Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: 'There is not modernism, but modernist fascism in Turkey'

Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, participated in the talk titled “The Civilization Crisis of Modernism,” hosted by the Sultanbeyli İmam Hatipliler Association (SİHADER). Tarhan, drawing attention to the Universal Human Values and Rights Manifesto and stating that they initiated a values movement, emphasized that they prepared the manifesto not solely on rights, but on values and rights. Stating that modernism is being confused with fascism, Tarhan used the expression, “There is not modernism, but modernist fascism in Turkey. ”

The talk held in the Sultanbeyli İmam Hatipliler Association (SİHADER) Conference Hall attracted significant interest.

They are crushing 1.5 million people in Gaza. How is this civilization? 

In his speech, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan drew attention to the fact that civilization means adapting to social rules and ensuring justice, emphasizing that the West applies double standards towards outsiders. Tarhan said; “What civilizes a person is not carving stones, but building fences. This is a sign of learning to respect the rights of others. In civilized societies, there is the supremacy of law and rules. In decision-making processes, consultations are held in parliament, and actions are not taken based on one person's decision. Civilization in this sense emerged in the West in the 1200s in the English Parliament. Before that, what the powerful said would prevail. Currently, while Western civilization acts justly within itself, it applies double standards towards outsiders. Western civilization currently behaves differently internally and externally. They are crushing 1.5 million people in Gaza. How is this civilization? There cannot be such a civilization. The Age of Bliss (Asr-ı Saadet) is the finest example of civilization. Unfortunately, the Islamic world is failing this test. Western civilization might be good in science and art, but it acts with double standards regarding the supremacy of law.” he stated.

There is not modernism, but modernist fascism in Turkey…

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that modernism is being confused with fascism. Tarhan stated; “Instead of taking Europe’s art and science, we have taken its morals. There is not modernism, but modernist fascism in Turkey. This system, implemented after the Ottoman Empire, has nothing to do with civilization. In a country where music was banned until 1950, one cannot speak of civilization. Imam Hatip schools have stood against this modernist fascism by protecting the values of Islam. At that time, a few enlightened minds, who witnessed both the Ottoman Empire, the Constitutional Monarchy, and the Republic, transferred ideas, rights, culture, and values. Now, its fruits are beginning to be harvested. In other words, its saplings took root, held on, and settled. But there is a need for reform here. Currently, weeds have seriously taken over. It actually distances and distorts the truth. In the West, especially decision-makers are currently acting with an extremely capitalist morality. There is a situation where they act with extreme greed, emotionlessness, irresponsibility, and boundlessness. They are also using artificial intelligence for this purpose. That is, artificial intelligence has both a threat aspect and an opportunity aspect... For us, it is an opportunity.” he said.

“Social Media Brought the Events in Gaza to the World’s Attention”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that artificial intelligence and the internet offer great opportunities when used correctly, said; “Technology is neutral; it serves for good or evil depending on how it is used. Currently, it is social media that is resolving the events in Gaza. If it were classical media, it could never have shown these truths this way. Therefore, we must use the power of the internet and social media correctly. Social media brought the events in Gaza to the world's attention. It mobilized global conscience. This is an example of using the power of the internet and social media correctly. There are those who say, ‘If I go online, I cannot protect myself.’ This is like saying, if I go to war, I cannot protect myself. Of course, if you go to war, you will encounter threats, but if you want to be ahead, you must take these risks.” he stated.

Excessive love for the world overrides religious values 

Tarhan, emphasizing that as love for the world increases, fear of death decreases, said; “The greatest weakness among Muslims is the increase in worldliness and secularism. Excessive love for the world overrides religious values. This situation is what Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) referred to as the ‘Wahn disease’ (love of worldly life and dislike of death). As love for the world increases, fear of death decreases. Therefore, as the Islamic world, we must reassess ourselves.” he concluded.

Solving problems together reflects Islam’s understanding of participation

Tarhan, drawing attention to the fact that the fundamental elements of democracy are also important principles of Islam, said; “Accountability, liberalism, pluralism, and participation, which are fundamental elements of democracy, are also among the important principles of Islam. A family making decisions together and solving problems that arise from these decisions together reflects Islam’s understanding of participation. This understanding, which was important during the time of Omar (Hz. Ömer), maintains its significance in the same way today.” he added.

We created the manifesto based on values and rights…

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan underlined the importance of initiating a values movement, stating that this movement should be supported by universities and other institutions. Tarhan said; “We prepared the manifesto when I went to Kazakhstan. I had a book on values and psychology, and it was translated into Russian. They invited me for the book launch and gave an award. While giving a speech there, it suddenly occurred to me, ‘We must start a values movement.’ I said. They said, ‘Let’s write a manifesto about values.’ The team there actually championed the university, and I drafted and sent the manifesto. We also added Ahmet Yesevi and Farabi. Farabi is truly a philosopher of values. They call him Muallim-i Sani, meaning the greatest teacher after Aristotle. Even if he has aspects that are criticized, he has many brilliant ideas. With Ahmet Yesevi’s teachings, we have been able to gain a foothold in Anatolia. We combined these two names. He promised that if there were 25,000 signatures, he would take it to the United Nations Security Council. However, the mainstream media did not support this at all. The state also did not officially support it. Nearly 400,000 signatures were collected. If these signatures reach 1 million and it goes to the United Nations and is voted on in the Security Council, no one can say no to it. This should also find a kind of support in universities. One or two universities from Ukraine stated their desire to join the signature campaign, and we will add their logos. What was our greatest weapon against the idea? They used to say Islam was human rights. We, however, said human values and rights. There are not only rights, but also values. That is why we created the manifesto not solely on rights, but on values and rights. Because Islam has been the one that implemented human values the most in human history. If we consider the values movement sociologically, these values were most intensely experienced during the Age of Bliss (Asr-ı Saadet). Many human values such as women’s rights and inheritance rights were implemented during the Age of Bliss.” he stated.

Don’t let artificial intelligence control you… 

Tarhan, stating that artificial intelligence is shaped according to people’s intended uses, said; “Artificial intelligence affects fragmented families in families influenced by social media. It also affects families experiencing marital discord. If there is a peaceful and trusting environment at home, the children of those families are not affected by social media. Because children learn meaning. They find peace at home. When they misuse social media, they learn things from their parents. Children use social media according to their purposes. If we use artificial intelligence and social media in line with our purpose, it will serve us like a wild horse. What is nuclear energy, for example? If we use it appropriately for our purpose, it illuminates the city. If we use it in a bad way, it becomes a bomb. That is why artificial intelligence is like this. Therefore, let us use artificial intelligence for good. Be assured that artificial intelligence serves what is good, true, and beautiful. Learn artificial intelligence, but be the subject of artificial intelligence, not its object. Don’t let artificial intelligence control you. Artificial intelligence does nothing to someone who is part of a greater meaning, but it drags along those who live meaningless, aimless lives.” he explained.

“Artificial intelligence cannot be fought, we will use it towards our goals”

Tarhan, stating that a rote-learning, oppressive culture and education system would yield negative results, said; “Currently, we are experiencing the modern guise of the same oppressive culture. A culture of intimidation and rote learning. Currently, schools have a completely traditional education style. The education style of this era is based on experiential learning, inquiry-based learning, and critical thinking. Currently, they tell someone who criticizes to be silent and say that elders are not answered back. If this is the case, how will we discover our talents then? For example, there is fuzzy intelligence. Artificial intelligence brought forth what is called fuzzy intelligence. Lütfi Hacı Askerzade, of Azerbaijani origin, who discovered this through probability calculations and found the reference point for artificial intelligence, went to America. This man discovers fuzzy logic. Artificial intelligence within fuzzy logic. Currently, the learning machine is artificial intelligence. In fact, beyond learning, it is an autonomous robot that interprets and generates ideas because it uses fuzzy logic, which is a new computational method. It performs clustering. It also makes meta-predictions of probabilities, reacting like a weather forecast. It's like 100% Newtonian mechanics. Other logics are also being considered there, and when you have an artificial intelligence that considers all possibilities in this way, a power emerges that you can turn to. Therefore, artificial intelligence cannot be fought. We will use artificial intelligence towards our goals.” he concluded.