19 May 2025
After a four-year break, our symposium once again brought together young researchers working in the fields of Islamic studies and social sciences, who stood out with their interdisciplinary papers.
Knowledge, Wisdom, and Curiosity at the Opening
The opening session of the symposium featured inspiring speeches that set the tone for the day. Rector of Marmara University, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt, emphasized that universities are the centers of intellectual production and scientific progress, highlighting the importance of the contributions young academics make to the generation of ideas. Prof. Dr. Kurt noted that programs like this build strong bridges between the academic community and students.
Board Member Dr. Esra Albayrak underlined that when knowledge does not serve humanity, it can become a tool for genocide and massacre:
“We know we live in an age dominated by reason, but we also see that conscience has fallen silent. From Gaza to Syria, from Myanmar to Sudan, what we are witnessing painfully shows us that if knowledge does not serve humanity, it can become a tool for great massacres and genocides. In Türkiye, we want to serve young people who question, think, and place compassion and justice at the center. We want to raise a generation that thinks and produces solutions not with imported concepts, but with its own. For centuries, Western-centered epistemology has dictated what is valid, whose word matters, whose voice can be heard, and whose experience is deemed valuable. The clearest reflection of this can be seen today in Gaza—in how knowledge is produced and circulated in the context of the genocide taking place there.”
TÜRGEV Chair of the Board, Attorney Hatice Akıncı Yılmaz, also addressed the audience, reminding them of the role curiosity plays in humanity’s journey to understand itself and existence:
“We are not here today merely in pursuit of knowledge. Curiosity is the oldest instinct driving humans to understand themselves and the world around them. TÜRGEV Academy is like a second university, transforming this instinct into intellectual depth.”
Young Minds Speak with Critical Thought
Held in two sessions—morning and afternoon—the symposium featured evaluation panels after each set of presentations, helping students strengthen their critical thinking skills. Some of the notable topics discussed this year included:
• Session I: The Right to Be Forgotten in the Digital Age; Organ Transplantation from the Perspective of Islamic Law; The Commodification of Breast Milk.
• Session II: Culture and Civilization in the Thought of Alija Izetbegović; Psychosocial Factors in Joining Sufi Orders; Debates Between Modern Psychology and Psychology Based on Islamic Sources; An Islamic Perspective on the EU’s Gender Approaches.
The papers presented by young academics not only conveyed knowledge but also demonstrated strong examples of building an intellectual connection with society.
Tribute to Palestinian Academics
At the end of her speech, Chair Yılmaz’s remarks on Palestinian academics left a deep impression on the audience:
“We greet Gaza and Palestine—now the teachers of humanity in our age—and the Palestinian academics who have left humanity with an honorable stance not only through thought and production, but also through resistance, with both respect and humility.”
The symposium will be remembered as a powerful gathering where young people combined their scientific curiosity with critical thinking, while also reflecting on their moral and ethical responsibilities.
