Former Kırıkkale MP (20th–21st Terms) Kemal Albayrak: “PROTECTING THE MIND, BEING PROTECTED”

To protect means to safeguard an object, a person, or a situation from external influences, deterioration, and dangers; to keep it away from harmful effects.

While meeting with two journalist friends I hadn’t seen for a long time, we reminisced about people we once knew. As we reflected on those who had changed, those who worship power, those who remain silent in the face of injustice, and those who have sold their ideas and honor, we realized that human transformations are occurring not in beneficial areas but in harmful ones. We could not shake off the weight of this reality or its causes.

In Ibn al-Jawzi’s work Talbis Iblis, it is explained how Satan deceives people, disguises himself, and presents falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood, thereby leading the human mind astray. The reasons are clear: self-interest, profit, fear, and the threat of exposure of corrupt relationships… Some are led astray out of necessity, others through traps of temptation. If a person is already inclined toward such weaknesses, the devil finds them easily. Status does not matter; neither party, ideology, nor position makes a difference. This is the result of a servile morality.

Especially the manipulation of vulnerabilities within those who appear outwardly religious prompts astonishment and reflection. Yet mere sorrow is not enough. The late Galip Erdem once said, “We spoke of a cause and climbed Mount Ağrı, only to find the cause left beneath our feet.” This outcry describes the moral decay we witness today. What surprises people now is this: those who once stood differently are now dragged into moral collapse.

Morality is only possible through reason—and by protecting that reason. Living in harmony with one’s beliefs is essential. Conscience, compassion, justice, respect for rights, avoiding the forbidden, and honesty… If you believe in God, you must live in accordance with your beliefs. Acting against what you believe is true immorality. That is the failure to protect the mind. Evil that shifts according to circumstances and self-interest produces immorality.

As Muhammad Iqbal said: “A flaw in character often hides in weakness and emerges when given the opportunity.” Authority, position, wealth, or immunity bring out the hatred, arrogance, and lack of compassion within a person. Power does not corrupt everyone; it reveals what is already corrupt. The real test is not in poverty but in the face of unlimited power. A person is not innocent of a sin they have never been tested with.

Today’s political opportunists and those in positions of responsibility must return to their core human values so that reason can be preserved in the right direction. Actions are measured not by ornate words but by deeds. This cannot be achieved through arbitrariness, injustice, or the abuse of power.

In Knut Hamsun’s novel Hunger, the struggle of a poor young writer against starvation, his psychological collapse, and his effort to preserve his dignity are depicted. Despite physical hunger, the character does not sell his honor. Hunger is not merely physical; it is a test that shapes one’s character and existence.

Rather than becoming a person shaped by every era’s conditions, one must remain truly human in every era—living in harmony with human values. Creating one’s own idol and pursuing self-interest as if worshipping it dehumanizes a person. Therefore, one must protect their mind through reason, science, justice, law, democracy, and morality—without falling into traps of temptation. Regardless of status… because character determines destiny.

I celebrate May 1st, International Workers’ Day, and condemn those despots who obstruct this struggle for rights.

01.05.2026 🇹🇷
Kemal Albayrak