The opening ceremony, held with pandemic measures in place, was attended by the Rector of Ibn Khaldun University, Prof. Dr. Recep Şentürk, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. İrfan Gündüz, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, ministers, members of the Board of Trustees, vice rectors, deans, academics, students, benefactors, and distinguished guests.

Prof. Şentürk: "Today, our University is at a turning point with its unique architectural complex and its distinctive academic vision."

The ceremony, which began with the reading of the National Anthem and a recitation from the Quran, featured an opening speech by Rector Prof. Dr. Recep Şentürk, who thanked the President for being with us on this happy day and stated that with their presence, our complex would officially open as a center of knowledge, wisdom, and virtue. He continued, "Yunus Emre says, 'How can one light a fire without burning with the fire of love?'; our prayer is that the Ibn Khaldun Hearth you will officially open today never extinguishes, igniting hearts and minds with the love of truth and reality, spreading the light of knowledge and wisdom across the seven climates." Prof. Şentürk continued his speech: "As Ibn Khaldun University, we embarked on a blessed journey in 2017. We have made significant progress in three years to reach today. Together with our Board of Trustees, our benefactors present here, our professors, administrators, and students, we have worked intensively on our administrative and academic structure while rapidly completing the construction of our complex. Today, our University is at a turning point with its unique architectural complex and its distinctive academic vision."

Prof. Şentürk expressed that Ibn Khaldun University aims for our students, our country, and all nations that have become cultural colonies of the West to gain intellectual independence, stating that education is conducted in three languages using a "comparative education" method to achieve this ideal. He added that academic education alone is not sufficient for a student to succeed, and that moral and character education is also provided to our students around the understanding of "virtue." Prof. Şentürk listed the physical facilities offered to our academics and students at the Ibn Khaldun University Complex, emphasizing that scholars who will represent our country internationally with confidence, competence, and merit will be trained there.

Prof. Dr. Recep Şentürk concluded his speech by stating, "As Ibn Khaldun University, our goal is to be a center of excellence and attraction that works for the intellectual independence of the Islamic world and all countries that have been colonized culturally by the West, under the leadership of our esteemed President, who has achieved significant progress and serious successes in energy, economy, politics, and technology in our country," and thanked the President and distinguished participants for their attendance at the ceremony.

Prof. Gündüz: "Our Complex was realized as a synthesis of Seljuk, Ottoman, and Modern Architecture."

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. İrfan Gündüz, began his speech by thanking our esteemed President and valued guests for their participation in the ceremony, stating that our University is a new generation university that aims to develop and change while walking confidently into the future, leaning on its past without losing its roots. He added, "We see our youth as a precious trust, and we strive to raise them with a formation that will transform both our country and the world. Social change passes through individual change. For this reason, we are working to take star students and raise them with an understanding that will build the civilization of the future, embarking on a new vision of civilization."

Prof. Gündüz stated that the Ibn Khaldun University Complex was realized as a synthesis of Seljuk, Ottoman, and modern architecture, and reminded that the historical Süleymaniye madrasas that make up our Süleymaniye Campus also serve in accordance with their original form. Prof. Gündüz concluded his speech by thanking primarily our esteemed President, as well as our benefactors, Board of Trustees, academics, and students from 80 countries for their significant contributions to the development of the Complex.

President Erdoğan: "The Ibn Khaldun University Complex is truly a work to be proud of, both for its philosophical background, architecture, and facilities."

A promotional film introducing the Ibn Khaldun University Complex and the facilities offered was also shown at the opening ceremony.

In his speech, President Erdoğan wished the newly completed first phase of the Ibn Khaldun University Complex, which has started to serve, to be beneficial, and expressed his gratitude to Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazade from Azerbaijan and Sheikh Sani Bin Hamad Al Thani from Qatar for attending the opening. President Erdoğan stated that the founder of the university is Türkiye Gençlik ve Eğitime Hizmet Vakfı (TÜRGEV) and noted that TÜRGEV has become one of Turkey's most important brands in education with its services ranging from preschool to university and from dormitories to scholarships.

"The Ibn Khaldun University Complex, which we have come together to officially open, is truly a work to be proud of, both for its philosophical background, architecture, and facilities. It has been created as an exemplary work inspired by Mimar Sinan. I believe that with our qualified academic staff and students, in this beautiful atmosphere, it will open the doors to a new era in the field of social sciences in our country," said President Erdoğan, continuing: "The Western world has drawn inspiration from our roots in many fields, from medicine to sociology. In return, we have been trying to find our way and direction for two centuries by completely forgetting or excluding our own roots, accepting its derivatives as the essence. In other words, we are struggling in a state of intellectual crisis. However, the foundation of both political independence and economic independence lies in intellectual independence. The discussions our country has experienced during this process, from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic, have always revolved around the question of where we will seek our future. After the Renaissance, the rapidly rising dominant power of the Western world, which has made intellectual and technological advances without recognizing rights and justice, has not allowed for a healthy discussion of this issue. As a result, as a country and a nation, we found ourselves in the midst of an uncontrolled Westernization storm. The fact that the path taken to raise 'free, enlightened, and free-spirited generations' has turned into a mere imitation of the West, from the shallowest to the most vulgar and distorted, is the greatest loss of our Republic."

President Erdoğan: "We Know Very Well That True Power is Intellectual Power."

President Erdoğan pointed out the distinction between being able to govern and being in power, emphasizing that true power is intellectual power. He underscored that the path to intellectual power is a difficult and arduous process, stating: "Personally, I feel a bit saddened about this. With sincere reflection, I think we have made historic achievements in every field over the past 18 years, but we have not been able to achieve the progress we desire in education and culture. Millions of students are receiving education in our schools, but we do not have a sufficiently trained workforce in most areas to satisfy us. We have a young population, but we cannot realize our vision of civilization properly. Our media has the most modern infrastructure, but it does not reflect our voice and breath. We face similar difficulties in science, art, and culture. Even in the most justified issues, we cannot express ourselves to the world. For this reason, I believe we have not yet established our intellectual power. No one should be disturbed by this search for intellectual power. The end of this search would mean disaster for a country and society. On the contrary, we expect everyone to support and contribute to this search. Intellectual power is built by scholars, artists, and wise individuals, not by political cadres. Political cadres can only provide the ground they need. Therefore, if part of this responsibility lies with us, a significant part also belongs to our scholars and thinkers."

President Erdoğan: "As in Every Field, We Are Also Striving to Be Productive in the Intellectual Field."

Stating that they are not disconnected from the realities to the extent of completely rejecting or ignoring the advancements made in science, technology, culture, and art around the world, President Erdoğan said, "Our concern and search are different. We believe that we cannot build a much more advanced civilization by merely following the prevailing intellectual understanding and practical order in the world. We need to be in a state of determination, effort, and productivity to use the accumulation of all past and present civilizations and to go beyond them. Our only irreducible element is the principles of our faith; everything else can be reinterpreted and reproduced in a way that embraces the future."

Using the expression, "We will neither turn our backs on the thousands of years of accumulation of humanity, our nation, and our faith, nor will we reject the opportunities offered by the modern world," President Erdoğan included in his speech, "By confining ourselves to the existing conditions, we cannot go beyond intellectual consumerism. We are striving to be productive in the intellectual field, just as we are in every other field. With the belief that the most valuable legacy we will leave for the future is intellectually productive individuals, we will continue to work with all our might in this direction."

President Erdoğan: "Ibn Khaldun University is One of the Important Steps That Materializes Our Dream of 'Intellectual Power.'"

Pointing out that Turkey has been exposed to the poison of many deviant ideologies and movements produced by the same source, alongside a mere obsession with Westernization, President Erdoğan noted: "The reason we have lost our intellectual power to a civilization that is not ours in essence and spirit is the conscious facilitation of these deviant movements. The effort to raise an amorphous generation instead of a generation of virtuous individuals has cost our country and nation dearly. Behind the many pains we have experienced from the past to the present, the tears we have shed, and the troubles we have endured lies the reality of this intellectual invasion that we have been subjected to for generations. However, there are much more equipped and effective individuals among the generations we are trying to raise. Therefore, what we need to do is to raise generations that are suitable for our civilizational accumulation and goals. The main idea of Turkey's 2053 vision should be formed around this issue."

"We must transform higher education into production centers of our nation's intellectual power at every stage, from associate degrees to bachelor's degrees, from master's degrees to doctorates. When we achieve this, just as we did in the past, I have no doubt that we will open the door to a bright future for all humanity along with ourselves," said President Erdoğan, expressing that he sees Ibn Khaldun University as one of the first and important steps in materializing this dream, and concluded his speech by thanking those who contributed to the establishment of our University and its progress to this day.

A cooperation protocol was signed between Ibn Khaldun University and Qatar University at the opening ceremony. The symbolic key of the complex was presented to our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by Prof. Dr. İrfan Gündüz for his attendance at the opening ceremony.

The ceremony concluded after the ribbon cutting.