Educationist and theologian Mustafa Hatipoğlu is one of the first volunteers to migrate to Pakistan with the ideal of sublime service to humanity. Actually, the stepping-stones of this journey were paved with the dreams of getting education in an Imam-Hatip High School, for which he aspired while he was still in the primary school… In his previous article, Hatipoğlu had narrated how suddenly they sent him to Izmir to live there as a boarding student due to being one of the ‘noisy Mustafas’ in his dormitory in Kayseri, how he came to know Fethullah Gülen Hodjaefendi in Izmir, and how he took his journey to Pakistan – the country of Zia ul-Haq, whom his mother had lauded as a ‘good person’…

Hatipoğlu continues his story in Pakistan with the answers he gave in this interview.

Part One:

-You had narrated your life before you went to Pakistan in your previous article. What do you have to add about that period?

Actually, here’s how my love for Pakistan started: I studied at Izmir Imam-Hatip High School between 1991 and 1993. Turkish schools were being opened across the Central Asia, and the education volunteers who had gone to those countries used to tell us about their experiences. Izmir was considered the very centre of the Hizmet Movement . Fethullah Gulen Hodjaefendi delivered weekly sermons and we could see him personally. He visited the Hancıoğlu Dormitory for Boys, where I stayed, four times and I personally served him water. We met him and his students around him in person and we also listened to those who regularly visited the schools in the Central Asia. In 1993, I and my friends cleared the first university selection and placement exam. The result of the second exam was awaited. In those days, we participated in a reading retreat. There they asked us, “Would you like to go abroad?” “Of course,” I said. “Malaysia or Pakistan?” they asked. I said “Pakistan”.

-Why Pakistan?

I heard about Pakistan from Mr. Şükrü Aslan. He had migrated to Pakistan in 1992. Within a year, he set his house up and settled in with his family. He was married with three children. One of his children needed perpetual care. Mr. Şükrü Aslan hailed from Urfa province and he learned Turkish at 20. He trained himself in madrasahs. He spoke Turkish with Istanbul accent and he was more fluent and proficient in Arabic than many Arabs. We used to hear about him when we were in Izmir. “If we go to Pakistan, we will learn English. We will also learn Arabic from Şükrü Aslan and eventually become students to Hodjaefendi,” we used to say. We wanted to be the ideal students described by Hodjaefendi with proficiency in Arabic and English.

We planned these in our minds. Yet, the years following the February 28, 1997 phase ruined our wishes a little. The authorities in Turkey revoked the equivalency of our diplomas. When this came out on the news, we were offended. Even if we did not return to Turkey, it was important to have equivalence of our degrees. I could get the equivalence of my university degree much later, in 2009.

-How did you travel?

When I said I wished to go to Pakistan, they sent me to a student dormitory in Altunizade, Istanbul. 11 graduates from different cities had gathered there. We were 10 graduates with chemistry teacher Mr. İsmail Aşan as our supervisor. We stayed there for 45 days. We were involved in the works such as housekeeping and welcoming and treating the guests regularly there. We became like employees in that place. Actually, the reason we stayed there so long was because no one had been paying attention to us. We did not know when we would leave for Pakistan or when our tickets would be bought. Eventually, I asked one supervisor. He said Mr. Şükrü Aslan would arrive in a couple of days. Soon after, Mr. Şükrü Aslan arrived in a white suit. I saw Hodjaefendi get up and respectfully sit him in the seat next to him. A very valuable person, he is.

Close to our departure, they told us to take leave for a week and visit our families. They also gave us pocket money. We visited our families and returned to Istanbul. A friend had given up going to Pakistan and I had offered Osman Arslanhan, who has been my friend since the Imam-Hatip years, to join our group. The way our mentors in Izmir kindly asked us “Will you go?” and the good things we heard from those visiting from the Central Asian countries eventually encouraged us to choose Pakistan.

11 PEOPLE IN ONE ROOM FOR 7 DAYS

There was no direct Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Karachi, so we first flew to Athens. We waited for the connecting flight for about 9-10 hours there and we took our flight to Karachi on board the Pakistan International Airlines from England. The date read 09.09.1993, a milestone for all of us. On the same date this year, on 09.09.2021, friends made celebratory posts as if celebrating a birthday.

One friend lost us at the airport in Karachi. He came and found us by calling “Group! Group!” None of us had proper English. Only Mr. İsmail could speak English. Later, we took a connecting flight to Islamabad and went to Mr. Şükrü Aslan’s house by van. We stopped in front of the house but could not see the gate number. We asked someone from there, the man did not know his own address. We had been talking about his next-door neighbour! 😊 I was surprised by that too; I remember this as one of my first memories in Pakistan. When we first went to Pakistan, we as 11 people stayed in a room in Mr. Şükrü Aslan’s house. They brought extra floor mattresses. We felt comfortable because the houses in Pakistan had separate washrooms in every room. We stayed there for one week, but we wore out our welcome. I never forget, Mr. Şükrü Aslan’s daughter was very young; she used to stand at the door and count us with her finger to see how many people there were. She would then place plates and spoons on the table. We liked that very much. Later, we rented a two-storey villa with 5-6 bedrooms. Afterwards, we started learning English and Arabic.

-Were you able to start the university right away?

The fact Mr. Şükrü Aslan had gone to Pakistan earlier and forged an effective communication with the management of the International Islamic University in Islamabad proved an advantage for us. They didn’t enrol us in the university that first year. We were not proficient in the required languages and we were also late for enrolment. As a gesture, they sent teachers from the university to teach us English and Arabic. In addition, the students had to sit for a general knowledge exam for enrolment. We took that exam a year later, but most of us could not pass. They enrolled a few of us in the waiting list. Having noticed our glum mood, Mr. Şükrü Aslan said, “Friends, we came here to die and not to return. I will go and explain the situation to the relevant officials in the university. They will help us.” He told the officials. In those days, the IIUI used to enrol Pakistani students for a fee equivalent to 600 USD and foreigners for 2000 USD. The university management enrolled us as Pakistani students in 1994.

Mr. Şükrü Aslan had arranged teachers for us from the university. A head of English Department used to visit our house at 5 AM and deliver lessons. Sometimes he woke us up because it was so early. We took lessons in this way for about 4-5 months. A teacher from the Arabic department would also come. Our language skills could improve so. The International Islamic University in Islamabad had students from 45 countries.

Students from Africa spoke English well but their writing was poor. We didn’t have speaking practice either, but we were good at writing. Whenever the teacher wrote something on the board, we would answer immediately. That’s why they complained about us, and the management placed us in other classes.

BROTHER ŞÜKRÜ BROUGHT DIFFERENT-MINDED PEOPLE TOGETHER

-Were there any other students from Turkey at the university besides your group?

Yes, there were students from different religious and political views who had gone to Pakistan before us. The Faisal Mosque was above the university campus. We used to meet these friends there. We were a little hesitant at first to make contact, but Brother Şükrü Aslan organized various functions to bring us all together. We met with families on Eids etc. We had a very nice atmosphere of brotherhood for three years. Some were members of the Welfare Party (RP), some were on their own, and some were students who had tried Afghanistan first and returned from there. They actually would not get along well with one another as different groups.

May Allah be pleased with Brother Şükrü for uniting us all in our student residence in Islamabad. As students from Turkey, we picnicked together during Eids and holidays. There had been no unity earlier. Even some friends wished to volunteer in our services with us. Unfortunately, the phase following February 28, 1997 postmodern coup in Turkey altered this beautiful atmosphere between us and some.

-Have you had any difficulties in university education?

When we started the university in 1994, there was no one to guide us about the courses. We did not know which courses were difficult and which were suitable for us. That’s why in the first year, we inadvertently took some courses which we had to take in the fourth year. This was why we had difficulties in some courses, but thankfully we all finished our degrees on time and received our diplomas.

During our first days in Pakistan, we as 9-10 friends left the house of Brother Şükrü and went to the Faisal Mosque for prayer. There was a police checkpoint near the mosque. When we got closer, they stopped us too. They asked who we were and where we came from. We told them. A police constable separated me from the group because I was tanner than others. “You are from Pakistan, get aside!” he said. Other friends had fair complexions. I will never forget that moment. Since then, they have considered me as a Pakistani. Even here (England) they think I am a Pakistani, they do not see me as a Turk. I still speak Urdu. I haven’t forgotten it.

To be continued…

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You can read Hatipoğlu’s first article at the following link: