Risale-i Nur oriented educational cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey

Between the 15th and 19th of September, 2019 the IFSC engaged in a series of official meetings, seminars and discussions with professors, students, rectors and other officials from a variety of institutions both in Ukraine and Belarus.

We visited Prof. Dr. Victor Katsur, Rector of Pereyaslav University as part of a joint training project between the Pereyaslav State Education University of Ukraine and Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture.

Rector Katsur pointed out that for the teaching of moral values which is needed by humanity, they want to develop further relations with IFSC and Turkey. The faculty members and students also shared their ideas on security, conflict, racism, and marginalization which are the common problems of humanity and how they can be solved.

In her speech, Natalia Ihnatenko, Dean of the Faculty of Education, said “Nursi proposes very significant solutions for the contemporary problems of humanity. I wish we have Turkish lecturers to learn Turkish to read Said Nursi’s ideas in his original language.”

The president of the foundation, Said Yüce underlined the importance of moral values education in his speech:

“I believe that there are several important factors that are contributing to the problems that we are currently experiencing in the modern world.

Many thinkers and intellectuals frequently tell us that our current problems originate from a fundamental and unresolved failure and breakdown of morals and conduct. On the one hand, humanity has dizzied itself with a very rapid increase in technological and scientific development; but on the other hand it has forgotten the fundamental principles of life and it has neglected to put any emphasis on the values of humanity.

As a result, the aims of humanity have been geared towards chasing money and living a consumer lifestyle. Humans have largely forgotten the spiritual dimensions of their life. While homes have gotten larger, the families residing within them have gotten smaller and become fragmented. While the outer-most reaches of space have been explored, the road to the inner world of humanity has become neglected and most untravelled. Our means and tools of communication have developed but yet our communications with our relatives and neighbors have been severed. As the number of news and information channels have increased the extent of trustworthiness and righteousness has decreased. The truth has become veiled and obscured.

So despite such developments in technology, there have been increases in spiritual problems, societal instabilities, global crises, and environmental crises. However, the true purpose of the sciences and humanity should have been to pursue a better understanding and acquaintance with the aims of creation and its miraculousness. 

I wonder if, upon the conception and the formation of the goals and applications of the modern sciences - some fatal wrong had been committed? Have the rise in knowledge and amenities been used solely for the purpose of serving personal benefit and material needs? Can such deficiencies in belief and spirituality be a reliable source for good governance or even protecting society from terrorism and extremism?

Could it be that the loss of spirituality lies responsible for the descent of mankind into loneliness, unhappiness, insensitivity and obstinacy? These subjects should have been thoroughly investigated and humanity should have lived honorably as he was intended to. It is known that in order to remove such problems there have been many studies conducted by a variety of social foundations and institutions. But while partial success is achieved through measures where the spiritual aspects of humanity are neglected, most of the time such works run into obstructions or even make things worse. Thus, while the world is shrinking, the problems are growing and threatening the material-spiritual future of humanity.

Despite the existence of various measures employed by education systems, laws, security cameras, jails and other similar instruments – the amount of crime in the world has not decreased. On the contrary, it has increased. Thusly, we cannot rely on material means and measures as solutions. We are instead thinking of a way to place into peoples’ hearts and souls a true understanding that influences people towards propagating moral and spiritual values and which also keeps them away from bad actions.

So, in this sense we came to talk to you about what can be done with respect to these issues. I want to again express my thanks as well as to wish a successful future co-operation together.”