Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, participated in the “Gaza and Genocide Symposium in the Context of Islam and Human Rights” organized by Çanakkale 18 Mart University. In the symposium evaluation meeting, Tarhan discussed the background of the events in Gaza. “Events have a geopolitical dimension, but their psychopolitical dimension should not be overlooked,” said Tarhan, emphasizing that behind the events lies a serious religious war and global dominance struggles. Stating that instead of falling into despair, one should be the voice of the voiceless, Tarhan said: “There is absolutely no room for despair. Despair makes us most hopeless and pessimistic, and we lose our will to fight. Let’s do our duty.”
The symposium, held with the participation of important figures in their field, attracted great interest.
Two Spiritual Diseases of the Age: Worldliness and Egocentrism
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who participated in the symposium's evaluation session, drew attention to what he called the two spiritual diseases of the age. Tarhan said; “The assemblies of Muslims and Islamic organizations have turned into neighborhood associations. In this way, they have no impact left. The Messenger of Allah says, ‘There will come a time when Muslims will be like the foam on the surface of water.’ They ask, ‘Is this because of the scarcity of Muslims?’ He says, ‘No, on the contrary, there will be many Muslims, but because they will be like foam, no one will benefit from them or take advantage of them. Muslims will not be able to do anything.’ They ask, ‘How will we know, O Messenger of Allah?’ He says, ‘It is the disease of Wahn. If the disease of Wahn spreads among Muslims, they will fall into this state.’ The first is the increase in the love of this world among Muslims. The everyday definition of this love of the world is secular life. That is, worldliness. It means there is a majority who love worldly life more than the afterlife. The second symptom of the disease of Wahn is the fear of death. They fear death and do not want to die. Currently, both of these exist. There are two spiritual diseases of this age; one is worldliness, and the second is egocentrism. When these two combine, narcissism emerges.”
“A Narcissistic Person Thinks the World Revolves Around Them”
Speaking about the characteristics of a narcissistic person, Tarhan said; “A narcissistic person thinks the world revolves around them. They plan everything according to their own interests, only thinking of themselves. You see, those who govern Muslims only think of their own interests. So, if this is the diagnosis, there are 3T’s in medicine: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Follow-up. After making the correct diagnosis, there is a path to treatment. The path to treatment is to be as Allah wills. In other words, the moment we capture the spirit of the Companions’ era, which would cause the explosion of the Islamic world in the first hundred years of the Age of Happiness, Allah’s help will come. These are the things we need to do in the medium and long term. The things we will do in the short term are other political and personal duties.”
“The Medina Charter Became an Important Reference for Us”
Drawing attention to the ‘Universal Human Values and Rights Manifesto’ signed with Eurasia National University in Kazakhstan, Tarhan said; “We published this manifesto in Turkish and English and opened it for signatures. It has received close to 400,000 signatures so far. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana also endorsed this manifesto. In Turkey, we also sent the senate resolutions to all parties with official letters. The manifesto is the ‘Manifesto of Human Values and Rights.’ In a way, it is similar to the Medina Charter. Just as the Medina Charter united all nations when the Messenger of Allah made it, this is also an important step regarding human rights. The Medina Charter became an important reference for us.”
“We Were Inspired by the UNESCO Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
Giving examples from the Universal Human Values and Rights Manifesto, Tarhan said; “As two academic institutions representing the Asian and Turkish World, namely Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Astana, Kazakhstan) and Üsküdar University of the Republic of Turkey, we were inspired by the lives, works, and legacies of our great personalities who lived on the Silk Road, such as Abu Nasr, Muhammad Al-Farabi, Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, and other world thinkers, as well as the United Nations UNESCO Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we opened our universal human values and rights manifesto for signatures. The obligations brought by the United Nations Charter relate to the equality of rights, opportunities, and justice. There is also an international values education program supported by UNESCO. In the program, values such as happiness, honesty, humility, cooperation, freedom, love, peace, respect, responsibility, simplicity, tolerance, and unity were evaluated under 12 headings by the UNICEF education committee.”
“Look at What’s Happening in Gaza...”
Drawing attention to the fact that the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not valid in Gaza, Tarhan said; “The first article of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’ Subsequently, it states, ‘The right to life, the right to a fair trial, the right to equality, the right to freedom, the right to access health, the right to asylum, the right to protection from torture, the right to obtain essential needs, the right to travel, the right to marry, the right to property, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to peaceful assembly, the right to social security, the right to work, the right to education and learning, and an emphasis on duties and responsibilities towards the community.’ Article 30 states, ‘Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.’ Look at what’s happening in Gaza... El-Farabi, one of the leading thinkers of the Islamic Age, who wrote metaphysical, psychological, and political theories, known as the second teacher of the world and a world-class scholar and philosopher of the Turkic world, divides virtues into ethical and intellectual. Informational, emotional, social, intellectual virtues are defined as social intelligence. Therefore, according to El-Farabi, true happiness is gathered with these virtues.”
“A Global Interrogation is Underway”
Evaluating the events in Gaza, Tarhan said; “Despite all these declarations, we have seen an increase in brutal, disproportionate, systematic terror and violence, as well as attitudes that support or remain silent about it. Humanity hoped that the 21st century would herald an era of global cooperation, but unfortunately, we have seen that this did not materialize at the end of the first evils. Racism and xenophobia, inequality, and horrific human rights violations are rapidly increasing. In fundamental aspects, the world has turned upside down and is once again in danger. The risks cannot be underestimated because the threat is a deadly war on a global scale. Conflicts have deepened, and new dangers have emerged. Nuclear concerns regarding nuclear weapons are at their highest level since the Cold War. Furthermore, climate change is progressing rapidly and significantly. However, 2025, which opens the door to the second quarter of the 20th century, will be a turning point representing a significant stance on issues of war and peace, security, development, the rule of law, and shrinking humanitarian space. This will especially emerge if the international community fails to abandon a completely new peaceful, secure, safe, prosperous discourse, philosophy, architecture, and geopolitical order for our fragile planet. In recent years, we have seen examples in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The events in Gaza have become a concrete example and draw attention to the disturbed global conscience due to the live-streamed terror and violence, reaching genocidal dimensions, on social media. A global interrogation is underway, including among university youth.”
“One Must Not Remain Silent Against the Evil in Gaza”
Citing Dante, Tarhan said; “Dante says, ‘The deepest circles of hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.’ Currently, those who remain unresponsive to this evil have truly become worthy of the very bottom of hell. In other words, if we cannot correct it with our hands, nor with our tongues, we must take a stance against it with our hearts. This is called resistance in psychological warfare. Now, social conscience is being affected, global conscience is being affected. One must not remain silent against the evil in Gaza. The events in Gaza will be a catalyst for the awakening of the Islamic world. Whatever the value of the occupation of Izmir is for us, that will be the value of the Gaza events for the Islamic world. Therefore, opinion leaders need to take a stand here. We need to create this resistance throughout society. If we can do this, all people here will awaken.”
“The Head of the Islamic World Must Surely Be Held High”
Referring to the background of the events in Gaza, Tarhan said; “Events have a geopolitical dimension, but their psychopolitical dimension should not be overlooked. Behind this event are serious religious wars and global dominance wars. We see the Crusades as religious wars, but the Crusades were actually economic wars. The West was poor, the East was rich, and it was a war moving in that direction. This war is also a war to dominate the world. This war is not just about oil; some want to dominate the world. They want to be the bosses of the world; it’s their war. In such situations, the head of the Islamic world must surely be held high. Turkey has shown very good courage and a very good stance as a leader in this regard.”
“We Need to Become the Voice of the Silent Masses”
Stating that instead of falling into despair, one should be the voice of the voiceless, Tarhan said; “There is absolutely no room for despair. Despair makes us most hopeless and pessimistic and makes us lose our will to fight. Let’s do our duty. We are entering a process that will lead to the awakening of humanity. That’s why there are 10 articles we wrote here. Disproportionate use of force, some greedy, insatiable, irresponsible, cruel political god complex... In fact, what Zionism is doing here is ethnic narcissism, political narcissism. So, Zionism is truly trying to take over the world like a global cancer cell, like cancer tissue. It is doing this by leveraging global capital. Therefore, we need to become the voice of the silent masses.”