President Erdoğan Spoke at the Turkish-American Muslim Community Event in New York

President Erdoğan attended the event organized by TASC, UID, MÜSİAD and USCMO in New York.

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech;

My dear young brothers, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings, longing and affection. Again, even if they are not here right now, send my greetings to their hearts through you. I have the pleasure of meeting you again in New York. I thank each of you for attending the program. I congratulate all institutions and organizations that contributed to this beautiful collaboration. May God turn our meeting into blessings.

I hope it will lead to peace and brotherhood. I find this meeting very valuable both to witness your work here and to discuss our common issues. Once again, I would like to express this with all my sincerity. In this hall, which brings together the Turkish and American Muslim communities living in America, there is a brotherhood beyond passports, borders and geographies. There is a common conscience here, a great spirit that nurtures concern for each other's problems and solidarity. Here, there are the bearers of a deep-rooted heritage that extends from the Turkish Solidarity Society to the Hars Society, from the first generations that reached these lands on the Gülcemal ferry to our strong national existence that has taken root all over America. There is conversation in this room. There is a great brotherhood that transcends borders and cultures. There is a wonderful climate of solidarity in this hall that gives confidence to all of us.

As the President of Türkiye, I am very pleased to be a part and a member of the spirit of brotherhood embodied in this hall. Of course, such a strong belonging also brings responsibilities. Because siblings support each other. Brothers and sisters respect each other's laws. Siblings do not discriminate between each other by origin, income, language, culture or color. Siblings do not build walls among themselves due to differences of opinion. I would especially like to remind you of this hadith of the Prophet, who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, describing our brotherhood. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He doesn't betray him. He doesn't lie and doesn't leave it unattended. Everything for a Muslim; His property, chastity and blood are forbidden for a Muslim. This is where piety is in the heart. It is enough evil for a person to insult his Muslim brother.

Yes, this is the essence of joy. My dear friends, very valuable guests, since we are brothers, we have to give justice to this. We have to transform this unity into organization, and this organization into a permanent power that produces value for society. When we look at the point reached by Turkish, cognate and Muslim communities in America today, we see an important human resource, serious experience and a growing institutional capacity. We have brothers and sisters who have achieved great success in the business world, science, academia, health, law and technology. We have the values ​​that our teacher, Professor Doctor Aziz Sancar, has contributed to the evolution of humanity with the breakthrough he initiated in the world of science. We are proud of the success of all our citizens, regardless of their views, as long as they do not fall into the pit of treason. I would like to thank all our citizens who work to strengthen the friendship between our country and America, who represent Türkiye's voice, knowledge and values ​​in the best way wherever they live. You are the natural ambassadors of Türkiye with the successes you have demonstrated, the friendships you have established, and the contributions you have made to the society you live in. Undoubtedly, this circle of hearts does not consist only of our citizens. We also attach great importance to the existence of our friends who have a sincere love for Türkiye and our nation, even though they are not Turkish citizens, and who speak out against prejudices and injustices against the Turkish nation. This broad solidarity network that extends to our compatriots, the American Muslim community, and all our friends who have established a bond with Türkiye is very valuable to us.

In your presence, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all our friends who increase Türkiye's friendship, contribute to a more accurate understanding of our country, and show their solidarity in times of need. Dear brothers and sisters, wherever you are in the world, the secret of success is quality education. Consolidating the Turkish society's place in political, economic, social and cultural life depends on our children and youth receiving a good education. However, it is also important for our children to learn their own language and culture and maintain their ties with their homeland. In fact, this is not an obstacle to integration at all. Nowadays, it is quite natural for individuals to feel like they belong to more than one country. The main objection here is to expect an immigrant to deny his roots in order to integrate into the society he lives in. Moreover, in order for an immigrant group to integrate with the society they live in, that society must also accept immigrants and respect their rights. Although America is an exceptional example in this regard, unfortunately there are problems in many parts of the world, especially in Europe. Muslims are expected to assimilate, not integrate. We say yes to integration and no to all kinds of assimilation. We see it as extremely valuable for our people to maintain their ties with their homeland while becoming a strong part of the country they live in.

This is the way to fight more strongly against anti-Muslim, xenophobia and all kinds of discrimination. This is the way to say stop to those who want to cover the Islamic geography with blood and tears. This is the way to prevent the genocide in Gaza from recurring in other places. The way to defeat the slanders against Türkiye is the same way. This is the way to increase trade, investments and economic cooperation between Türkiye and America. My brothers, if others work one, we will work ten. We will hold on tightly to our brotherhood, we will not bend our necks, we will not bow our faces to the ground, we will never feel second or third class. On this occasion, I invite all our citizens to use their democratic rights and make their voices heard in the upcoming midterm elections. It is very important that you reflect your will at the ballot box at every level. I sincerely hope that you will continue your activities here successfully in unity, solidarity and most importantly in brotherhood. I reiterate that I appreciate the efforts of the Turkish American National Steering Committee and our other non-governmental organizations. I want you to know that Türkiye and we are always with you and ready to provide you with all kinds of support. I pray that God will help you and help you. As I conclude with these thoughts, I would like to congratulate the Turkish American National Steering Committee, our Presidency for Turks Abroad, and all our institutions that support and contribute to the program, which allowed us to meet. I would like to wholeheartedly thank each of my brothers who attended our meeting from different states of America. I particularly request you to convey my personal and my nation's deepest greetings to my brothers and sisters in your cities. Thank you, bless you. May God bless you until we meet again.