A shepherd's star…

The establishment of a museum in Ankara while the National Struggle was still ongoing is a subject that deserves attention. Even at this stage, we see that Turkey, without making any distinctions, valued all civilizations in Anatolia equally. However, during the process of the founding and rooting of the Republic, one cannot yet speak of a national archaeology. Such an honor belongs to the Republic and, above all, to Atatürk…

The late history professor Zeki Arıkan, acting on the understanding that “an academic should express their views on current issues in addition to their scientific work,” compiled his articles published in various newspapers and magazines regarding current events, as well as speeches he had given at many meetings, into a book titled “Bu Memleket Bizim” (This Country is Ours) (Tarihçi Kitabevi, 2015).

Prof. Dr. Arıkan took the title of the book from the writings of Mustafa Necati Bey and was inspired by Nazım Hikmet’s Epic of the Kuvayı Milliye. He begins by touching upon the life story and work of Mustafa Necati Bey, who took part in the Kuvayı Milliye movement, was a close intellectual and professional colleague of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, one of the architects of the Alphabet Revolution, and the Minister of National Education of the period. The book contains lines kneaded with the accumulation and national sentiment of an academic who did not remain indifferent to the issues of the country.

While commemorating Mustafa Necati Bey, one of the pioneers of the Kemalist revolution and the Minister of National Education of the period, I would also like to mention a book that was released a short while ago. In the book titled “Devrimin Çoban Yıldızı Mustafa Necati” (The Shepherd's Star of the Revolution: Mustafa Necati) (Berfin Yayınları), written by Cumhur Utku, the 35-year-long, short but full life of Mustafa Necati Bey (Uğural) is presented as a documentary novel.

It tells the life of a leader who never shied away from anything when it came to the homeland, the nation, and the Republic, and who never compromised his ideological stance… A teacher, school administrator, lawyer, legal advisor, writer, journalist, and a loud-voiced orator, a defender of rights (Müdafaayı Hukukçu), and a Kuvayı Milliye Commander in the North Aegean mountains… Mustafa Necati Bey, a member and president of the Independence Tribunals behind the front lines of the War of Independence.

And more… The first Minister of Exchange and Settlement who established the principles regarding the exchange (population transfer) and the exchangees in practice immediately after the acceptance of the Treaty of Lausanne, the title deed of Turkey… A diligent Minister of Justice who completed the final preparations for the Civil Code… A tireless soldier of the Kemalist Revolution who reorganized the ministry organization throughout his tenure as Minister of National Education, and prepared, planned, and ensured the enactment of the new alphabet, new numbers, and new measurement unit bills…

Mustafa Necati Bey, who did not hesitate or hold back from fulfilling all the duties given by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, passed away on January 1, 1929, at the age of only 35, due to a ruptured appendix on the day the Nation's Schools were to be opened.

Reading, learning, telling everyone about, and noting for the future Mustafa Necati, the “Shepherd's Star” of our honorable history, stands before us not only as a debt of loyalty but also as a responsibility…