Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University has awarded an honorary doctorate to Hisham Nimetullah Efendi, our volunteer cultural ambassador, the grandson of the Islamic scholar Ebubekir Efendi, who was appointed to South Africa by the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century to educate the Muslims in the region during the reign of Sultan Abdul Aziz. Our university closely follows the people of thought and action who work for the dignity of humanity. So, our senate decided to confer an honorary doctorate on Hisham Nimetullah Efendi for his outstanding contributions to the protection of the universality of human rights, the building of a democratic and economically strong Muslim society, and the development of humanitarian, political, and legal relations between the Republic of Türkiye and the Republic of South Africa.

Türkiye-South Africa relations were the main emphasis of the whole event

The Honorary Doctorate Consignment Ceremony was held at the Yenikapı Mevlevi Lodge, which is used as the Topkapı Campus of our university; A wide audience of politicians, academics, embassy officials, journalists, cultural people, and students attended the ceremony. Middle East and African Studies Application and Research Center (ORDAM) Director Prof. Dr. Zekeriya Kurşun gave opening remarks about the historical background of the existence of the Turks in the African geography, especially the Ottoman Empire's interest in the region. He was followed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mevlut Uysal about Turkey’s duties and responsibilities towards its geography. Our Rector Prof. Dr. M. Fatih Andı appreciated Hisham Nimetullah Efendi’s contributions to the development of mutual academic and administrative cooperation by giving a historical perspective to the relations of our country with South Africa. Our rector awarded him the honorary doctorate diploma and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees also gave him a calligraphy painting prepared in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

After the honorary doctorate ceremony, the panel "Ottomans in South Africa and Türkiye's African Policies" was held with versatile and expert speakers. Papers on different topics were presented in the panel, from the reflections on the Ottoman legacy in South Africa to the studies on Africa in Türkiye, from the results of Türkiye's opening to Africa to the instrumentalization of the humanities in the colonization of Africa.