Aqmal Ahsan

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A village, a town and now a metropol. Excelled in oratory, thrived in school. Best high-school experience was being the founder cum-president of the Media Forum. Now away from thousands of miles to learn something worthier. A fairly good reader, writer and have the passion to manage-and always! Hoping something in between the pearl of the Indian Ocean and heart of the Ottomon Empire. 

 

 

Kafa Kâğıdı:       

What shall I call it, a plight or a bitter truth? Well not so serious but a little. I thought of writing about this issue on this month’s issue of the Fikir Adası. That’s about how far Turks are friendly with the English Language. As I currently stay in turkey I think this article is worthy to written by me not in insult to my Turkish friends but as a complement or aid in a way that induces them to get interested towards learning this precious language which serves as a common language to the whole world at least in a little amount.

In my stay here in Turkey I have come across different people who are students, professionals, professors, teachers, religious figures and many more. What I could observe in many of them was the absence of English speaking ability. This may sound as something weird but this is the prevalent truth among many turks which in most cases even they themselves regret for not knowing it. If it was only a handful of crowd that didn’t knew this or even a half I might in no way have written this; but since this is identified as a gigantic problem by Turks themselves to the extend even the Google shows much results for ‘Why don't Turks speak English’ , I think this must be considered something serious and measures should be taken to remove this huge obstacle  from a fast developing global player.   

English is spoken widely around the world. Whether in the west or east no matter what or where the country is, English is considered merely a common medium of communication at least when it comes to tourism. May be it was the colonial rule by the GB which was spread until the past century that has made the status of English today to be spoken as an official language in about 52 countries and as the de-facto language in 6 countries. Moreover it has also been serving as the Education, business and common tourist language in many parts of the world. Still English speaking is being promoted day to day by reputed organizations like the British council by establishing branches all over the world.

Sri Lanka, where I come from was under colonial rule for about 150 years by the British and was declared freedom in 1948. Since then the importance for English has been much prioritized in many areas and today there is a good crowd of English speaking people to be found. More than 90% of higher education courses are provided in English and there are also many international schools and government schools which suffice the community with English speaking personalities, by providing education in English. 

I think turkey must also adopt an English speaking climate within the country because having a lot of English speakers is going to mean a lot in the future for the burgeoning giant in the region. As a  growing Economy and as a nation which builds bridges between other nations in the region and outer region, Turkey must certainly promote English from now and must consider a dire need. If it could promote and propagate this worthy language with more attention among the university students or from high school itself, it would be as if half of the goal is achieved. Another important reason why this is vital for turkey is because the increasing tourist arrival, currently with more than 3 million per annum. To attract more tourists or to act tourist friendly, this is indeed something a precious magic!

I have seen the endeavor among the Turks to solve this problem. I have seen they pay hundreds of thousands of liras to overcome this, some even fly abroad to an English speaking country in a strong hope that they would solve this. And I have seen that they have reached their goals in many cases too. And what I would like to suggest at this point is that there’s nothing that cannot be learnt. The time may differ but it’s just a matter of passion or how far you show interest towards it, then you solve it. I hope my fellow Turkish brothers and sisters will take this into a serious account. 

While I start to write this passage sitting in one of the lined bench under the shade of a Pine tree before my faculty at the Anadolu University among many young ones like me sitting, chatting and trotting around, I ask an almost strange question to myself; am I lost in this world? Well after some confusing moments the answer pops up in front of me quite clearly-Yes!

Wa..?! I was born to a good family, I had my education at school, I chose my career path, I had not lived a slave’s life so far in fact I have enjoyed the freedom in my life as I’m supposed to be so. So how come that I’m lost in the earth as I’m a hundred percent sure about where I’m seated in even now, as I’ve mentioned at the beginning.

It’s explicit isn’t it? I know where I am and everybody who I use to know are in knowledge of where I am and it’s crystal clear again that I’m not lost at all! Yes, if everything was measured like this on physical basis and on visible reality, why would I come up with such a title?

Let me make a swirl on your brains. Are we really living in a world as it is meant to be living or is it just a virtual kind of world designed for us by some world order design experts? I think the second one is the most appropriate for most of us. Personal Identity is what I’m referring to. Just look around ourselves starting from us, our siblings, friends and others etc. Look at our habits, our behavior, how we spend a day in our life, what are the factors motivating us and so on. When all of these are put together collectively, analyzed and then brought out as a result, what we could say in chorus is that there is or are some forces keeping deciding our lives; we no more can keep ourselves in our own designed boundary nor can find solutions for our own problems. Indeed this must be concerned with an extra attention I guess. This is of course the presence of an invisible world designed for us, the today’s generation. And the designers are those who have resort to earn money inducing the feelings of the growing young generation who are very much flexible and not in least point immune to any kind of attractive elements. And in some cases they are the people who work behind some anti-religious agendas.

Drugs, Alcohol and women were the little fishes in the hook for those unkind looters for some ages. Still with their existence the world has been almost possessed nowadays with an adoring predator. Technology, to call it more decently. Its vitality is in fact defined to the extend as ‘inevitable in our times’. May be true and maybe it was invented as a purpose of service to the modern man. But the ones who have control of it are the very devils who I’m trying to bring before our attention.

We’ve got a beautiful phone today with unimaginable features which are being introduced to us as if in competition every day, we’ve got powerful computers, we’ve got Hollywoods and Bollywoods which presents us with amazing movies as we call it , and now as the latest we have even got our own facebook accounts where we have opened ourselves to the whole world with all our details explicit who we are, where are we from, what are we up to and all the rest of it. I’m sure that if my great grandfather lives now for a moment he will have to find no other word than ‘nonsense’ looking at these.

Did not the previous generations live a happy life? Didn’t they learn, didn’t they earn? Didn’t they have enough time for their family? They were indeed living a pure, beautiful, unlimited life. To put it more correctly, they were the people who tasted every flipping moment in their lives. There were even great heroes among them who fought for great causes and what made them more special was that they weren’t slaves for any or anything except for those who were meant to be slaves because of certain reasons. In short, they lived a legendary life and moreover they preserved this planet for the better living of the upcoming generation; for us!

What are we today? Haven’t we lost our identities? How many of us thought at least to think why do we run after such luxury phones and devices; why is it when every second a new movie is released, it’s made available on the internet for free in spite being a billion dollar effort; and has it ever crossed across us, what’s gonna be so personal after we have made ourselves so public in the internet. Isn’t it triggering us to think that there is some power over every head of us which is being saying us what to do, which’s being directing our lives beyond our controls. So this is what I’m talking about. Why are we living in such a slavery, why is it not for us who can’t design our own destiny? Why can’t we prepare our own time lines which would specify our objectives, draw our mission thereby guiding to our vision, rather than running behind some timeless agendas? What other good word can I find to describe this plight than ‘Slavery’; the modern day slavery I mean.

We have lost our brains; we have lost our minds and our personal identities for the rest. May be I could have made a clear description on how do the above mentioned factors take control of our own lives but let me leave it to you, to your brains to run a little research on it, to make yourself clear to whom and which you are slave and to whom you are not and to construct your own path, your own future which would enrich the future world and of course yourselves. The every ‘you’ mentioned here applies for me as well. Come on, let’s free ourselves, let’s not get lost in any part of this world, as this world isn’t a place which’s meant to be lost.             

Have you noticed the silence of a far dense forest with a melodious flow of a hurrying river on it, or that in the limit’s of the lands where the seas embraces the horizons accompanied by the desperate cries of the hungry sea gulls? Or have you ever walked through a single foot-path on which the leaves loose themselves down letting even the trees unknown? For something that your mind had been longing for that very second, something that would be the cause for the regret of not living that moment, for something that you would pay the worlds as price to get it back but still you wouldn’t, it will after all be but a small familiar concept, Peace and still being unaware of its real meaning. Yes, finally its just this thing that you have been searching for and always has been but an open mystery, never solved by anyone except for a few.

Peace is calmness, peace is serenity, peace is tranquility, peace is advancement and peace totally is beautiful. This beautiful concept has always been stuck with the mankind, and he has always been welcoming it and in fact longing for it in its absence. Alas never do most of them succeed to achieve it because the mode and method they use to crawl towards this precious theory is always something inhuman.

Terrorism is the strongest enemy of peace. This is the first and final resort of all those who hate peace not of those who love it. The world today has an uncountable digit of terrorist movements whom consider themselves to be fighting for sacred causes may be religious, lingual, and ethnical or whatever appears to be differentiating the man. Unfortunately this tactic would but bring hatred and separation between nations moreover within nations. Arms have lost their power anymore; it’s just an expired concept which thrives before us triggered by some international companies to fill their pockets with mega money. Those who tend to adopt this as their mode of struggle have always got a bad news ahead, failure. Terrorism is the symbol of unproductiveness, it gains no profit to any part involved but brings disaster and resists the progression of whomever society carrying it out. The world today would thrive only with peaceful discussions and solutions without violence. This is the emblem of the advancing nations; this is the iconic character of the conversant societies who would always welcome peace and peaceful actions. Only this could lead to achieve more positive results.

The final messenger of islam (pbuh) was indeed a messenger of peace. He transformed the total barbaric illiterate Arab society into a well educated people who would later carry the beautiful message of Islam to various parts of the world, enlightening even the dark deep seas with guidance. The only sword he used was, Peace. He brought both peace to the mind and peace to the world. This beautiful method is an example for the whole humanity, to use the sword of peace to achieve missions. Because, those who have tend to adopt this means since the past have only befallen with success and not with failure.

It’s explicit that the human kind starves for peace today. There is no peace in mind neither in the world. So many selfish minds have corrupted this world which deserves to live in peace and security. Hence, the message of peace should be passed to the whole humanity; it should be made lived both in the hearts then on the earth. The struggle for peace should be initiated in every human mind first of all so that the future generation would only spell the sacred word of peace; never should they long for it as we are now.  

The world totally is in chaos today, and specially the muslim world. Headlines of daily international news do depict some kind of problem somewhere in the muslim world and many of them yes, manipulate news for their own sakes. However when the words ‘Muslim world’ are pronounced anywhere today it only reminds of a disaster other than tranquility. Let’s shortly find for the reason through this work of mine. 

One of the main action introduced by the final messenger of Islam(pbuh) was to unite vivid ideas and people of various nature under one concept; the concept of peace. Unity was one of which he emphasized the most throughout his lifespan and warned about even after death. Hence the religion of Islam is always been a powerful building tool and ever welcomed by any societies around the world because ‘Peace’ is always a global message and it’s the heal for a sophisticated  society with plural views.

But what we see in the muslim world today is something on the contrary. Burgeoning wars, dictatorship, illiteracy, improper management of wealth, social evils and all types of destructions crossing through your mind. This desperate scenario has confused the world with the concept of Islam. This is no doubt a clever depiction of mass destruction in the social and national structure of them muslim world.

But in my view all these happenings are the  flows of two main sources. One is the withdrawal of the muslims from the constitution of their life, Islam and the other is the unfair and and immoral interference of the west into the muslim world. Had it not been for these reasons  the conflicted muslim world we see today would have thrived a land of peace and prosper.

The muslim world was once glittering with knowledge and inventions. It was when the muslim world had known to be in the golden ages whereas the Europe was in the dark. Throughout this time the muslims offered this world a number of inventions among which a many are even considered to be as basics for today’s technology.  This education they got was due to the encouragement of the religion to explore and grasp the knowledge wherever it was available. But on the contrary we see that today’s muslims are away from the religion and thereby the other sciences. If I have to put it through a simple example, muslims have the food but not the spoon; the resource is available but not the mechanism to consume it. And even in the value aspects of life, muslims are so backward. So much indecent behaviors, extravagance, misusing of the term Shariah and more and more.

The next cause for today’s muslim world to be divided is that the west has started to intrude in to muslim nations mostly the arab nations and taken total control of the political system. The main motive behind this is that the availability of resource that are seen crucial by them and the expansion of commerce. They first find the week links in the muslim world and with the help of it, divide it into particles so that it’s more easier to influence the components of it. This’s what they have been doing since the past century. Then what they simply do is to exploit all the resources by waging wars. It’s as if the more instable the Muslim world is, the more stable the West or the modern day representive of the west, US. 

This was a very short article on the divided muslim world and its causes. I just wanted to pinch your thoughts giving up the reasons that I found using my limited knowledge, and I’m sure that such a topic would deserve pages rather ending with a pinch.

What I have picked up as topic for this month is something of high controversy in the modern times, highly spoken under classified subjects worldwide, a topic much related to a population of 1.7 billion people around the globe but inspite all those headlines it makes it’s all about a Deen distorted-Islam.

Islam is a way of  life in a simple phrase. Unlike the concept religion it has invaded every minute particle of the human life and guides the humankind towards a prosperous life. Human mind is the sound focus of this so mentioned constitution. In accordance with the natural state of the human mind it guides this towards righteousness and tends to protect it from evils that are most likely to influence it in negative means.  And yes, the simple form of life is derived from here, all what are good and accordance with the human nature is Islam and whatever against it are anti-Islam. This simple it is.

Unfortunately today the teachings of Islam is misinterpreted in various formats, sometimes helping radical notions be derived along with un based anti Islamic concepts which have finally led a large portion of this world to see it as a religion of terror, a system of bureaucracy, a life of imprisonment and all the rest of it. For some, Islam is mysticism, for some others it’s about a set of law or the so called Shariah. This clearly depicts the state of most of the  Muslims being themselves not clarified of this simple ideology.

Unlike the negative kinds of contexts mentioned above Islam is a way which is much rational to think of and so practical to live out. It has space for people with different ideologies in a society. A welcoming hand is always kept lifted for whoever find for refuge. There’s no place for hate and extreme ideologies in fact it’s a religion which strictly condemn the use of force with regard to religion. No doubt this is an open fort for all those who wish to live in harmony. This is it, this is the most precise description of the so mentioned way of life.

Today because of so many irresponsible ways of behaviors and some misinterpretations of certain radical groups, the beautiful serene picture of Islam has been distorted and very minute parts like the criminal law and obligations pertaining to man and god have been totalized as the whole body of this expansive faith and led way to yield a lot of criticisms and allegories by those who decide on religion on the basis of its followers rather the teachings it consists of.

Amidst all these, Islam is the fastest adopted way of life by thousands of people around the globe especially the western population simply because, the potion to unity and respect for human life is found in this practice. It’s definitely not a Deen worthy of being distorted rather the other way around. 

Followers of History have always known the rich, dynamic yet sophisticated past of Turkey as a country which was ruled and lost by many empires since a very long time in most cases the strategic location of itself being the sole cause. Even the last century stands significant in the history of this great nation for changes like the abolition of Khilafa and the abandoning of scholars as ignorant overnight in the late twenties. The sixties and seventies have also got to relate much bitter experiences of its mismanagement under iron hands.

The tamed old scenario met with a dynamic unexpected transformation when the Justice and Development Party lead by R.T Erdogan won the elections with majority votes in 2001. Until now, It has been in power and activated huge development projects and made democracy widely be practiced within the public non like any other governments which had showed up previously. In its last election the AKP had received a vote of 50% which clearly denotes the support of every one of two persons you see in the street as an AKP supporter which also reveals a truth; majority of the public being satisfied about the ruling party. This is no doubt an outstanding achievement by a single party in considerably a short term.  

The recent disagreement between the AKP and the Hizmet Movement has begun to jeopardize the long lived harmony and merely depicted the repeated nature of the country’s bitter history. The Hizmet movement which has been operating in more than a 140 countries worldwide with beautiful slogans like ‘Peace and Humanity’ has also supported the AKP since it’s coming to the power back in 2001. Since then both the bodies have worked hand in hand to lift the conditions of this valiant Nation until the recent past where both the parties had to disagree on certain matters and the swell began to burst when the government had to make a decision to close extra tutorials in order to benefit the children with extra time for social activities. This was a major hit to the movement as it owns about 25% of such tutorials all over the country which was also a major source of human supply into itself.

The Hizmet or famously other way, Gulen Movement is criticized for numerous reasons like placing of its own personnel into government institutions and defense forces, alliance with the Zionists, handling of huge wealth, misuse of religion etc. in the recent crisis it also is said to have threatened the government personnel along with the Prime minister with secretly recorded cassettes of private conversations. The ruling AKP has also expressed its open critics over the Hizmet Movement for such unethical behaviors in a vital instant where it’s supposed to act with more responsibility.

Whatever the rumors and true news are, the recent dilemma has even managed to disturb the country’s economy to a serious extend. This clearly is a threat to the future of Turkey and will continue to remain as long as the problem is settled by the relevant parties very sooner.

There’s no doubt that both these bodies have had a major impact on the growth and development of this country in the recent past. Hence all negativities should be eliminated from both the sides and agree accordingly in order to work together for the betterment of this nation on an instance where there is more expectations and hope for Turkey from many Muslim countries around the world. Or else the current friction would turn in to a perpetual war which would but make way out for foreign powers to play a game within as it was the plight of the past.  

 

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