Former Turkish premier Erbakan's challenging life-history inspires Bangladeshis

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The struggling and unbowed life-sketch of former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan is inspiring many Bangladeshi people, especially the high-educated youth and professionals, to stand for justice and humanity.

On the eve of the 10th death anniversary of Erbakan to be observed on Sunday, fans of the great leader in Bangladesh recalled him as an icon of fair politics who served the country as its premier until the notorious 1997 coup and died on Feb. 27, 2011.

The Bengali-translated autobiography of the world-reputed scientist-cum-politician, Dawam (My Struggles), is being sold like hotcakes in Bangladesh for many years, showing his popularity among the educated society in the South Asian Muslim majority country of 170 million people.

The first two years after the publication of the translation, it was one of the best-sellers while its popularity of it is still on high, according to publishers.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, owner of Maktab Prokashan (Publishers), Abdus Salam, said that since June last year, they have sold above 40,000 copies of the book.

This is the second publisher of the translated book, while tens of thousands of copies have already been sold in the last half-decade since the first edition was published in May 2016 by another publisher.

More two Bengali translated books on Erbakan have also been marketed in Bangladesh recently that include "Proposer of the New World Order: Necmettin Erbakan (Natun Bishwa Babosthar Prostabak: Najmuddin Erbakan)" and "Islam and Knowledge (Islam O Gayan)."

"Erbakan was one of the greatest leaders and Islamic scholars who proved before the world that Muslims are the pioneer of the civilized world and are superior to the western world in the realm of modern knowledge," Salam said.

Underlining language as a great barrier to highlight the inspirational contribution of Erbakan to awaken the fragile Muslim community across the world, he added: "He always preferred to speak in the Turkish language even in most of the international forums and so millions of Muslims in Bangladesh were fully detached from the lessons of this great Islamic philosopher."

"It is only Erbakan, who dared to declare a different platform of justice and humanity after the historic 1945 Yalta Conference of the then superpowers," he said, adding that his initiative of forming the Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8) with 8 Muslim states also inspired the European nations to form European Union (EU).

Salam noted that the Dawam shows a very clear message to the Muslims to stand up to renovate a new "world order" based on the universal justice of Islam.

- Lessons for politicians

Despite being a world-reputed scientist, he switched to politics at a very crucial period when Muslims were considered the most backdated people and Islam as a religion not suited for the modern world.

"Erbakan will inspire millions of people, including the top educated ones, to devote for the welfare of the motherland," Md. Sikandar Ali Khan, a senior English teacher at a government high school in the capital Dhaka, told Anadolu Agency.

He added: "Despite distressing obstacles posed by different vested quarters within the country along with the intricate Western conspiracies, he developed the country's industrial sector and promoted Turkiye as a self-reliant state," Khan viewed.

He added that every contemporary politician, either Muslim or non-Muslim, should study him to be a good politician.

"I have studied the life history of many great leaders in the world. But I have been enlightened most from the life of Erbakan," Mohammad Ismail Hossain, a student of Bangladesh's leading Dhaka University, told Anadolu Agency.

- Renaissance for contemporary Muslims

Bengali translator of the Dawam, Burhan Uddin, told Anadolu Agency that in the previous 200 years, there was no record of conquering lost lands by Muslims. "But it was Erbakan who did it in Cyprus in his short regime."

"If millions of children live in hunger, what is the value of my recognition as a world-reputed scientist or winning of the Nobel Prize – this speech of Erbakan impressed me a lot, and I decided to convey his thoughts and works to millions of people in my country (Bangladesh)," Uddin viewed.

He added that most of the Muslims in the world use their religion of Islam just for some traditional rituals. "But they mostly remain oblivious to the development of a state in the light of Islamic rules of justice."

"Erbakan has not only uttered it theoretically, but he also set an example on how a state should be run and progressed within the frame of Islamic justice," Uddin opined.

He added that Erbakan's analysis of Sultan Fatih's conquering of Istanbul (then Constantinople) must inspire the youths to wake up against the oppressive western world order.

The great book Dawam was concluded with some great words of Erbakan that include: "All should know that Allah's decision is that He must ignite His nur (light). I have done all my struggles, not for post-position or economic benefits. All I have performed is only for the pleasure of Allah."