INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON

“CIVILIZATION AND HARMONY: VALUES AND MECHANISMS OF THE GLOBAL ORDER”

CLOSING REMARKS BY

H.E. ABDULLAH GÜL

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

İstanbul, 3 October 2004

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have come to the end of this very interesting symposium.

I am truly honored to host such a distinguished group of personalities who have dedicated their life-time intellectual work to a better world. 

I would like to thank all of you for responding my invitation and for your valuable contributions.

The high quality and candidness of the discussions were very much fitting to the atmosphere of dialogue we want to advance among different cultures.

 It was genuine, focused and in a sense operational, with a clear eye on the future of our dialogue.

 It is important that we do not only talk of dialogue, but also engage in a real one.

 Because, a genuine dialogue is the only insurance for our common future.

 Indeed, the discussions of the past two days have clearly shown that we have so much to talk, share and learn from each other.

 The contributions of our intellectuals and academics are therefore indispensable.

 I regret that some unfortunate circumstances forced the cancellation of the informal Foreign Minister’s meeting that was planned to follow and therefore benefit from the conclusions of this important Symposium.

 However, I am particularly pleased that this did not distract the valuable discussions at the Symposium.

 I must emphasize that the stated reasons for the decision by some European countries not to attend the meeting was totally unrelated to the essence and purpose of this important meeting.

 I thank those of my colleagues from the OIC and the EU countries who spent sincere efforts to the last minute to contribute to the realization of the Joint Forum as was planned.

 Anyway, now it is a time when there is an absolute need to focus on finding ways to promote harmony.

 Turkey will continue her efforts to consolidate the channels for dialogue.

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 I am encouraged by the discussions here in İstanbul.

In spite of current tragedies and gloom, I am hopeful for the future.

 Indeed, humanity did achieve periods and spaces of harmony and co-existence both in history and in our times. 

From simple people to great statesmen, from religious leaders to artists and scholars,

and even businessmen and tradesmen yearned for it, struggled for it, and  sometimes sacrificed themselves for it.  

 They did so with a purely human instinct.

This is our strength.

We should get inspiration from them.

 This has been the case, among many others, at certain glorious periods of the Andaluz, Roman or Ottoman Empires when good-governance, justice and tolerance prevailed.  

 People of Jerusalem, Balkans, Iraq, Africa or Latin America did experience in their history times of peace, harmony and prosperity.

 In our times, from European Union countries to the United States, from  Malaysia to Syria or  from Egypt to South Africa  periods and  spaces of  co-habitation of people of different religions, cultures or colors do exist.

 However, the roots, seeds and practices of prejudice and intolerance are also still everywhere.  

 Sometimes greed and selfishness, sometimes ignorance, illiteracy and dogmatism incite these feelings of religious-ethnic prejudice or exclusion.

 They show up as extremist ideologies, irresponsible leaderships or abusive policies.

 The result is political-military conflicts, humanitarian crises, poverty and misery.

 At this point, I should express my deep concern for the very recent surge of hostilities, violence and terror all around the world.

 Tragedies of the last few weeks or days   in Gaza, Beslan and Samarra,  India and Pakistan,  Colombia and Nigeria are most distressing.

 I am extremely worried.

 My concern is that every casualty, loss of every innocent life will deepen the negative feelings among nations.

 Every home, be it a refugee shelter or a sky-scraper, every school, shrine or temple demolished  will  leave deep scars, further   aggravating these conflicts.

 I am concerned because this many tragedies might weigh too heavy to endure for the world.

 Urgent political response to all these issues seems necessary more than ever.

  Ladies and Gentlemen,

 In our times, racism, xenophobia, religious and ethnic fanaticism, anti-Semitism and prejudicial attitudes against tenants of certain creeds, nowadays especially against Muslims, continue to be challenges we must tackle.

 I believe that all individuals, political movements, governments, nations and international bodies have a responsibility in confronting them.

 In this respect, as a politician, I see a priority role for political leaderships.

 Every effort at local, national or regional level to create the political, social and economic basis eradicating and discouraging contradictions is most valuable.

 Similar efforts creating the cultural atmosphere encouraging and nourishing understanding are equally valuable.

 Such efforts would be the best of contributions to the global efforts in this direction.

 My Governments’ focus on reforms to improve the political, economic, cultural and social standards of my people should also be seen in this context.

 From the beginning, our political movement saw the exercise of fundamental rights on a basis of good-governance, transparency and accountability as a universal target.

 We believed that our people absolutely deserved and was capable to achieve this target.

 We also saw that, this target was mostly embodied in European Union standards in our age.

 We also considered this process as a process of perfection which might always need improvement and correction to better.

 We believed that our people equally deserved to maintain its identity. Our moral values had to be respected. Our rich traditions had to be protected.

 Our experience has proved that these two are perfectly compatible.

 We have proved that a country, with 99 per cent Muslim population, can achieve and implement highest standards of democracy and human rights.

 We take pride in the fact that we received overwhelming support from all segments our people in our efforts.

 Turkish people, men or women of every opinion, creed or income level perceived our targets correctly.

 They owned these targets and adopted them.

 Because, as political leadership, we were coming from among them, from the grassroots.

Thus, we were sharing the same sensitivities, values and dreams with our people.

 This made both our people and us self- confident.

 I also take pride that   value of our experience has been acknowledged both in the West and the East. 

 If our achievements inspire others, that would only be another source of pride for us.

I do not mean putting models or examples in front of others.

 I fully agree that each society has the right to function benefiting also from its own culture, values and traditions.

 Yet, this cultural relativism should not be used as an excuse for ignoring the existence and merits of universal values, let alone their abuses.  

Values like human rights, democracy and rule of law are truly universal.

 No single culture can claim that universal values belong to it alone.

 Instead, these values are the product of mankind’s collective wisdom, conscience and progress.

 This heritage includes the experiences and contributions of all nations and religions at different stages of history and at different geographies. 

 This is an incredibly important point to recognize now.

 This is another reason why this symposium is of great significance.

 For, the dialogue among us is our best hope to jointly reinforce these universal values.

 We can thus build a peaceful, sustainable and just future thereupon.

 Distinguished Guests,

 A true dialogue can only occur when there is genuine respect for and understanding of other cultures and civilizations.

 Indeed, if mankind is not capable of tolerating and accommodating cultural differences and plurality, there will be no room for a global society.

 The symposium has been an important instrument of dialogue and reflection. 

 Our message is that our diversity is our strength, and that our pursuit for a better world unites us.

 İstanbul has been a fitting venue for such a venture.

 Bridging continents and cultures throughout centuries, and yet being a powerhouse of modernity, development and coherence, this historic city symbolizes the future of our historic endeavor.

 With these thoughts, I would like to thank all those who have made this possible, and look forward to continuing our dialogue in the time ahead.

 Thank you.