"Sufism as a Quality Control Tool" was discussed

The conference titled "Sufism as a Quality Control Tool" with the participation of Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Director General of the Islamic Research Center for History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), was held at NP Health Campus Ibni Sina Auditorium.

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: "There are common denominators between the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and Sufi teachings. The UN has discovered Sufism."

Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç: "Although there is no connection between Sufism and the economic term "quality" at the beginning, if we build the bridges correctly, we can see the connections. In this regard, we receive gratifying feedback from the studies at the Sufi Institute, which pioneered interdisciplinary studies at Üsküdar University."

Rector Advisor Cemalnur Sargut said, "We are working here to teach ethics even to artificial intelligence. This is an indication of the level of interdisciplinary studies centered on Sufi thought carried out at the Institute."

Üsküdar University Institute of Sufi Studies hosted an important conference that brought together the modern world's search for quality with the deep perspective of Sufism. The conference titled "Sufism as a Quality Control Tool", which was attended by Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Director General of IRCICA and Faculty Member of the Institute of Sufi Studies, was held at NP Health Campus Ibni Sina Auditorium.

The program was organized as the first of the newly initiated Quality Commission Events of the Institute.

Prof. Dr. Tarhan: "More than half of the UN's labels are from Sufism..."

Delivering the opening speech of the program, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Üsküdar University, described the university's ranking first among foundation universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking as a "meaningful coincidence" on the very days when this conference was held. Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "This success is the fruit of our university's vision and efforts. When we look, we see that more than half of these labels of the UN are taken from Sufism and Eastern wisdom. The UN has discovered Sufism."

Common denominators between the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Sufi teachings...

Prof. Dr. Tarhan expressed the common denominators between the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Sufi teachings as follows:

"SDG 1 and 2 are the labels of ending poverty and hunger. We are in third place in both of these labels. These labels aim to create decent living conditions. What did Sufism teach us here? 'To love the created because of the Creator'. In other words, love the creature but without severing the bond with the Creator. When you stand like this, you add more meaning to the thing you love, you try not to hurt it, you establish that bond. And he considers it a worship to help the oppressed, the needy, the poor. Imagine, now the goal of 'ending hunger' can be realized if a person engages in social responsibility projects with a sense of worship. The reward system in the human brain works based on self-interest. To activate this reward system, we need a reward beyond death, not a temporary, worldly reward. This is how our brain works."

The concept of ihsan is what we call silent goodness...

Prof. Dr. Tarhan said that people are motivated when they think about the reward of connecting with Allah, the reward of paradise, and added, "This is a motivational technique, it is not self-interest or self-interest. It is to act in accordance with human nature. That desire for reward is a biological weakness of man. Instead of opposing it, it is to direct it in a positive direction. Sufism does this. So the concept of ihsan in Sufism is actually related to this. We try to call the concept of ihsan silent goodness."

Sufism sees justice as an attribute of Allah

Drawing attention to the peace and justice (SDG 16) label, Prof. Tarhan said, "The SDG advocates the rule of law and the abolition of discrimination. Sufism sees justice as an attribute of Allah and teaches that the strong should not oppress the weak. The essence of Islam forbids injustice even with good intentions."
Pointing to the respect for nature (SDG 13-15) labels, Prof. Tarhan said, "While the UN aims for climate action and the protection of life, Sufism sees the soil as 'mother' and the tree as 'charity'. The hadith 'Plant a tree even if you know that the apocalypse will end' is the basis of this philosophy. The awareness that everything is a trust rejects waste and unrestrained consumption."

Sufism says 'Knowledge is the path that brings a person closer to himself and his Lord'

Prof. Tarhan also emphasized the label of quality education (SDG 4) and said, "SDG defends the right to quality education. Sufism, on the other hand, says 'Knowledge is the path that brings a person closer to himself and his Lord'. Today's bloodless jihad is the spiritual jihad with knowledge."

Prof. Dr. Tarhan also reminded the label of equality between men and women (SDG 5) and said, "While the UN aims to empower women, Sufism exemplifies female Sufis such as Rabia Adeviyye and presents being a 'human being' as a gender-neutral goal. The measure of attaining the truth is taqwa, not gender."

The cure for narcissism is virtue ethics

Noting that the purpose of the Sufi institute is to teach virtue ethics, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, "It is necessary to teach it to engineers, to physicians, to everyone, everyone needs it. Humanity has started to feel a greater need for virtue ethics."

Stating that there is a global narcissism epidemic in today's world, Prof. Dr. Tarhan continued as follows:

"The cure for narcissism is virtue ethics. The globalization of Sufism, which teaches virtue ethics, is the remedy for this. Therefore, there is more need for this. When you combine this with science, it is easier for people to believe and practice. Scientific soundness convinces people. That is why we are trying to present Sufism with scientific soundness. Here, in leadership psychology, there is a measure we use to distinguish between a true leader and a false leader. If a leader binds his people (it could be parents, it could be companies, it could be a murshid) to himself, he is on the path of counterfeiting. But if a leader connects them to a cause, to an idea, to an ideal, to Allah, then that leader is a true leader. That is why it is important to be committed to the vision, to the ideals, rather than to the person. The system needs to work without the personalities. All these SDG labels speak of the globalization of virtue ethics. We can say that this is in our Anatolian lore, in the Holy Qur'an, and the way to do this is the teachings of Sufism."

Sargut: "To love Allah is to be free from the bondage of the ego"

Cemalnur Sargut, Üsküdar University Rector Advisor Cemalnur Sargut started her speech with a definition of Sufism that she learned from her mother and said, "When I asked my mother as a child, 'What is Sufism?' I received the answer, 'It is to feel relief in the heart in times of distress and trouble.' When I thought about how this could be, I met Allah, whom I did not know yet. Loving Allah is to be free from egoistic bondage such as jealousy and excessive fondness."
Stating that the Institute for Sufi Studies, founded with Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan's farsighted vision, is the realization of a dream, Sargut said, "Now engineers, architects, doctors, people from all branches are taking action to learn morality here.

We are working to teach morality even to artificial intelligence

Underlining that Sufism is never against science, Cemalnur Sargut stated that on the contrary, they aim to accept science and embed the best morality into it. Sargut said, "Morality-based studies, including artificial intelligence, are being carried out here. " she said.

Prof. Dr. Kilic: "Allah says I created you in the most perfect form"

Prof. Dr. Mahmut Erol Kılıç, who gave a conference titled "Sufism as a Quality Control Tool", stated that the primary source of Sufism is the source of Islam, namely the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad, and said, "Allah (swt) says 'I created you in the most perfect form'."

Prof. Dr. Kılıç stated that the process of Sufism, the process of human perfection can be realized through education and training and said, "But this education, unlike the modern philosophy of education, is not a cumulative education. Because that person already carries the knowledge needed to reach perfection in his nature, in other words, in his essence. What is to be done in this process is only a reminder. That knowledge is already available in him."

One of the most fundamental concepts in terms of Sufism is 'ihlas'...

Noting that Sufism is not only an individual path of spirituality, Prof. Dr. Kılıç said, "The first is the importance of intention. In terms of Sufism, one of the most fundamental concepts is 'ihlas'. It is sincerity and sincerity. When we evaluate this concept in terms of business ethics, it is very important how sincere a person is while doing their job, how clean their intentions are. Even in quality control processes, this is questioned in a way, "Is the person's intentions right?" Secondly, there is the issue of internal audit. Questioning oneself. That is, being able to say, 'Am I doing the right thing? This is called 'murakabe' in Sufism. In fact, this accounting should be done daily. One should hold oneself to account with questions such as 'Did I do something wrong today?', 'Did I break a heart? Overlapping points can be seen between 'self-accounting' in Sufism and quality control in modern production. There is also a process of 'purification', that is, 'purification' in Sufism. A triple stage is mentioned: evacuation (emptying), purification (purification) and purification (purification). Again, there is an authority called ihsan in Sufism."

Sufism's concept of justice and altruism...

Stating that there are other important concepts that can be taken from Sufism, Prof. Dr. Kılıç said, "For example, the concept of 'justice', that is, being fair. Skills such as acting justly in the work environment, working in harmony with teammates and creating a synergy are related to this. In order to provide this environment, some virtues such as 'altruism', that is, giving from oneself, thinking of others, making offerings or bestowals are required. These positive and constructive features of Sufism can sometimes be useful to others. Because altruism, that is, making sacrifices for others, only makes sense if the other party approaches it with the same intention. In other words, I give of myself, and he gives of himself to me; thus a balanced and beautiful relationship is born. Again, one of the important concepts of Sufism is 'austerity'. Lifestyles such as being content with less, eating less, talking less, sleeping less are recommended."

Yoga and meditation are religious rituals

Stating that practices such as yoga and meditation are practices of Far Eastern religions, especially Hinduism, Prof. Dr. Kılıç said:

"In a hadith of our Prophet, it is narrated that 160,000 prophets were sent to the earth. In the Holy Quran, if we accept Lokman as a prophet, we know only 28 prophets whose names are mentioned. So there is a big difference between 160,000 and 28. This shows that there may have been thousands of prophets whose names are not given to us. We do not know who they were. In this context, we should not confine ourselves to a narrow framework. For example, Lao Tzu, Buddha, Confucius... Why shouldn't they be prophets? As a matter of fact, some Islamic scholars such as Mawlânâ Jalâleddîn-i Rûmî considered these names as prophets.

The revelations revealed to these prophets include the worship of those religions. For example, yoga is a worship that is like the prayers of those religions. There are various degrees of yoga. The highest types of yoga, such as Hatha Yoga, are completely metaphysical practices. These practices overlap with spiritual practices that aim to reach the 'nafs-i kâmile' level in Sufism. Lower level yoga practices are aimed at controlling the breath and the body. Such practices can also be considered forms of meditation with physical and biological effects. But it is important to remember that yoga and meditation are not just physical or mental practices; they are also religious rituals, religious acts."

The essence of Far Eastern sports are rituals performed in temples

Prof. Dr. Kılıç stated that the essence of Far Eastern sports is not a philosophy of competition such as defeating the opponent, killing the enemy or prevailing over him, and that these practices are purification of the human soul. "These practices of the Far East are actually not sports, but rituals performed in temples. As a matter of fact, in our philosophy of chivalry, in the upbringing of the youth of futüvvet and in the culture of alp-eren, such strength and discipline practices were performed on young people. However, when these teachings came to the West, they lost their meaning and were transformed."

"Sufis must be much more careful and conscious"

Explaining that Sufism's goal of the "beautiful human", "perfect human", "peaceful human", that is, the individual who is in harmony with himself, his society and his environment, should not become a model that some circles desire, want to own and even use, Prof. Dr. Kılıç said, "A true Sufi should be aware of this. In other words, he should be able to ask the following question: 'Who wants to benefit from this model of goodness and peace through me?' This aspect is extremely important. On this point, there are some remarkable texts written by Buddhist and Daoist writers and philosophers in China. They put it this way: 'The West has taken our system of values and appropriated it. From this point of view, we also need to be vigilant'. Especially Sufis should be much more careful and conscious about this issue."

"A Sufi is tolerant towards everyone; but he is not a sucker"

Prof. Dr. Kılıç stated that there are some international structures that are seriously investing in Sufism and that some international powers once supported the discourse of "tolerant Islam" and said, "Today, the same powers are trying to invest in Sufism this time: 'We should turn towards Sufis', they say. Let me tell you frankly, I receive invitations from many international institutions and structures. Sometimes I even attend these invitations. They think they can easily use us. But I can clearly say 'No' to those whose intentions are very clear and obvious. However, some situations can be more indirect. It is necessary to be vigilant there too. Because a Sufi is tolerant towards everyone, but he is not a sucker. A Sufi does not persecute anyone; he cannot be the instrument of persecution. If someone is still practicing atrocities, for example slaughtering innocent people in Gaza, and then organizing a 'Sufi symposium' in Tel Aviv, we cannot find it credible."

One of the main missions of the Institute is to serve the community.

Institute of Sufi Studies - Deputy Director Dr. Lecturer. Prof. Dr. Cangüzel Güner Zülfikar stated that one of the main missions of the institute is to serve the society and said, "We have a unique position as Sufism represents not only a scientific but also a moral, spiritual and cultural field. The Institute of Sufi Studies continues its improvement efforts with surveys with the support of Üsküdar University Quality Control Student Club, Zülfikar said, "We carry out all our work with the principle of 'Service to the public is service to the right'.

A family photo was taken at the conference, which attracted great interest. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Cemalnur Sargut presented a plaque to Prof. Dr. Mahmut Erol Kılıç in memory of the day.