Speaking at the "The Legacy of Ancient Özgön and Imam Sarakhsi" panel held as part of the "Özgön Minaret-2021" ethno-folklore festival, Gaye Foundation founder theologian Prof. Dr. Cevat Akşit Hodja made important statements.
Hosted by Osh State University (ODU) in Kyrgyzstan, a panel titled "The Legacy of Ancient Özgön and Imam Serahsi" was held. Organized in memory of Imam Sarakhsi, one of the important thinkers who devoted his life to Islam and science, the panel was held as part of the "Özgön Minaret-2021" ethno-folklore festival. The panel moderated by ODU Rector Prof. Dr. Kudaiberdi Kolabekov, is attended by Kyrgyzstan State Secretary Suyunbek Kasmambetov, TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev, Gaye Foundation founder theologian Prof. Dr. Cevat Akşit Hodja, President of Eurasian Writers Union Dr. Yakub Ömeroğlu, Pamukkale University Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kutluhan, Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Hakan Ergün, Religious Services Counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek Mürsel Öztürk, TİKA Bishkek Program Coordinator Osman Usta.
A TURNING POINT IN TURKEY-KYRGYZSTAN RELATIONS
Cevat Akşit Hodja, who translated the 31-volume Al-Mebsut written by Imam Sarakhsi centuries ago into Turkish, has been leading serious studies in Kyrgyzstan for years. Cevat Akşit Hodja, who showed a serious devotion in finding the tomb of Imam Sarakhsi in Özgen city of Kyrgyzstan, became a turning point in Turkey-Kyrgyzstan relations. After the developments in the past years, the Turkish Religious Foundation (TDV) opened the Imam Sarakhsi Tomb, designed in accordance with the traditional Ottoman architecture, in 2012 and the complex in 2021, in the city of Özgen, Kyrgyzstan.
“I HAVE RESEARCHED FOR DAYS”
After the opening speeches of the panel, a session titled "Imam Sarakhsi’s Life, Scientific Personality, Works and Legalism" was held under the chairmanship of Pamukkale University Rector Kutluhan. Speaking at the panel, the founder of the Gaye Foundation, theologian Prof. Dr. Cevat Akşit Hodja said, “Imam Sarakhsi is a very valuable scholar known to the world. I also stayed in America. Thanks to the views of Imam Sarakhsi, I emerged victorious from discussions with Jewish and Christian theologians. When I decided to translate Imam Sarakhsi’s work, Al-Mebsut, I came to Özgön, Kazakhstan. I've been researching here for days, but no one knows where Imam Sarakhsi's tomb is. I was so tired and sad. I started to cry and when I opened my eyes, I realized that I was sitting next to Imam Serahsi's grave.”
"WE TRANSLATED IMAM SARAKHSI'S WORK FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END"
Explaining how the tomb of Imam Sarakhsi was restored later, Cevat Akşit Hodja said, “When I returned to Turkey, I met with the Turkish Religious Foundation. I explained the situation to them and we had Imam Sarakhsi’s tomb built in Özgen. Then we translated Imam Sarakhsi’s work from beginning to end. After our work was published, people from all parts of the society were agreed on the need to be educated by the method of Imam Sarakhsi. Now, my brothers from Kyrgyzstan should also embrace the works of Imam Sarakhsi.”