After witnessing a person, who hails from the pre-1980s friendship circle, being nominated as the AK Party Chairman and Prime Minister candidate, we all have separate comments on this matter. I"m an individual who believes in the change of guards in politics. The National Vision ecole has revealed the political experience and rulership that will form the future"s Turkey. It had opened the doors for a different generation that is fortifying its own existence with the opportunities provided by them. Our youth had passed in between many Islamic, political, communal discussions, from theory to practice. Our arguments around the "What kind of a Muslim should we be in this era" question had never come to an end. The sunny side of the picture is that while we were conducting piercing arguments as a group of friends, this situation had never obstructed our friendships. At this point, I would like to underline the great contributions of women"s constructive attitude. Different from the generation before us, we were coming from an environment that is open to criticism and we had grown up arguing. We had met each other in our 20s and we had witnessed many milestones for our country, and especially in ourselves, together. As life was slipping by in front of us, I believe in the importance of analyzing the phase that had carried Davutoglu to the Prime Minister candidacy.
In order to be an example for the mistakes in adolescences" urgent, wholesale, all in or nothing, stern and aggressive outlooks, I believe that summarizing this phase is beneficial...
Our Islamism adventure had always passed in pursuits. The "Who are we, how should we identify ourselves? What kind of a world should we conceive and establish? How should we live life compatibly to the consent?" question had always existed in our minds in every period and situation, and this had dispatched each one of us to different directions. Ahmet Davutoglu had preserved his restrained religious and devout approach during his youth period, which had passed in between all these clashes of ideas, and afterwards. When I was introduced to him during his time in Bosporus University, as a student I wasn"t wearing a kerchief yet. When I got married and started an Islamic life, our first guests in our home from the religious segment had been the Sare – Ahmet Davutoglu couple.
During the hazy and intimidated environment of post-1980, we had experienced the difficulties in developing a unique Islamic view. The Science-Art Foundation had been established under Ahmet Davutoglu"s leadership during that period. This had caused a parting of ways between madcap Islamists and Islamists that are more compatible. Davutoglu was the leader of the foundation. He was the one that had formed the strategy of the foundation as well. The biggest objective was to raise the youth. The education given under the roof of that foundation had revealed the present political view"s cornerstones. Learning was more important than being regiment. Without science, culture, art and philosophy, the Islamic idea of the modern era wouldn"t have appeared. In order to prevent the Ottomans" defeat against the West to happen again, this understanding should be made prominent with a new language.
The women group, us, had criticized some points in the studies that were conducted. There had been points we found to be disconnected from life and practice. Of course, most important thing was the approach in matters related with women"s issues. I should say that we had found the foundation"s studies in those years a little sterile. As a necessity of a more devout Islamic view, approaches like the ideal of educated mothers had transformed in time. Many of the academician women today, had been raised under that foundation"s roof. The conferences given at the Science – Art Foundation have a great contribution in the education stories of a lot of people, who are in important positions today.
The Science – Art Foundation, which had many studies like cinema, feminism, Islamic history and many other fields for youth to take part in, had been a tool for a silent and efficient service.
Many notional frames, from history and civilization envisagement to geography perceptions and future ideals, had been underlined under that roof. Ahmet Davutoglu had been known as a teacher, not only for the teachings he gave in university circles, but also for being the architect of the educational programs within that foundation. In Turkey, which possesses the jurisdiction that intellectualness is something related to the left wing, these studies had great contributions in changing these prejudices. The biggest specialty of this team had been their success in keeping their distance from current political issues up until today. The mission, who cares about Davutoglu"s information accumulation and forms an idea guide, had always been in the forefront. However, it had shaped the mind worlds of the youth with a slight piece of politics within all these. Nobody finds it odd when the declined is a founder of AK Party, while it was still being established, and then is asked to become an advisor. During Abdullah Gül"s term as Prime Minister, Davutoglu had continued his foreign policy consultancy later in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now he is a candidate for the Prime Ministry. He will be working on forming Turkey"s future in the fields, inside an experienced team and in a line that extends from theoretician to practician. I wish him and his family success. Taking this opportunity, I would like to advise the youth that no success is a coincidence, and underline that success requires a labor-information ideal.
