The conference titled “Sezai Karakoç: A Thinker of Civilization” was held with great participation at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University (BEUN).
Faculty member of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University, Prof. Dr. Şaban Sağlık, participated in the conference as the speaker, organized at BEUN Sezai Karakoç Cultural Center. Along with the BEUN Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Özölçer, senate members, academic and administrative staff, university students, and high school students from various schools in Zonguldak attended the event.
Following a moment of silence and singing of the National Anthem, a short film was screened on the intellectual and artistic world of Sezai Karakoç.
Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Özölçer began his opening speech by stating that they had gathered to commemorate and understand Sezai Karakoç, one of the exceptional figures in Turkish ideology and the literary world. Emphasizing that Karakoç was a thinker who worked on poetry and intellect within a civilization vision and brought love, wisdom, and resurrection together, Prof. Dr. Özölçer said, “Following the master’s lead, we continue to organize significant programs in the fields from literature and philosophy to arts and economics and administrative sciences at Sezai Karakoç Cultural Center. In this spirit, I remember the great thinker with mercy, respect, and gratitude on the anniversary of his passing”. Highlighting that Prof. Dr. Şaban Sağlık is an esteemed name who can convey the intellectual world of Karakoç to broad audiences in a clear way, Prof. Dr. Özölçer concluded his speech by commemorating the great thinker on the 4th anniversary of his passing with respect, mercy, and gratitude.
Participating in the conference as the speaker, faculty member of the Faculty of Education at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University, Prof. Dr. Şaban Sağlık stated that the intellectual world of Karakoç was affected by the wisdom and literature tradition extending from Yahya Kemal and Rumi to Yunus Emre, Hacı Bektaş Veli, and Mehmet Âkif Ersoy. Emphasizing that Karakoç transformed the idea of resurrection into a comprehensive civilizational project through his poetry, essays, newspaper articles, and philosophical writings, Sağlık added that Karakoç, with his storyteller’s voice, established a unique style that called humanity to truth and hope.
Prof. Dr. Sağlık also underlined that Sezai Karakoç, with his strong intuition and intellectual responsibility, issued a remarkably early warning in 1966 regarding the true nature of FETÖ. Citing a passage from Karakoç’s Memoirs, he recalled Karakoç’s statement: “If you declare someone who is fit to be the imam of a neighborhood as the imam of a city, such exaggeration brings harm rather than benefit. And if you proclaim as the imam of the community someone who is not even suited to be the imam of a neighborhood, or as a ‘leader’ someone who cannot even be the sheikh of a small group, you turn truths upside down.” Sağlık concluded his speech by thanking, above all, BEUN Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Özölçer, as well as everyone who contributed to organizing the program.
Hosted by BEUN, the conference titled “Sezai Karakoç: A Thinker of Civilization” ended with the presentation of a certificate of appreciation to Prof. Dr. Şaban Sağlık and a commemorative group photo taken to mark the occasion.
