TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, in his speech at the 20th Traditional İlim Yayma Alumni Meeting and the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Vefa Dormitory held in the courtyard of Vefa High School, described the İlim Yayma Society and Foundation as a remarkable success story in Turkey's civil society movements.
Recalling with respect the early contributors who worked under challenging conditions, Kurtulmuş, who has closely followed the İlim Yayma Movement since childhood due to his late father, praised the community for reaching an extraordinary and magnificent point today. He prayed for mercy for those who have passed away and congratulated those continuing these services.
Pointing to the activities of the society and foundation since their establishment, Kurtulmuş noted that the community, which no one had predicted a future for, has reached an exceptionally important and successful position today.
Kurtulmuş expressed pride that the İlim Yayma Dormitory is one of the rare places where children of Anatolian people can stay, and that thousands of students who have lived there are now influential in nearly every field in Turkey. He recalled that during his time as a board member, the idea of establishing a university under the İlim Yayma Foundation arose, and together with a group of friends, they carried out the founding and feasibility studies for what would later be named "Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University." He stated that the university has now earned a distinguished and fitting place within the Turkish education system.
Emphasizing that everyone contributed greatly to this significant success, TBMM Speaker Kurtulmuş continued: "The current position is by no means insignificant, and it is not a place to rest by saying 'We have achieved a lot.' From now on, we must raise our goals even higher, just as Turkey's ambitions rise, so must the İlim Yayma community's goals."
He added that Turkey's voice should now be heard strongly not only within the country but across the world. In all international contacts, it is observed that Turkey's reputation, the value of its voice, and its global standing are recognized and acted upon accordingly.
Kurtulmuş stressed that their duty is to elevate Turkey's voice to its strongest point in every field and to turn the second century of the Republic, which they call the "Century of Turkey," into a century of a powerful and influential Turkey. He emphasized that there is no time to hesitate or pause, only to revise and strengthen future plans.
He prayed for God's help for everyone and expressed hope that advancing Turkey's great power in all areas will be possible with the significant contributions of the valued friends raised by the İlim Yayma community.
Kurtulmuş highlighted that the main factor behind the success of the İlim Yayma Society and Foundation is neither their wealth, the number of people, nor political backing. He said, "Undoubtedly, our greatest strength today is the foundation people.
This movement, which started with a small number of people devoted to goodness, the country, knowledge, and wisdom, and who were not very wealthy financially, has come this far through these foundation people. Many foundation people are still among us today, and many more will continue to be in the future.
Because the essence of our culture and civilization is to dedicate one's ideas, knowledge, efforts, and wealth." He pointed out that one of the most important and recent examples of this tradition of foundation people was Ömer Aydın, who they recently bid farewell to. Kurtulmuş noted that Aydın was a model foundation person of modern times.
"Ömer Aydın was truly a foundation person, someone we could describe as having the morals of the Companions," Kurtulmuş said. "With his personality, faith, and ability to support everyone, acting as a brother to some and a sibling to others, he surely touched and influenced everyone who passed under the İlim Yayma roof. Ömer Aydın was truly a foundation person, someone we could describe as having the morals of the Companions.
We remember Ömer Aydın, who contributed to the İlim Yayma Society and Foundation's journey and the upbringing of thousands under this roof, with mercy, gratitude, and appreciation.
With his exemplary morals, character traits, great respect for the Ottoman ancestors, and as a true son of the conquerors, I believe no one who has passed through İlim Yayma will forget or let others forget Ömer Aydın."
Kurtulmuş stated that the foundation, which is more than just a dormitory but also a school, will continue its services in the new dormitory building to be constructed. He wished God's blessings on all those who contributed. He added, "I thank God that we have come together for this program, which marks the groundbreaking of this project that will continue and improve even more.
God willing, may He grant us to see the new building soon and enable the İlim Yayma community to achieve many more services there."
