Fatma Zehra, a Student at Ibn Haldun University Punished By Swedish Professor Over Sweden’s NATO Bid

Rashi Gautam
Rashi Gautam
5 Min Read
609Bfe6Cdd933Da137Fdbcb4 Ibn Haldun University 212
609bfe6cdd933da137fdbcb4 ibn haldun university 212

A professor at Stockholm University refused to host a Turkish student for an internship programme because Turkey has been impeding Sweden’s membership into NATO, the professor said.

Prof. Per Carlbring, who directs a clinical psychology research group at the institution, emailed some of his findings to an online publication.

Fatma Zehra

A scholarship from the Erasmus+ programme will allow Fatma Zehra S., a third-year student in the Psychology Department at Istanbul’s Ibn Haldun University, to complete an internship at a European university during the summer of 2023.

Fatma Zehra’s Acceptance Into Stockholm University, Sweden

She had Sweden’s Stockholm University in mind as a potential host for one of her internships. On November 23rd, 2022, Fatma expressed her desire to participate in a study headed by Professor Carlbring by sending an email.

Fatma Zehra S. Filed A Complaint Report With Stockholm University, Describing Professor Carlbring&Rsquo;S Response Being &Ldquo;Based On Political Considerations&Rdquo; And &Ldquo;Discriminatory If Not Completely Racist.&Rdquo;

Carlbring responded some hours later, saying, “I would love to host you. However, I must decline because Turkey does not permit Sweden to join NATO. Sorry!”

I was completely taken aback by this response,” Fatma said. “It sank in slowly,” she admitted.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May, ending decades of military neutrality.

But Turkey, a member of NATO for nearly seven decades, has objected, claiming that both countries have been enabling terrorist organisations.

Welcome To Ibn Haldun University &Ldquo;Ihu&Rdquo; - Ibn Haldun University

During a NATO meeting in June 2022, Turkey and the two Nordic countries signed an agreement to resolve Ankara’s security concerns, opening the door for Turkey’s future membership in the alliance. Sweden has had seven months to implement the terms of the pact since it was signed.

“We receive many queries from students who are interested in visiting us as research interns,” Fredrik Jonsson, chair of the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University, told the publication in a statement. ”Unfortunately, we can’t fulfil every single one of them, but we do demand a prompt and courteous response. In this case, we took immediate action upon becoming aware of the problem and have resolved it in accordance with our standard operating procedures.”

Always Aiming For Exceeding Expectations &Mdash; Swedish Business Council

Professor Carlbring was reached out to, for a comment, but he did not provide any.

Fatma was concerned that her ordeal was merely the “tip of the iceberg,” and she decided to file a formal complaint. She argues that if he treated her this way, he would treat similarly treated similarly qualified applicants of different races.

Turkey's Ibn Haldun University Opens With Objective Of Intellectual  Independence | Daily Sabah

On December 5, she filed a discrimination complaint report with the institution, calling the professor’s reaction “based on political concerns” and “discriminatory if not downright racist.”

She claimed in her complaint that it was “infamous” to judge a person’s abilities and character based on their political opinion, rather than on the merits of the individual.

Fatma, on the other hand, thinks those assertions aren’t strong enough. What she really wanted was for them to “do something” about his behaviour. She thought it was great that there was anti-discrimination training, but she questioned how effective it would be in preventing future occurrences of discrimination by asking how its effectiveness could be evaluated.

Turkey's Talks With Sweden, Finland Made Little Progress On Nato Concerns,  Sources Close To Talks Say | Reuters

Not only has the professor not personally apologised to her, but she has not even received an informal apology. I was hoping he’d email me an apology by now, and the fact that he hasn’t made me quite sad.

Fatma says her application was accepted by a different professor in the psychology department at the same university, so she’ll still be doing the internship this summer despite her previous bad experience.

The Tensions Between Turkey And Sweden

On January 12, new evidence of PKK and YPG terror supporter organising in the heart of Stockholm, Sweden, emerged. Dozens of pro-Terrorists gathered in front of the ancient City Hall, chanting anti-Turkish sentiments. They shouted racist slurs and threatened violence against Turkey while hanging an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Sweden: Turkey Wants What We Cannot Give For Nato Membership &Ndash; Dw &Ndash;  01/08/2023

Ankara remains unbowed in its stance against admitting a terror-friendly country into NATO, notwithstanding Sweden’s failure to crack down on PKK/YPG safehouses and the subsequent free organisation and conduct of countless anti-Türkiye and pro-terrorism demonstrations in the country.

The Fatma Zehra S case is indicative of a larger trend of increasing intolerance in Sweden toward Turkey.

A writer by day and reader by night, I am someone who - as soon as she graduated from high school - knew she wanted to write. How? When? where? It did not matter as long as I got to write! And every second of it has been full of learning, adventure, and excitement. I love reading, especially high fantasy, fiction, and thrillers! And when I am not reading or reviewing books on my blog, I try my hand at graphic designing for blog posts, headers, logos. Add a little bit of video editing into the mix and I'm peachy!
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