Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Head of the Philosophy Department Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir participated as a speaker in the ‘XVI. International Muslim Forum’ organized by the Federation of Muslims of Russia in Moscow. The theme of this year's meeting, held online due to the pandemic, was “Culture of Encounter: Religious Ethics in the Age of Pandemic.” Özdemir stated, “Only an ethics based on mercy, compassion, and justice can reduce the problems and suffering experienced in the world.”
“The pandemic has made us all more sensitive”
At the meeting attended by scientists and religious leaders from more than 40 countries, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir participated with his paper “Mercy: A New Ethical Proposal.”
Özdemir stated that “the global pandemic has made us all more sensitive,” adding, “During this period, instead of selfish, self-serving, divisive, and exclusionary language and ethics; we understood how much we need an ethic of mercy that instills a spirit of respect, love, and protection towards all people and all living beings.”
“Only mercy can reduce the problems and suffering experienced in the world”
Özdemir said: “Mercy is one of the key concepts of the Quran. Allah says, 'My mercy encompasses all things.' The Prophet of Islam was sent as 'a mercy to the worlds.' Based on this, Muslims must adopt a mercy-based approach. Without expecting anything beyond all kinds of material, economic, and political interests; we desperately need to look at people and life with mercy and compassion. We must understand and implement this vein, which is present in our religion and has manifested strongly in our culture. Only an ethics based on mercy, compassion, and justice can reduce the problems and suffering experienced in the world. Our most important task today is to change ourselves before changing the world. In other words, we must start the change from within our own inner world. To be adorned with the ethics of Allah; to be characterized by His attributes, should be the principle of believers.”
“In the ethics of mercy, animal rights are more important than human rights”
Prof. Dr. Özdemir emphasized that the ethics of mercy begins with caressing the heads of orphans and extends to embracing every living being, stating: “In the ethics of mercy, animal rights are more important than human rights. In our relationships with animals, who have no mouths or tongues and cannot express what they experience, we are obliged to act with mercy.”