He is a pioneer with its breath, the path he has opened and his new vessel, his heavy industry move, the economic system he wants to bring, and his vision of foreign policy. His main focus is on the establishment of the fundamental dynamics of the country on morality and spirituality, which he says cannot be material development without spiritual development. There is undoubtedly education at first in this principled stance and this demand. What makes Necmettin Erbakan a political leader, as a figure in Islamic geography, is that he brings a policy understanding based on Islamic sensitivities and adopting a principle. 60s and 70s in many Muslim countries, Islamic consciousness and awakening began, Turkey has also been implemented by National Vision (Milli Görüş) movement by its leadership. While Erbakan was designing politics in the system he called the National Vision, he presented a way, a recipe that would design a whole society including the form of management, economy, education and health services. This path, which he opened and walked at a young age, costed large masses afterwards, while a political movement found nevvu nema from here, the society met with the basic Islamic dynamics and proceeded on this path.
What he emphasized while talking about spiritual development was the realization of an education that focused on Islamic sensitivities in a society that had just survived the single party period and started to learn about its new religion, opening the Qur'an courses, increasing the number of imam preachers, opening Islamic institutes, It is the training of religious officials and that these names serve the spiritual development by serving in the society. In this context, one of the greatest services of Erbakan teacher has been to the imam hatip community, which was opened in 1951 and progressed slowly with the favor of the people, growing with the schools built by its own means and the students whom they sent there. What we cannot pass on here is that Necmettin Erbakan stipulates the opening of the middle parts of the imam orator in the coalition government established after the 1973 general elections. Let's remember, as a result of the general elections held this year, the Republican People's Party received 33 percent of the votes, the Justice Party's 29 percent and the National Salvation Party's 11 percent. When the Justice Party did not approach the coalition, it was the CHP and MSP coalition. One of the articles in Erbakan's coalition protocol in this government was on imam hatip schools. Upon the request of the teacher, Erbakan, the Imam Hatip schools were re-opened with the middle parts during the coalition government they established with the CHP. During this period, 33 Imam hatip schools started their education and training life.
Imam preachers, as we have mentioned before, found their place by keeping the people's favor and education model suitable for this society. Imam preachers continued to open, although their numbers were not very high in the following years. In 1975, 293 imam hatip schools between 1975 and 1978 were put into education, and for the first time in 1976, girls started to be accepted as students. The period when Imam hatip schools found themselves and the number of schools and students increased was during the 57th Coalition Government period, which we also know as the 28th February period. During the government period, where Necmettin Erbakan was prime minister, one of every five vocational high school students was studying at the Imam Hatip School. The ratio of these schools to general high schools was around 12 percent. However, due to the closure of the middle parts and the application of a coefficient in entrance to the university with the decisions of the 28 February National Security Council (MGK), the number of students studying in these schools has decreased to 60 thousand. This period, which went down in history as a political coup, was also a blow to education life. The late Erbakan professor resisted that these gains would not go away and could continue on his way, but the military bureaucracy, which took the will of the government elected by the votes of the nation, preferred to prune this vein.
Years passed, the path and seeds sown by our spiritual leaders, our teacher Celaleddin Ökten, and our political leaders such as Erbakan teacher, began to bear fruit. With the opening of the middle sections and elimination of the coefficient of injustice in entering the university, these schools again found the value they deserve as the pupil of our people. Today, with 5,200 imam hatip high schools and 1 million 400 thousand students, they continue their way by gaining equipment in the fields of language, science and social sciences, sports and arts in both religious sciences and positive sciences.
I think that those who are instrumental, especially our Erbakan teacher, and the architects of spiritual development towards the future of the country and the nation are in peace of performing a task today. May Allah be pleased with all of them. On the way they opened, they will continue their way to serve hundreds of thousands of young countries, nation, ummah and humanity, and the sown seeds will bear fruit day by day.
ÖNDER General Chairman Kamber Çal