In our university, an online conversation on "Understanding Mehmet Akif from the National Anthem" was held within the scope of "The Acceptance of the National Anthem and the Commemoration Day of Mehmet Akif Ersoy".
Rector of our university, Prof. Dr. Ali Akdoğan and Gazi University Faculty of Education Turkish and Social Sciences Education Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Gıyasettin Aytaş attended the program which was moderated by Prof. Dr. Sadullah Gülten as a guest.
Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Akdoğan talked about his work titled "Human, Islam and Society According to Mehmet Akif Ersoy" and gave information about the process in which Mehmet Akif Ersoy wrote the Anthem of Independence. He stated, “The National Anthem has a separate and sufficient and even more meaningful meaning in terms of understanding Akif's feelings, thoughts, love for the country and nation. When the anthem is sung, it instills the children of this country with the consciousness of willingly sacrificing their souls, if necessary, in order to love their homeland, nation, flag and religious values and protect them. The National Anthem in itself gives a message to our nation and its children. What Akif says is to know the value of our values, to make sacrifices and to be in the ideal of keeping them alive. Akif is a writer and poet who has taken the problems of this country as a problem for himself and who is connected to his country and nation. In this context, Akif encouraged the people to join and support the National Struggle by visiting various provinces of the country at the point of raising awareness in the struggle for Independence, and motivated people to give their hearts to this case. Our National Anthem appears as a magnificent poem that inculcates the idea and feeling that faith is superior to any material condition. Akif's emotional connection between the verses starting from the first continent of the Turkish National Anthem shows the reflection of our beloved nation's consciousness of independence in poetry. In the War of Independence, there is no other poem that expresses the excitement, hope and faith of our great nation better than the Independence Anthem. These lines, in which Akif describes the magnificent struggle of our nation, guide us and future generations.”
Gazi University Education Faculty Turkish and Social Sciences Education Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Gıyasettin Aytaş stated that it should be asked what is built on the Turkish National Anthem written 100 years ago in his speech. He stated, “ Looking at each of the anthems currently used by the nations of the world, all of them remain as texts formed around a person, shaped by the soul, excitement and desire of the human being, and these texts have only mediated a common discourse. None of them is a text that emerged from the nation's own spirit and excitement as our Turkish National Anthem. Knowing the past means walking to the future more confidently. Intellectuals who raise awareness in societies and explain the importance of the future together with the past have always been leaders of the society and have become the locomotive of their society. In this context, to recognize and understand Akif, as he is not only the poet of the Turkish National Anthem in terms of being a separate and special function among the intellectuals of the period, but also because he has a multi-faceted identity and can be a role model in personality building, we need to grasp and internalize these features of it in our own soul.”
The online conversation ended after the question and answer session.