“With the courage it takes from the disorganization of Muslims, Israel acts like a terrorist organization and murders innocent people without distinguishing between elderly, children, women, babies and civilians.”

President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş participated in “2nd International Serahsi Symposium”.

Giving a speech at the opening of the symposium held in Conference Hall of Pamukkale University Institute of Islamic Sciences, President of Religious Affairs Erbaş indicated that Imam Serahsi has an exceptional place in our history of knowledge, culture, and civilization.

Expressing his thanks to those who contributed to the organization of the symposium, President Erbaş said, “I believe that these meetings, which are organized as a requirement of loyalty to our civilization history and heritage, will make important contributions to the identity and self-construction of our generations. May the Almighty Allah (swt) let our meeting will lead to beneficial results.”

Stating that the scholars, who are the leading figures of Islamic civilization, have made significant efforts to carry the message of the Quran to life in the right way, President Erbaş stated that Imam Serahsi is one of the most distinguished figures that come to our minds in the science of fiqh.

President Erbaş stated that Imam Serahsi, who had a scholarly journey centred on fiqh, is a great scholar in terms of the number and quality of his works, as well as an authority in the Hanefi sect.

“Imam Sarahsi is an exemplary scholar with a sharp intellect, strong will, and inexhaustible perseverance.”

Pointing out that Imam Serahsi is an exceptional person that showed in the best way with his life that nothing can be an excuse on the path of knowledge, President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“Imam Sarahsi is an exemplary scholar with a sharp intellect, strong will, and inexhaustible perseverance. Despite all the difficulties and troubles of his time, the work called al-Mabsut, which he wrote, is a clear proof of this. While he was in prison, he trained his students who regularly visited him. On the other hand, he had them write his work. He never lost hope, and as a result, he brought his gigantic 30-volume work to the Islamic world and humanity. The torch that Serahsi lit in the dungeon not only illuminated his students, but also illuminated Bukhara, Baghdat Basra, Samarkand and Damascus. Al-Mabsut, which has always been the bedside book of Muslims with its influence on understanding Islamic figh over the ages, maintains its key place in our fiqh literature today.”

“Imam Serahsi is an actioner scholar.”

President Erbaş stated that Imam Serahsi, who was not only a alfaqui but also a good theologian and a good hadithist, was a strong figure not only in Islamic sciences but also in the sciences of Mathematics, Algebra, Philosophy and Logic, and that his poems in al-Mabsut also pointed to the literary side of Serahsi and that he was actually a versatile scholar.

Drawing attention to the fact that Imam Serahsi, who lived in a chaotic period when the Islamic geography was the scene of political, social, and economic problems by being exposed to crusader attacks on the one hand, and great disagreements, tensions and fights on the other hand, was also an actioner scholar, President Erbaş talked as “In such an environment, Serahsi, on the one hand, produced solutions to the questions and problems of the ummah with his knowledge, and on the other hand, he lead and guided Muslims with his understanding of fiqh, methodology and doctrine. He did not remain silent in the face of mistakes and injustices, and he did not hesitate to tell the truth he believed in and to warn people, even if the price was prison.”

“We, as Presidency of Religious Affairs, are acting the with a sense of responsibility in introducing exemplary personalities to generations.”

Stating that it has significant importance to introduce the exemplary and leading personalities who have left their mark on the history of knowledge, culture, and civilization with their lives, struggles and works, President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“As the Presidency of Religious Affairs, we endeavour to act with a sense of duty and responsibility at this point. We are working to better recognize and understand our scholars and the works they have inherited from them, and we are trying to do our best in this regard. In this context, as the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation, it was possible to build and put into service the "Imam Serahsi Mosque and Complex", which includes a mosque for 500 people, a Quran course, a library, a guesthouse, a soup kitchen and public housing, in accordance with the traditional Ottoman architectural style, on a 4-acre land in the city of Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan. May the Almighty Allah (swt) bless everyone who contributed. We perform these services as a requirement of loyalty to both our scholars and our brothers and sisters in the geographies where they were born and raised.”

“The attacks that the Islamic geography has been exposed to have disrupted the relationship of Muslims with their own civilization acquis.”

Explaining that they have done a lot of work in order to keep alive the memory of great personalities who have served our exalted religion, Islam, from the past to the present, and to transfer the scientific heritage left to us by them to future generations in the best way possible, President Erbaş used the following expressions, “I think we should pay more attention to this kind of work. Since the political, economic, and cultural attacks that the Islamic geography has been exposed to in the last few centuries have disrupted the relationship of Muslims with their own civilization acquis. This situation, which caused Muslim societies to experience deprivation in terms of religious knowledge, also paved the way for the abuse of religious concepts by detaching them from their context. The terror, division, ethnic and sectarian strife that has been taking place in Islamic countries for years are all reflections of the same problem.”

“Palestine is the scene of unjust, unlawful and ruthless and brutal attacks by the occupying Israel.”

Pointing out that the world, which is under siege of huge crises in social, cultural, political and economic terms, is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history, President Erbaş stated that the endless ambitions of global actors have dragged the world into a total disaster and that problems such as faith, cultural racism, discrimination, violence and Islamophobia have made life a prison for Muslims today.

President Erbaş stated that Palestine, which has been the bleeding wound of Muslims for a century, is now the scene of unjust, unlawful, and ruthless attacks by the occupying Israel, and that Palestinians are subjected to unimaginable massacres and genocide.

Expressing that there has been a great massacre in Gaza for days, President Erbaş pointed out that just as Uzgen and Kyrgyzstan come to mind when Imam Serahsi is mentioned, Imam Shafi, who was born and raised there, should come to mind when Gaza is mentioned, and called on all Muslims to be more sensitive and do their duty in the face of the genocide taking place there.

“All ideologies and policies that claim to bring peace, tranquillity and prosperity to humanity have lost their credibility.”

President Erbaş said that Israel, acting like a terrorist organization with the courage it received from the disorganization of Muslims, murdered all innocent people in Gaza, regardless of the elderly, children, women, babies and civilians, Palestinian babies met death without seeing the light of day, the cries of tearful mothers shook the firmament, and unfortunately, the world watched all these murders.

Underlining that what took place was a human tragedy, President Erbaş said, "This is a crisis of morality and civilization. Experiences have shown that all ideologies and policies that claim to bring peace, tranquillity and prosperity to humanity have lost their credibility. The West, which has trampled on all the values it claims to defend, is now bankrupt."

Emphasizing that there is a perverted belief behind these inhumane behaviours of the occupying Israel, President Erbaş talked as "According to this belief, they see themselves as the masters of the world. They think the earth is their private property. In the Islamic geography, they believe that they will seize a geography that they believe God has promised them and that is expressed by the concept of 'Promised Land' and live paradise there. In pursuit of this superstition, they are turning Palestine into a bloodbath."

Explaining that one of the reasons for the massacre in Palestine is the perverted thoughts of evangelicals, President Erbaş made the following evaluation, "They are currently turning Palestine into a bloodbath in pursuit of this superstition. The leaders of some of the power centres that give them full support belong to the same superstition. They will not be satisfied with Palestine but will continue to make the whole earth uninhabitable in pursuit of their heretical beliefs. For this, they do not take into account concepts such as rights, law, morality, conscience and compassion."

“There is no other way out than for Muslims to act in unity and solidarity.”

Saying, "Undoubtedly, the only possibility that can solve the crises, social, cultural, spiritual and political crises that humanity is experiencing today is the life-giving universal truths of Islam," President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

"Islam is a religion of peace and well-being that defends and tries to maintain the same universal values for everyone, everywhere in the world. In fact, during the periods when Muslims were the dominant power, the world witnessed the best examples of justice, mercy, and good morals. It is the Muslims who give the name of Al-Quds to Darussalam. Al-Quds preserved its feature of Darussalam for 8 centuries until it was taken out of the hands of the Muslims, and after it was off the hands of the Muslims, it was turned into a place where war, chaos and tears were experienced.

Obviously, there is no other way out of putting an end to all these tragedies and eliminating the troubles other than for Muslims to act in unity and solidarity. I believe that on the day we unite with the consciousness of unity, the peace and tranquillity that our ummah has been waiting for centuries will come by itself, and the life-giving principles and values of Islam will bring order to the world again inshallah. Our duty is to work with all our strength for this ideal.

As I conclude my words with these feelings and thoughts, I pray to the Almighty Allah (swt) to give us determination, will, prudence and wisdom to make the world we live in happy with the universal truths of our great book, the Quran, and I greet you all again with my heartfelt respect and affection.”