MIT Chief Kalın: No order on earth without looking at the sky

WISE NEWS PRESS / ANKARA, TURKIYE — NOVEMBER 27, 2025

Head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) İbrahim Kalın made striking evaluations regarding the relationship between politics, metaphysics, and modernization in his speech on the "Kendi Gökkubbemiz" program. Emphasizing that healthy politics cannot be produced without a rooted metaphysical understanding, Kalın stated that the "superficial modernization" understanding in Türkiye interprets religious and social dynamics incorrectly.

Kalın noted that Western Enlightenment was born as a reaction to Christianity, specifically the Catholic Church, but these arguments were copied by some circles in Türkiye as if they were arguments against Islam and the essence of religion itself.

"Justice cannot be established without connecting with the sky"

Stating that politics is not just a technical matter belonging to the earth but needs a deeper world of meaning, Kalın used the following expressions:

"There is no politics without a rooted metaphysics; you cannot govern what is on earth without understanding the skies. You cannot establish justice without connecting with the firmament. You cannot bring order to the earth without turning your head to the sky."

Defending that the loss of this perspective damages "consciousness of being a subject" and "self-confidence," Kalın expressed that Türkiye and non-Western societies have been exposed to suggestions of "you cannot do it, you are not smart enough" for a long time.

Critique of distorted modernization and enlightenment

In his speech, İbrahim Kalın pointed out that the modernization adventure in Türkiye misread the processes in the West. Reminding that Enlightenment thought was a rebellion against the dogmas of the Catholic Church, Kalın said that transporting this historical context directly to the Islamic world creates "anomalous situations."

Kalın made the following observation on the subject:

"Our distorted history of modernization and superficial modernizers try to adapt the arguments developed by the Enlightenment against Christianity directly here as arguments against the essence of religion. Then, very anomalous situations emerge."

Comparing the principle of "Papal infallibility" in Catholicism with human humility in the Islamic tradition, Kalın emphasized that Islamic scholars always finished their works by saying "Allah knows best" (Allah-u Alem), and therefore the church-science conflict in the West cannot find the same equivalent in the Islamic world.

"The consciousness of being a subject is returning"

Stating that non-Western societies were pacified through colonialism and economic imperialism, Kalın expressed that this era is now beginning to close. Saying, "For a long time, we were told 'your mind and power are not enough'," Kalın stated that Türkiye's moves in recent years have broken this learned helplessness.

Reminding of Namık Kemal's defense against Ernest Renan, Kalın added that the Islamic world is moving towards becoming the "subject of its own action" again by drawing strength from its own beliefs and roots, and this search will yield more concrete results in the coming decades.

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