Cewi gave a presentation on “What Should Be Done to Uphold the Human Rights of the Kurdish People, an Important Member of the Islamic World” at the meeting, which was held via video conference this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At the beginning of his speech, Cewi thanked the officials of İTTİHADU ULEMA, especially Suat Yaşasın, for holding the meeting that brought together many distinguished scholars across the Islamic World.

“The recognition of fundamental rights of Kurdish people and the cohesion of Kurdish and Turkish people in accordance with Islamic brotherhood will structure an insurmountable wall against enemies of Islam,” Cewi said.

“As Muslims, we believe that the implementation of the Islamic law, that its principal source is the Holy Quran, is the best of all man-made laws,” Cewi said, adding: ”In the Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty says that ‘O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.’  When we read and think about the other verses of the Qur'an, we see that the prophets and messengers came to be useful to their people in this world and in the hereafter. For example, Prophet Moses (Peace Be Upon Him) is mentioned 136 times in the Qur'an. In these verses, it is not mentioned about the prayer and fasting he performed, but about his struggle for the rights of his people. All the other prophets say, 'O my people…'. When the era of the prophets ended after the last Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), the era of their heirs, the scholars, began. Their first duty is to guide their people to the right path; The second is to defend their people when they are subjected to injustice and aggression.”

“The borders that divide Islamic World”

“Islamic Caliphate went through various periods after the death of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). The first of those periods was the Rashidun Caliphate that was followed by Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasi Caliphate, and Ottoman Caliphate.

Although the Ummah went through some trials and tribulations in those periods, Muslims from all ethnic groups, Turks, Arabs, Kurds, Persians, etc., felt that the Islamic state embraced all of them. None of them felt a sense of alienation from the state.

This situation lasted until 1922 when Ottoman Empire came to an end. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, every nation took its share from the territory of the caliphate. But some captured the shares that belonged to their brothers. Then they established their state on these lands. The Sykes-Picot Agreement that was signed by imperialist powers aiming to divide Islamic World confirmed the border between these states. Then, each state started to boast about its own ethnicity and named the states they established with the name of their ethnicities. One named its state the Republic of Turkey, the others as the Arab Republics, or the Persian Country.

 Although those living in Turkey were not Turks ethnically, they had to introduce themselves as Turks. Those living in Iran described themselves as Persians and in Arab countries as Arabs.”

I am amazed at the ones who lied and those who knowingly admit to being lied to. One of them is a liar and the other one accepts a lie, what kind of states are they established by them?”

“Muslim people living in Turkey lost their Kurdish ethnic identity”

“In the early nineties, when Turkey’s Kurdish Muslim felt they were losing their ethnic identity and the waves of Marxism and Turkish nationalism were affected them from the right and the left, a glimmer of hope appeared in the establishment of parties that were not nationalists, but have Islamic ideas, such as the Welfare Party led by Necmettin Erbakan. When this party emerged as the first party in the elections, it was CLOSED by the Court. Following this, the Justice and Development Party started its political life under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The party that won the majority of the municipalities first came to power by winning the general elections,” Cewi said.

He concluded his speech as follows: “Now, a relation has emerged between the status of Syria’s Kurds and the rights of Kurdish people living in Turkey due to weakness of Assad’s regime. Kurds carry considerable weight in Turkey with their population. The recognition of fundamental rights of Kurdish people and the cohesion of Kurdish and Turkish people in accordance with Islamic brotherhood will structure an insurmountable wall against enemies of Islam.” (ILKHA)