Organized for the third time this year by Ibn Haldun University's Alliance of Civilizations Institute, the Civilizations Council was held with the theme "Global Mobility: Civilization, Multiple Narratives and Contested Politics" on October 27-29, 2023. Academics from all over the world were hosted in the 3-day series of events held in Salis Madrasa and Darulkurra on our Süleymaniye Campus.
Our Rector Prof. Atilla Arkan, who made the welcoming speeches at the opening of the III. Civilizations Council, stated that the movements that took place in the past were linked to the urge of people to reach the better and the beautiful, and mentioned that the history of global mobility is as old as humanity. Prof. Arkan mentioned that the reasons for the increase in global mobility in our century compared to the past are the developments in transportation and communication technologies and the fact that what is called mobility has turned into a direct consumption economy within the scope of tourism.
Arkan emphasized that the history of migration epics, conquests and expansionist policies is, in a sense, the history of mobility itself, and that the problems of identity and citizenship and the paradoxes that arise are the new faces of this ancient story. At the end of his speech, Arkan expressed that understanding global mobility from all perspectives is essential for politicians, academics and society in general, and thanked all academics who will contribute to the Shura for their participation.
In his welcoming remarks, Assoc. Vahdettin Işık, Director of the Alliance of Civilizations Institute, pointed out that global mobility, which causes people from different backgrounds in terms of cultural, scientific and intellectual upbringing to meet each other and share their experiences, simultaneously gives rise to a phenomenon called "hybrid identity" as a result of the blending of culture, values, religious concepts and practices. Assoc. Prof. Işık pointed out that as a result of the cultural hegemony of the West, many Western concepts, institutions and forms that are not products of our own tradition are increasingly taking place in our lives. Işık concluded his speech by thanking the organizers, students and all supporting staff, expressing his wishes that the III. Civilizations Council will provide an opportunity to discuss these issues on globalization, which he added that multinational corporations exploit cheap labor in other countries, cultural hegemony, increased production and resource extraction, and thus reinforce environmental problems.
In his opening speech, Prof. Jan Art Scholte from Leiden University emphasized the lack of access to global mobility due to the blockade imposed in many parts of the world, including Gaza, and mentioned that the world is the largest social space for people to find each other and communicate. Stating that global mobility is achieved through bodies, objects and thoughts, Prof. Scholte concluded his speech by stating that globalism, a concept that arouses antipathy because it is a concept that is thought together with Westernism and Modernism, also includes intellectual movements such as "Black Lives Matter".
Prof. Sari Hanafi from the American University of Beirut pointed out that global figures such as the total number of refugees in the world, 78.5 million, 74% of whom are from the Arab region and 15 million stateless people, half of whom are refugees from the past year alone, are alarming today.
Pointing out that the sea has now been adopted as a new geopolitical solidarity area, Prof. Hanafi described today as the era of the rise of identity politics in which people are pushed to assimilation or social isolation, and the instrumentalization of politics and migration and the shaping of religion, integration and identity policies as a result of the wars and conflicts of recent years.
Hanafi concluded his speech by stating that if arms sales and state-sponsored violence against terrorism and terrorism do not end, global civil war and the clash of civilizations, which he called a self-fulfilling prophecy, are inevitable.
14 sessions, most of which were held simultaneously, were held within the scope of the 3rd Civilizations Council
After the 20th century, which is called the "century of migration", the III. Civilizations Council will be organized in the context of social crises such as the Syrian civil war, the Palestinian events and the Arab Spring.
