STATEMENT OF BELIEF

The views of SRF and its activities can be outlined as follows:

1) Members of the Science Research Foundation are committed to their moral values and religious beliefs. Yet they believe that these concepts have to be perceived in line with the basic values of the contemporary world, such as democracy and modernity. The SRF publishes periodicals stressing this subject.

2) The scientific works of the Science Research Foundation concentrate particularly on the origin of the universe, living things and mankind. The SRF emphasizes that 19th century positivism, rejecting religious beliefs and basing science on atheism, is flawed, and defends instead the "intelligent design" view of the origin of living things and mankind, a stance which has its roots in contemporary scientific findings. So far, the SRF has organized 1500 scientific conferences in different cities in Turkey. It has also held 3 international conferences and many scientific exhibitions on the same subject in various regions of Turkey. All these services were provided free of charge.

3) The SRF works for an improved and enlightened Turkey. The SRF supports Turkey in the becoming of a member of the European Union, and wishes not to see unfavorable practices that might hinder this purpose. In accordance with this objective, the SRF has organized many conferences on national problems in Turkey with the participation of major Turkish strategists.

4) The SRF attaches great importance to the unitarian structure and territorial integrity of Turkey. It adopts a moderate interpretation of nationalism. The foundation embraces all citizens of the Republic of Turkey without consideration of social class, ethnic origins or religion. It argues that the non-Muslim minorities in our country (such as Greeks, Armenians and Jews) live together and in harmony with other Muslim Turkish citizens.

5) Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, sets an example for the members of the Science Research Foundation. They all adopt his principles. The major characteristic of the SRF's understanding of Atatürk is that it sees him as a leader who adopted modernism, as well as being a religious individual who strongly wanted to see superstitions removed from Islam so that it could be practiced correctly. Therefore, the SRF has attracted criticism from certain groups in the country who prefer to portray Atatürk as anti-religious.

In brief, the SRF is an intellectual society made up of people who truly believe in certain truths and values, and who assume the responsibility of explaining these to the society. More than 1500 public conferences, dozens of scientific public exhibitions and tens of thousands of books and booklets distributed by the SRF explicitly reveal the idealist and self-sacrificing nature of the foundation.

 THE IMPORTANCE THE SCIENCE RESEARCH FOUNDATION ATTACHES TO DEMOCRACY

The Science Research Foundation supports a democratic society in which mutual respect and tolerance prevail, and problems are solved through dialogue. We regard these as imperative, especially in the post-Cold War world. Authoritarian regimes based on strict rules, where criticism and conflicting views are forbidden, have collapsed one by one. Those still left are suffering major problems.

Democracy, in its real sense, is a regime that allows the expression and co-existence of differences. It guarantees human rights and freedoms, and creates an environment where everybody can freely express his own identity and opinions. Above all these, democracy aims to have an environment in which everyone can lead his life according to his own beliefs and values, as long as he does not interfere with the rights and freedom of others.

The SRF knows that one prerequisite for democracy is the principle of the "Constitutional State". It therefore demands that illegal practices observed in the country from time to time be brought to an end, and that the fact that nobody is above the law come to be reflected daily life.

The SRF wants to see democracy institutionalized in its fullest sense in the country, and incorporated into society as a whole culture.