Forty students from five different countries came to Van within the framework of the international Erasmus+ Youth Project titled “ECO-FUTURE”, approved by the Turkish National Agency and financed by the Erasmus+ Youth Exchange Program. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Head of Philosophy Department Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir met with his students at Van 100. Yıl Üniversitesi within the scope of an exchange program. Özdemir stated that 90 percent of fires are caused by human negligence and unconsciousness, saying, “The rate of terror-related fires is 7 percent. Therefore, conspiracy theories should not be credited. We should question ourselves first.”
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir was the main speaker of the project aiming to raise awareness on ecology and climate change, and his topic was “Environment in Anatolian Culture: An Alternative Look at Ecology.”
Prof. Dr. Özdemir started his speech by giving examples of natural disasters that occurred in the world and our country in the last week, especially floods and forest fires, saying: “The lungs of our country and our people are burning.” He then spoke about the ongoing fires: “Scientists agree that the natural disasters we are experiencing are a result of global warming. The real problem is that governments are caught unprepared for these disasters. Even a developed, strong, and rich country like Germany admitted that it was unprepared in this regard; it apologized to its people.”
Prof. Dr. Özdemir stated that the efforts shown day and night by officials and the public during the fire were beyond all praise, but that the same effort and sensitivity should also be shown in protecting our forests, seas, lakes, rivers, in short, our environment, before fires break out: “The important thing is to correctly understand global warming and to take precautions by anticipating the consequences it will cause.” he said.
“Anatolian People Developed an Environmentally Friendly Approach”
Prof. Dr. Özdemir stated that Islamic metaphysics forms the background of the traditional environmental consciousness of the Anatolian people; “Representatives of the Islamic mystical tradition, from Mevlâna, Yunus Emre, Hacı Bektaş to Said Nursi, interpreted the relationship between Allah, man, and the universe in Islamic metaphysics, and developed an environmentally friendly approach. This understanding became eternal with the saying of the 13th-century Sufi poet Yunus Emre, “We love the created for the sake of the Creator.” This understanding was concretized and crowned by our ancestors establishing foundations for migratory birds; and benevolent practices concerning dogs and cats.” he stated.
“Muslims Get Along Well with All Living and Non-Living Beings”
“The observations of travelers visiting our country, like yourselves, regarding the human-environment relationship of the Anatolian people are very meaningful and interesting. The French lawyer Guer, who traveled through Ottoman lands in the 17th century, mentions the existence of a hospital in Damascus specifically for the treatment of sick cats and dogs. The famous statesman and poet Lamartine summarizes the human-environment relationship in Ottoman society as follows: “Muslims get along well with all living and non-living beings; they respect trees, birds, dogs, and indeed everything created by Allah; they extend their compassion and mercy to all these poor animal species that are left abandoned or tormented in our countries. Water buckets are placed at regular intervals in all streets for neighborhood dogs; some Turks, when they die, establish foundations for the pigeons they fed throughout their lives, ensuring that these animals continue to be fed after them.” he said.
“We Cannot Change the Laws of Nature, But We Can Change Ourselves Based on Knowledge…”
In the final part of his speech, Prof. Dr. Özdemir drew attention to the role of education in forming environmental awareness and protecting the environment:
“Compensating for the damage caused by natural disasters is a heavy burden for all states. We can raise awareness among officials and our citizens with educational campaigns that cover all segments of society. We cannot change the laws of nature. But we can start by changing ourselves based on knowledge.
According to the data from the Ministry of Forestry, 90 percent of fires are caused by human negligence and unconsciousness. The rate of terror-related fires is 7 percent. Therefore, conspiracy theories should not be credited. We should question ourselves first.
This means that if our people are environmentally conscious, many problems will be solved before they arise.” he stated.
“Today, We All Should Think About What Kind of Environment We Will Leave As a Legacy”
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir said, “Will our children live in a country where rivers, lakes, and seas are clean, and mountains have green forests? Or in a country where seas, lakes, and rivers are polluted with industrial waste? We need to decide this today.”
The Q&A session of the conference was the scene of very heated discussions. Prof. Dr. Özdemir tried to answer the students’ questions about the environment, forest fires, and our country one by one.