Public Announcement
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
There have been outrageous and unacceptable attacks on the Qur'an in Europe recently. The Kırıkkale University Senate believes that global values should be upheld by all countries, groups, and individuals. We draw the public's attention to the Senate Decision that was adopted with this objective in mind.
All people have fundamental rights that derive from the value of human life. Once considered a domestic issue of governments, human rights became a significant worldwide issue after the devastation in Europe. The Council of Europe's member nations signed the European Convention on Human Rights to address this issue. The Convention protects freedom of expression, opinion, conscience, religion, and many other fundamental rights. The Convention also considers the harms brought on by the unrestrained enjoyment of rights. It contemplates limitations to safeguard freedoms, provided that they are enacted by law. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that statements that challenge a believer's religious principles are ineligible for protection under the Convention. Freedom of expression also entails obligations and liabilities for the recipients, so expressions comprising hate speech are not covered by the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the Convention, all kinds of expression that foster intolerance, justify hatred, instigate it, and advance it must be discouraged and even punished.
Islamophobia and hostility toward Turks and Muslims are frequently on the list of hate speech offences, especially in the West. In our world, there must be a just order and a culture of peace based on respect for other people's views and human rights. The UN General Assembly designated March 15 as the International Day for the Elimination of Islamophobia with this goal in mind, led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, more has to be done to combat racism and Islamophobia, which continue to jeopardize global peace as well as human safety and well-being. Recent events demonstrate that anti-Islamism, one of the most blatant types of prejudice, has strengthened, and discriminatory views toward Muslim people and groups have intensified.
The notion of co-existence, which emphasizes the acceptance of each other's presence by segments with different religions, cultural values, or thoughts, is only one aspect of the culture of living together, which also involves adopting different ones and interacting and cooperating in harmony. Historical evidence demonstrates that Western civilization has not been as successful in establishing this culture as Islamic civilization. The majority of the immigrants victimized by prejudice, hatred, and aggressive crimes in the West are from Muslim populations. Western civilization fails to struggle mightily to embrace what it perceives as the other, integrate them into society, and treat them with respect and tolerance because it has historically failed to create a healthy culture of coexistence.
The fact that the racist politician who was responsible for the heinous incident in Sweden received death threats and that the Danish and Swedish authorities did nothing despite the gravity of the situation and the obvious danger this posed shows that Islamophobic policies are intended to support any potential events that threaten public order in these nations.
Respectfully announced to the general public that the Senate of Kırıkkale University condemns the act as a heinous violation of the fundamentals of international law. We urge everyone with a conscience to band together in opposition to acts of all types, hate speech, and Islamophobia that undermine the culture of coexistence, notably the national and worldwide academic community.