The “Friendship Dinner” was actually a meeting in which the center’s annual work to promote Turkish culture and dialogue was discussed. This year’s dinner had a political twist. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and New York Senator Hillary Clinton gave speeches during the event. Senator Clinton is currently the leading presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Partially due to the ever-growing reactions against President George W Bush’s wrong Iraq policies, the Democrats have higher chances of winning the upcoming elections. In other words, Prime Minister Erdoğan met a person who will very likely be the next US president at an event organized by the Turkish community in the US, which clearly marks the new direction Turkish-US relations will take in the coming period.The dialogue between Turkey and the US has not usually held a special place in either country. Relations between the two have generally been determined according to the current interests of the respective countries. In light of this, the activities conducted by the Turkish Cultural Center and other Turkish organizations in almost every state of the US represent the beginning of a new era in Turkish-US relations. This era can correctly be called “new” since their activities go back only 10 years ago.
Newly arrived Turks in the US consist mostly of academics, businessmen and university or postgraduate students who want to live in accordance with their own national values and their personal beliefs. For this reason, the dialogue focuses on universities, business circles and religious communities. These discussions serve as truly personal encounters between Turks and Americans. The Turks even invite the Americans they meet to visit Turkey. In these conversations, they represent our roots, our culture and our historical heritage. I met and spoke with some of the guests from various European countries. As far as I could tell from our conversations, they return to their own countries as friends of Turks and with a love for Turkey, and upon their return home, they convey their positive impressions about Turkey to their friends and neighbors -- and thus the dialogue widens.
Thus, the atmosphere created by the participants of this iftar dinner is not an artificial one, but rather one of effortless and true friendship. Naturally, this environment affected both Mrs. Clinton and Erdoğan. Other notable guests were Turkish Ambassador to the US Nabi Şensoy and Baki İlkin, the permanent representative of Turkey to the UN, and 17 ambassadors, mainly from European countries. The Turks who have been living in the US for many years and newcomers alike enjoyed the warmth of this night. Every friendship dinner at Waldorf Astoria provides a new beginning. The dialogue based on mutual respect and acceptance helps to remove barriers one by one.
The Turkish Cultural Center holds other activities at various times during the year. The center has four departments -- the Business Center, the Turkish Studies Department, the Turkish-American Women Society (TAWSO) and the Intercultural Dialogue Department. The TAWSO issues the Zübeyde Hanım Inspirational Love Award on March 8 of every year. It also organizes a monthly luncheon series called the Table of Abraham for Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders. This month, a two-day conference titled “Religion in Turkey” is being organized in collaboration with Colombia and Georgetown universities.
All these activities show that a very powerful Turkish lobby is being established in the US. This new dialogue, which will open a new page in Turkish-US relations, is as important as Turkey’s EU bid, which will pave the way to alliance of civilizations.
Our deepest thanks go out to everyone who has contributed to this movement, and particularly to the one who established the foundations for love, dialogue and tolerance.
For detailed information on the Turkish Cultural Center, visit their Web site at http://www.turkishculturalcenter.com.
