Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Lecturer, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak and Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Head of Philosophy Department Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir, addressed ‘Environment and Climate Change’. Özdemir, stating that we must protect the healthy air we breathe, said: “We humans must also serve Allah and strive to do our best for all of Allah’s individuals. We must preserve what we protect for future generations. We do not have the right to slaughter other living beings created by the Creator. We must show care for all living things, act with fear of the Creator, and be merciful and benevolent.”
‘‘As needs increase, air pollution also increases’’
Prof. Dr. Koçak, stating that man is a small world, said: ‘‘When the environmental balance in the world is in place, both the future health of the world and human health will be better. When one is disrupted, the other is also disrupted. Especially the deterioration of the environment affects and harms human health. In short, the future of humanity is deteriorating. With climate change and environmental degradation, it becomes a matter of time before the world becomes uninhabitable. In the mid-19th century, with the development of industry and the parallel need for energy, we observe increasing air pollution, global contamination, and the disruption of the ecological balance. There is a need for energy, a need for fuel. This was previously met with coal, fossil fuels, and other sources, with substances that cause air pollution. As needs increase, air pollution also increases.’’
‘‘We all need to take responsibility’’
Prof. Dr. Özdemir, stating that environment means our existence, said: “Our existence, our happiness, our health depend on the environment. That is, it depends on clean air, clean water, clean food. And then it depends on the preservation of the balances in the world, and humans define these, we define them ourselves. By our unconscious consumption patterns and by remaining spectators to the actions of some greedy large corporations, we are responsible for this, no one else. Therefore, we all need to take responsibility. Humanity needs worldwide intellectual cooperation among adherents of all religions and philosophies to protect itself from the consequences of technology inspired by material greed. In other words, if our goal is to protect our environment and our world, to protect Marmara, to protect Ergene, to protect Kaz Mountains, we need to cooperate with everyone, regardless of their intellectual language or color on this issue.’’
‘‘We must protect what we love’’
Prof. Dr. Özdemir, stating that we must protect the healthy air we breathe, said: ‘‘Allah created the universe with all its diversity and vitality, along with all living beings inhabiting the world. All beings convey the Creator’s immense majesty and mercy. They serve the Creator and glorify Him. We humans must also serve Allah and strive to do our best for all of Allah’s individuals. As Yunus Emre expressed, we must love the Creator because of creation. We must protect what we love. We must preserve what we protect for future generations. In other words, it is not enough to only protect our historical artifacts in our museums. We are also responsible for the nature that Allah entrusted to us. We are in a climate where all living beings, including humans, thrive. However, due to ruthless economy and growth, we see the corruption and mischief caused by people. As the dinosaur said, we are also aware of our economic lifestyle that will bring about our own end. We do not have the right to slaughter other living beings created by the Creator. We must show care for all living things, act with fear of the Creator, and be merciful and benevolent.’’
‘‘If the agreement had been signed earlier, some natural disasters could have been prevented’’
Özdemir, speaking about the Paris Climate Agreement, said: ‘‘Previously, our Ministry of Environment did not support us. Public institutions we approached in our country did not provide support. Our country signed the Paris Agreement, but it did not come into force because it was not approved by the parliament. In September 2021, our esteemed President stated at the United Nations that this agreement would be signed and approved by the parliament. Later, the parliament approved it. But we environmentalists say, if only what we suggested had been done ten years ago. Then the Marmara Sea would have been less polluted, and our forests would have suffered less damage. If the agreement had been signed earlier, some natural disasters could have been prevented. By the instruction of our President, the name of the Ministry of Environment became the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change. We hope that the ministry will carry out activities appropriate to this name.’’
‘‘For the first time in the history of science, we need such cooperation’’
Prof. Dr. Özdemir, stating that we environmentalists alone cannot solve environmental problems, said: ‘‘We need the experience of chemists, medical professionals, doctors, physicists, sociologists, psychologists, and scientists from every other branch. For the first time in the history of science, we need such cooperation. Just like with the COVID issue. Look, all medical authorities and other units, they all cooperated. Even representatives of all religions offered prayers for the success of the scientists. Why? Because this calamity threatens us all. Here, we summarized all of this, and then we summarized how Islam views the world. Then we stated that the events in the life of Hz. Amina are examples, and we expressed these one by one in that document. We emphasized that equality and justice are very important. We stated that equality in society, income equality, and ensuring equality in all aspects are essential for our well-being. That is, we may have property and assets, but if we neglect water, if we neglect clean water, if we neglect polluted seas, this well-being may bring us nothing.’’