Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan participated as a speaker in the commemorative event held by the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation for the “62nd Anniversary of the Passing of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi Hazretleri”. Tarhan made important evaluations about combating Islamophobia, which is one of the current issues; “The fight against Islamophobia should be a struggle of ideas-with-ideas, a struggle of proof-against-proof. Bediüzzaman’s chosen method was also a proof-against-proof struggle. He advocated that the most important method in this era would be with the pen, not the sword.” he said.
“As Üsküdar Üniversitesi, we commemorate the late Nursi every year”
The opening speech of the program was delivered by Said Yüce, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who participated online in the commemorative program for the 62nd anniversary of the passing of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi; “As Üsküdar Üniversitesi, we have been commemorating the late Nursi every year since our establishment. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we commemorated him online and continue to do so. In this context, we had prepared a program for March 26. The subject of the program was related to Bediüzzaman’s famous and very important 'Positive Action Thesis'. Unlike traditional Islamic culture, Bediüzzaman defined jihad as a spiritual jihad, which was actually a definition of jihad in accordance with the Prophetic ethics of the original period of Islam. He called it spiritual jihad and referred to it as positive action as a method.” he stated.
“Combating Islamophobia must be a proof-counter-proof struggle”
Making inferences about the methods of combating Islamophobia, Tarhan made statements about the methods developed by Bediüzzaman. Tarhan; “It was an interesting coincidence that the United Nations chose March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. We had wanted to commemorate this on March 26 and address the issue of Islamophobia. I am conducting studies in the field of human psychology as a method to end Islamophobia. As the Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, I approached Islamophobia from that perspective. The fight against Islamophobia should have been a struggle of ideas-with-ideas, a struggle of proof-against-proof. Bediüzzaman’s chosen method was also a proof-against-proof struggle. He used the method of persuasion and conviction. He advocated that the most important method in this era would be with the pen, not the sword. With the program we organized, we wanted to highlight the Positive Action Method as a method to combat Islamophobia.” he said.
“We need to highlight the positive action method in the fight against Islamophobia”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, mentioning that necessary studies on the positive action method and Islamophobia are being carried out by Üsküdar Üniversitesi; “The UN’s choice of March 15 as the ‘International Day to Combat Islamophobia’ means that it recognizes Islamophobia as a threat. This provided an opportunity for me to convey Bediüzzaman’s views on this matter to you. We thought, from our perspective, that destiny was telling us we are on the right path. Therefore, I believe the Islamic world needs to highlight Bediüzzaman’s Positive Action method, which he put forward as a Prophetic style by preserving the essence of Quranic morality and the essence of the Quran, in the fight against Islamophobia. As Üsküdar Üniversitesi, we have published our books on this subject. We are also carrying out the necessary work, and as a university, we must generate a universal flow of information regarding this.” he stated.