The Spirit of the National Anthem was Explained at MAKU

At Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU), a ceremony was held to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the acceptance of the National Anthem and to remember Mehmet Akif Ersoy. The ceremony, held in the Avşarhan Conference Hall, was attended by Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy, as well as academics and students. At the conference titled 'Mehmet Akif and the National Anthem', where Dr. Gürkan Göçer from MAKU Faculty of Arts and Sciences was a speaker, information was given on how and under what conditions Mehmet Akif wrote the National Anthem. Göçer stated that Mehmet Akif mobilized to save the homeland under occupation after World War I, actively participated in the independence struggle by traveling around Anatolia. He stated that Akif's sermons, especially in Balıkesir Zağnos Pasha Mosque and Kastamonu, were spread all over the country and provided significant support to the national struggle. The Story of the National Anthem with Mehmet Akif Ersoy's Pen Göçer said, "Mehmet Akif not only wrote a march, but also expressed the nation's will to live freely in a poetic language. With this unique work, he brought our nation together around common values such as homeland, flag, unity, solidarity, and raised the desire for independence to the peak." He emphasized that Akif's poem was chosen as the National Anthem among 724 poems. Göçer, who drew attention to the importance of the description in Akif's poem, the science, religion and work in his poems, emphasized that Akif's poem was chosen as the National Anthem among 724 poems. "A large number of poets participated in the competition for the National Anthem. Akif initially did not participate in the competition, but after the submitted poems were not liked, Mehmet Akif completed his poem in two days and presented it to the parliament with the efforts of Minister of National Education Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver and Hasan Basri Çantay. After being read in the parliament, all deputies except Tunalı Hilmi applauded standing up and accepted the National Anthem as the national anthem," he said. Mehmet Akif associates independence and freedom with symbols such as the banner, flag, crescent star, and delicate crescent in his poems. Göçer emphasized this relationship with the verses "I have lived free since the beginning, I live free / Which madman will chain me? I am surprised / I am like a roaring flood, I crush my dam, I cross / I tear the mountains, I do not fit into the depths, I overflow". At the end of the conference, Göçer said, "We celebrate the 103rd anniversary of the acceptance of the National Anthem, and we remember Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who said 'May God not make this nation write the National Anthem again', and our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the homeland with mercy, and our veterans with gratitude and gratitude." The event ended with Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy presenting a Certificate of Appreciation and Commemorative Plaque to Dr. Gürkan Göçer. Safahat was gifted to the students who attended the conference.