities in Africa and Asia want to benefit from the experiences of other universities.
The protocol ceremony was attended by Former Yemeni Minister of National Education and Afro-Asian delegation member Prof. Dr. Abdülmecid Mihlafi, Chairman of the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation Board of Trustees and Afro-Asian delegation member Said Yüce, Head of the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation Arabic Department and Afro-Asian delegation member Ali Hanife, Head of the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation Russian Department and Afro-Asian delegation member Prof. Dr. İlham Miraç, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Secretary General Selçuk Uysaler, Head of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Corporate Communications Department Tahsin Aksu, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Media Relations Specialist Ayşe Nur Akçelik, Üsküdar Üniversitesi International Promotion and Marketing Manager Gizem Köksal, and Üsküdar Üniversitesi International Relations Specialist Furkan Karakullukçu.
The ceremony, where the cooperation protocol was signed, concluded after a group photo session.
