The Ministry of National Education announced to the public, in a letter sent to the governors\u2018 offices of all 81 provinces, that events under the theme \u2019Ramadan at the Heart of Education\u201d will be organized. It was noted that Ramadan festivities will be held with elementary school students in all 81 provinces, while discussion programs will be organized for middle and high school students.<\/p>\n
In its letter, the Ministry of National Education (MEB) stated that the general objective of Turkish national education, as set forth in Article 2 of the Framework Law on National Education No. 1739, is to raise individuals who embrace, preserve, and develop national, moral, humanitarian, spiritual, and cultural values, and who have internalized these values into their behavior; and cited Article 1 of the Primary Education and Training Law No. 222, which states that primary education is a fundamental educational process serving the physical, mental, and moral development of students.<\/p>\n
In a letter sent by the Ministry regarding \u201cRamadan activities\u201d as part of the Turkey Century Education Model, it states: \u201cThe curriculum, updated under the name \u201dTurkey Century Education Model,\u201c aims to strengthen our national unity and solidarity. The Turkey Century Education Model is based on a holistic educational approach that views the human being as a unity of mind and body and integrates knowledge with moral responsibility. The model\u2019s fundamental goal is to raise competent and virtuous individuals based on the principle of developing knowledge, skills, aptitudes, and values together.\u2018 The aforementioned text states: \u2019In accordance with this constitutional framework, the Republic of Turkey is a state governed by the rule of law \u2018within the context of social peace, national solidarity, and the concept of justice,\u2019 and it is stipulated that among the state\u2019s fundamental aims and duties is \u201dto strive to create the necessary conditions for the development of the human being\u2019s material and spiritual existence.\u2019 Furthermore, the right to education and learning, as well as taking measures to ensure the upbringing and development of youth, are established as duties of the state.\u201d.<\/p>\n
Freedom of religion and conscience shields an individual\u2019s religious life from external interference. As long as no harm is caused to others, individuals and groups may practice their faith as they see fit. Every person has the freedom to believe in or not believe in a religion or faith, as they see fit. Not believing is just as much a part of freedom of religion and conscience as believing. Freedom of religion and conscience encompasses the right and freedom to have or not have a religion, not to be compelled to engage in religious behavior, and not to disclose one\u2019s beliefs.<\/p>\n
In this sense, schools are public spaces where students from different faith groups and those without a faith receive their education together. Planning activities in educational institutions that center on the rituals of a single religious denomination means failing to take into account the religious beliefs of our citizens who belong to other religions and faiths. In Turkey, there are approximately 15\u201320 million Alevis, about 5 million atheists, and hundreds of thousands of citizens who follow other religions and beliefs; the children of these citizens also attend public schools and benefit from their right to education.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of National Education\u2019s Ramadan events violate the freedom of religion and conscience of children whose parents are Alevi, atheist, deist, Christian, Jewish, or of other faiths, in addition to those who adhere to Sunni Islam.<\/p>\n
In addition, it is envisaged that events planned with the participation of teachers and students, as directed by the Ministry, will be held outside of school and outside of working hours (such as iftar and sahur programs, etc.). Teachers\u201c working hours and job descriptions are defined by law; no one can be forced to participate in such activities against their will. The MEB\u2019s directive is problematic in this regard as well. In this process carried out under the guise of \u201dvolunteerism,\u201d it is inevitable that students and teachers who do not participate in the activities will be singled out, and that students will be subjected to peer bullying and social exclusion.<\/p>\n
To what extent is it democratic for a government labeled \u2018conservative\u2019\u2014which in the past suffered persecution and had its freedoms restricted regarding freedom of religion and conscience\u2014to impose religious beliefs on citizens of different faiths or those without faith once it seizes power?<\/p>\n
For these reasons, the Ministry of National Education should withdraw its circular on Ramadan Activities.<\/p>\n
Sources?<\/strong> To what extent is it democratic for a government labeled \u2018conservative\u2019\u2014which in the past suffered persecution and had its freedoms restricted regarding freedom of religion and conscience\u2014to impose religious beliefs on citizens of different faiths or those without faith once it seizes power?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":282750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-282749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-yazarlar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282751,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282749\/revisions\/282751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBilal Sambur. The Regulation of Freedom of Religion and Conscience in the New Constitution<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"