Members of the Justice Advocates Association (ASDER) gathered at an iftar program. Tarhan, drawing attention to Ramadan's role in human spiritual development, emphasized the importance of a domestic generation in his speech. Tarhan stated; "We are producing domestic cars, we are producing domestic weapons. We are doing many beautiful things, let's continue. But let's also raise domestic people, domestic youth, and domestic children."
“The Greatest Teaching of Ramadan is Altruism”
ASDER members gathered at an iftar dinner held at the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Dentistry. Speaking at the highly attended program, ASDER President Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan drew attention to the importance of the month of Ramadan. Tarhan stated that in this month, our ability for altruism, or empathy, develops; “Someone who cannot be free from their own desires and impulses cannot truly be free. A person who succeeds in controlling the misleading emotions within themselves, if they can manage themselves, can also manage others. One who cannot be a leader of themselves cannot be the leader of society or a family. First, we need to be leaders of ourselves. Destiny has planned this for Ramadan. In this one-month period, we have food in front of us, and we have the power, but we don't eat. In Ramadan, we understand our helplessness and weakness, and we learn to think of people in such situations and empathize with them. That is why the greatest teaching of Ramadan is known as altruism. Altruism is the concept known as empathy. To be able to consider the rights of others, to consider their needs, not just to live for oneself. Creating an atmosphere of mutual aid during Ramadan is a very important concept.” he said.
“Ramadan is a Period of Opportunity to Implement Beautiful Virtues”
Tarhan, emphasizing the need to start upholding some beautiful behaviors in the family with the month of Ramadan, stated that this current month is a great period of opportunity. Tarhan; “Ramadan is an opportunity to implement two concepts in the family. They say the most important emotion is love. However, there is something greater than love: compassion. While love might contain a bit of selfishness, a possibility of conditional love, compassion is not like that. Compassion is a higher emotion, it includes empathy. There are many examples of compassion in the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The other concept is politeness. Politeness is greater than respect. We lose a lot in human relationships due to impoliteness. There is no concept of politeness in Mesopotamian culture. Unfortunately, they mistake this situation for Islamic culture. However, impoliteness does not exist in Islamic culture. Due to this culture, we raise our children with shame, prohibition, and sin. When you tell a child 'it's shameful,' the child says, 'I'm free, what do I care, I don't have to listen to society.' When told 'it's forbidden' in adolescence, they say, 'I won't listen to my mother, I'm free,' and object. When told 'it's a sin,' they object to religious concepts. When educating them, we need to say, 'You need this.' This is how they should be educated. Politeness should become a character trait in a person. Everyone shows respect and behaves politely in front of a king. What's important is to be polite even in front of a beggar. This is true politeness. Prophet Muhammad went to offer condolences to a child whose bird had died." he stated.
The Greatest Miracle is Steadfastness
Tarhan, drawing attention to the importance of raising the future generation, emphasized the domestic generation. Tarhan stated that justice begins in the family, by raising a generation; “If we try to educate youth with pressure, threats, and coercion, we will lose that youth. We are producing domestic cars, we are producing domestic weapons. We are doing many beautiful things, let's continue. But let's also raise domestic people, domestic youth, and domestic children. Let our children be domestic children, not Hollywood children. If we neglect this, young people cannot use those weapons for the right targets. That is why we need to change our priorities. As ASDER, we set out by valuing justice. In this regard, we must be able to uphold it appropriately, at least in our own lives, in our families. Justice begins in the family. The greatest miracle is steadfastness…” he concluded.
