The opening program of the Mawlid al-Nabi Week of the year 2020 which is held on the occasion of the birth of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) and is organized by the Presidency of Religious Affairs was executed in Ankara with the attendance of the President of Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Giving a speech at the program which was organized in Beştepe People’s Convention and Culture Center, the President of Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congregulated the President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş and his personnel because they have turned the Mawlid al-Nabi Week into an educational opportunity and a chance to reflect and breath for our Turkish nation, especially, and for all the humanity.

Celebrating the Lailat al-Mawlid that the Islamic World shall reach at the night when Wednesday turns to Thursday, the President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan said, "May the Almighty Allah (swt) accept your duas for such night, prayers that you shall establish, and all sharing and benevolences of yours before him. May our Lord, the Almighty Allah (swt), deem us all among the owners of taqwa who has gathered under the Banner of Praise which is aptly-titled as Liwa al-Hamd of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) as we have gathered right here on the Day of Resurrection when a brother shall not recognize his brother and a mother shall not recognize her child. May our Lord, the Almighty Allah (swt), deem us all among those who had the honor of the intercession of our Nabi, the beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw).” 

The President Erdoğan said that they make efforts to spread the goodness, beauties, and values of Islam and humanity in the society starting from the family and they challenge to raise the young and children in the best way.

The President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan talked as, "We, as a nation, had pretty hard times of not being able to teach our children the religion properly and not being able to raise them accordingly with our own culture and traditions during a specific period. We had days when the mosques were sold as a real estate, the temples of worship were turned into stables and the Qur’an courses were shut down. We had times when the Qur’an was taught in train cars, stables and in scrappy houses in a discreet way. The Qur’an courses and Imam Khatip Schools which were established by the support, duas and financial aids of the nation were shut down. As the Master Writer Necip Fazıl said, we had days which are full of hardships, sorrows and embarrassment when to mention ‘Allah (swt) and ethics’ was prohibited in this country.”

Stating that with steps which are full of commitment that they have accomplished in the last 18 years, they not only cleaned such fascist mindset, but also they have materialized several reforms that were unimaginable 15-20 years ago,  the President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan recorded that they have provided every student to pass to higher education in equal circumstances by demolishing the obstacles such as factors of school and school contribution point which discriminate the schools in higher education exams.

“We have made courses such as Qur’an and Biography of the Nabi as elected available to all students”

The President Erdoğan used expressions, "We have waited our children, our girls after school at the doors of schools. Several mothers among us probably experienced such hardship. We also experienced such as the same. And then the climate of spring has come and we got ridden of such hardships.”

Referring that they have put an end to the unjust treatment which has been executed against the vocational high schools and Imam Khatip Schools thanks to the educational system of “4+4+4” while reforming the compulsory education as 12 years, the President Erdoğan mentioned that they have made courses such as Qur’an, Biography of the Nabi and Arab Language as elected available to all students as of the junior high school.

The President Erdoğan said that today, every student who want to can freely learn the Qur’an which is easier to be learned at early ages in schools, and every student who wants to can have an opportunity to learn about the life of our Prophet Muhammad (saw).

Stating that currently, approximately 1 million 300 thousand students are being educated in Imam Khatip Schools of which the number of students decreased to 60 thousands once, the President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan said that the number of students who are educated in the summer Qur’an courses are increasing gradually and they are encouraging the innovative projects that mention about the religious values and the history of Islam.

"Again he elevated the community of the Age of Ignorance to the level to be exemplary for all the humanity”

Stating that our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) who was a fatherless and motherless child himself was mostly the Prophet of children and not only for his grandchildren Hassan and Hussain but also for all the children in Mecca and Medina was he the loved one, the President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan continued his words as follows:

"Again he elevated the community of the Age of Ignorance, who buried the girls alive once, to the level to be exemplary for all the humanity. The one who has taught us all of the good deeds that belong to the essence of the human such as generosity, modesty, compassion, brotherhood, bravery, morals, affection, mercy, justice and respect to fathers and mothers was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw), the Most Loved One. It is not possible to see a negative moment or a negative scene for either our children or the children who belong to other religions in the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw). We should never prevent both our children and all the children from all around the World from witnessing such great example and learning about such fruitful life. Here I wish this Mawlid al-Nabi Week to contribute to blessings and new and innovative studies in such sense.”

“The Islamic world is going through a painful period full of challenges and difficulties”

Pointing out to the problems that have been experienced in the Islamic World, the President Erdoğan said, "What actually worries us and what hurts our hearts the most is the situation that the Muslims live in especially those who live in our geography of heart. The Islamic world is going through a painful period full of challenges and difficulties. We live in a period when atrocities, terror, torture and many more acts prohibited by our religion and our Prophet Muhammad (saw) are committed every passing day and moment.”

The President Erdoğan said that not echoes of adhan, but cries of mothers, screams of children, and smokes from mosques razed to the ground by bombs rise today to the skies in Islamic lands, which had been known for centuries for peace, science and wisdom.

Drawing the attention to the fact that atrocities in Palestine, violence in Rakhine, oppression in Turkistan, terror in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to claim lives in front of the eyes of the entire World, the President Erdoğan talked as, "There are hundreds of thousands of Muslim brothers and sisters of ours who killed, forced out of their homes and lands just because they are Muslims. There are millions of Muslims who have been forced to convert by missioners, whose children have been forcibly taken away. There are millions of brothers and sisters of ours who suffer from violence, oppression and discrimination due to their ethnic and religious identity.”

"I call on all the world leaders” 

Emphasizing that all events which had lately occurred in France and Germany were taking place in front of the eyes of the entire World, the President Erdoğan used expressions as, "I especially call on the Christian world and the Jewish people. First of all, we are all humans. In our religion, being a Christian is not a crime. We protect them just like we protect the Jewish people. I call on all the world leaders; if there is a persecution against Muslims in France, let us all protect and support them.”

Drawing the attention to the fact that the enmity towards Islam and Muslims is spreading like a plague across societies, particularly in European countries, the President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan said that businesses, residences, houses of prayer and schools, which belong to Muslims, suffer every day from attacks by racist and fascist groups.

“Do not appreciate the French products and do not buy those”

The President Erdoğan continued his speech as follows:

"Hereby call on my nation; just like France says ‘do not buy products with Turkish brands,’ I call on my people to not buy French products. Muslim women suffer from insults or physical harassments due to their dresses in the streets, market places, on buses or ferries. The right to education is taken away from Muslim children due to made-up excuses. Not a day goes by that we do not hear news of an attack on a house of prayer or a foundation which belongs to Muslims. Most recently in Germany and Australia. We witnessed a grave catastrophe in Australia before. I call on Chancellor Merkel; what happened to the freedom of faith in your country? Your state was supposed to secure those who practiced their religion. Then how come over a hundred policemen raided a mosque during the Morning Prayer? Have you ever heard of such a thing from Turkey? No, because we truly have freedom of faith. However, they do not have that."

"The European Muslims are being pushed towards structures which feed off of violence and blood in a deliberate, planned and intentional way"

Emphasizing that Muslims are suffering from a lynch campaign similar to the one carried out against the Jewish people in Europe prior to the Second World War, the President Erdoğan continued his words as follows:

"The European Muslims are being pushed towards structures which feed off of violence and blood in a deliberate, planned and intentional way. Brothers and sisters, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) said as follows as if he was describing the present day; 'There shall come a time when a person who behaves patiently regarding fulfilling the requirements of his religion and lives in a way that is appropriate to being a Muslim shall be like someone who holds fire in his palm.’ The scene that we are witnessing is exactly this in several European countries especially in France.

I clearly state that today, being a Muslim in the West, living in a way that befits a Muslim, and leading a life in line with Islam is getting more and more impossible. Sincere Muslims, who only aim to abide by their religion are being excluded and otherized while organizations like the FETO are protected at the highest level. NGOs, which conduct their affairs on a legitimate basis are being oppressed while the path is smoothed for groups, which target Muslims’ lives."

The President Erdoğan said that our religion and Muslims were being held accountable for the murders committed by such terrorists as DAESH and the climate of grudge and hatred against Muslims was being fueled.

The President of Religious Affairs Erbaş: “We should work for our children to prepare for a safe future”

In his speech, the President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş stated that the events for the Mawlid al-Nabi Week of the year 2020 were executed with the theme of “Prophet Muhammad and Child”.

Stating that as individual and the nation, the most essential duty of us to children is to raise them in the best way without any discrimination and leave them a beautiful World, the President Erbaş said, “We should work together at the point of the needs, health, education, protection from any kinds of negligence, abuse and dangers, and preparation for a safe and peaceful future of the children.”

Stating that our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the greatest example for the believers regarding approaching to the children as he is regarding all cases, the President Erbaş, “The Messenger of Allah (saw) defended the rights and goodness of the child at the highest level and put forward the greatest efforts and struggled for this cause during the Age of Ignorance when all kinds of violence, oppression, alienation and abuse against the child became a common case. By destroying the ignorance, bigotry and prejudices in the minds of all, he became an exemplary guide before the eyes of the world with his justice, compassion and affection towards all children regardless of discriminating as boys and girls. We, as his Ummah, should understand the approach of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) to the children, the values that he established and the measures, determine correctly the principles and qualities of the communication that he established with them and raise our children accordingly.”

“We produce programs for our children to learn about our religion and values”

Stating that they pay special attention to the services for the children as the Presidency of Religious Affairs, the President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“We produce programs for our children to learn about our religion and values and improve socially and morally. In this respect, averagely 200 thousand children are enrolled in our Qur’an courses for 4-6 ages annually, and almost 100 thousand children  are educated in our Qur’an recitation courses and over 3 million children of ours have lessons in summer Qur’an courses. We are providing education for almost 60 thousand children in our Qur’an courses that we have established in the regions of Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring. We are working to guide our little ones who live in institutions of social service with the curriculum of ‘Education of Values with Activities’.”

The President Erbaş recorded that in cooperation with Ministries and universities, they have organized many seminars, conferences, trainings and events in order to increase social awareness on issues such as challenge against violence, neglect and abuse against children, protecting children from virtual threats and addiction, and preventing child marriages, discrimination against girls and child labor.

Stating that they have provided millions of children with training of awareness of privacy, environmental ethics and challenge against addiction, the President Erbaş used expressions as, “We are trying to bring thousands of children from the eastern provinces of our country to the western provinces and from the western provinces to the eastern provinces in camps of holiday and activity with the project "There is brotherhood in my summer", to provide them meet and get along with.”

“We have published the Cim (Arabic letter of Jim) Magazine for children”

Giving information regarding the written and visual publications which are prepared for the children by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, the President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“We are trying to teach our religion and values ​​to our children in an entertaining way with Diyanet Children's Magazine, which is a long lasting magazine of our country and has been awarded as the “best children's magazine of the year” twice before the national and international audience with its uninterrupted publication for more than 40 years. Last year, we started to publish an independent Family magazine. This year, we brought two new magazines as available to our children and youth. We have published the Cim (Arabic letter of Jim) Magazine for children as of this October. In addition, as of this month, we introduced the magazine "Geçerken (While Passing)" to our youth. We shall guide our youth regarding the meaning of life with the slogan "To leave a beautiful mark while passing". We have 82 different types of publications which are suitable for the developmental characteristics of different age groups of the children. We are preparing educational sets and materials for our disabled children. We have published 98 types of works in 18 different languages ​​for the children of those who share the same religion and kin as us and who live outside of our country. We are pleased to understand that the programs of children that are broadcasted for 3 hours a day on our Diyanet TV have a wide audience.”

Reminding that the radio theater which is titled as "From Darkness to the Illumination; the Age of Bliss" which we have prepared to understand our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) and to have a chance to know his distinguished companions shall start to meet with its audience as of tomorrow on Diyanet Radio and Diyanet Risalet Radio, the President Erbaş emphasized that this work shall also be prepared in cartoon format for our children with the support of TRT (Turkish Radio and Television).”

"A world with unhappy and unprotected children is always deprived of all beautiful things”

Stating that an era when the children are alienated and exposed to the negligence and abuse, deprived of their fundamental rights and even subjected to discrimination only just because it is a girl has lost the trial of compassion and humanity, the President Erbaş talked as, "Such household, city, country and world whose children are unhappy and unprotected have been deprived of mercy, blessing and all other beautiful things. For this purpose, we shall resume our services for our children with all our hodjas with the spirit of mobilization.”

Stating that during the International Mawlid al-Nabi Symposium that shall be organized between the dates of November 6th-8th on the occasion of the Week, the rights of the child, education of the child, the communication with the child and the current problems which surround the child shall be discussed in all aspects in the light of the Qur’an and in the example of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw), the President Erbaş used expressions as, "Thanks to the composition and poetry competitions which shall be held among our students at schools, our children will both get to know our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) closely and experience the excitement of the Mawlid al-Nabi.”

In the program where the introduction of the radio theater which is titled as "From Darkness to the Illumination; the Age of Bliss", cinevision and animation films which were prepared on the occasion of Mawlid al-Nabi Week were broadcasted, the President Erbaş presented the President of Republic of Turkey Erdoğan a painting with the images of Mecca and Medina that the expression of “O Muhammad!” is written on it with Islamic calligraphy.