Domestic Iftar Programs - General Speech
12 March 2024
Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
Distinguished guests,
We are experiencing the Holy Ramadan of the year 1445. May it be auspicious and blessed.
This blessed month, whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness and whose end is deliverance from the torment of Hell; in which the revelation of our Holy Book the Qur'an began and which contains the Night of Power, better than a thousand months; the month of Ramadan, the sultan of the eleven months, will, God willing, bring peace and health to us all with its goodness and its abundance.
I would like to state that I personally am very happy that we are together on this beautiful evening of Ramadan, on the occasion of this meaningful iftar.
We greet you all with respect and affection. Welcome, you have brought joy with you.
We believers must always renew our unity and our togetherness through iftar programs and through gatherings such as these. And we must turn these gatherings into occasions of goodness. Because we all know very well that a believer is the brother of a believer, and we are obliged to relieve the difficulties of our brothers.
In one of his hadiths, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) says as follows:
“A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not oppress him, does not treat him unjustly and does not hand him over to the enemy. Whoever meets the need of his Muslim brother, God will meet his need. Whoever removes a distress from a Muslim, God Almighty will remove from him one of his distresses on the Day of Judgement. Whoever conceals the fault and the shortcoming of a Muslim, God Almighty will conceal his fault and his shortcoming.”
May the Holy Ramadan, the month of abundance and forgiveness, God willing, make each of us servants who race in doing good.
Most esteemed members of MÜSİAD,
A great genocide is taking place in Gaza. The people of Gaza, who are waging an unparalleled struggle, are suffering oppression on their own land under the massacre of the Zionist Israeli regime. Once again I condemn this massacre that Israel recklessly continues before the eyes of the whole world. Nor will we ever forget the heedless ones who raise no voice against this atrocity, who close their eyes and turn their faces in other directions. In the face of Israel's barbaric massacres, there is no other way out than for the Islamic World to act in unity and togetherness. For this reason it is essential that public reaction does not come to an end, and that by keeping the matter constantly on the agenda these reactions continue and increase.
By displaying a clear stance at every level on the issue of Gaza and on the Palestinian cause, Türkiye continues its diplomatic solution proposals and its humanitarian aid efforts without interruption. As MÜSİAD, we too have been taking concrete steps since the beginning of the crisis and continuously organizing aid campaigns for Gaza, and we support all such efforts with all our organizations and all our members.
As you know, we first organized an auction for Gaza and sent our aid to the region. We also launched our hot meal distribution aid for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Most recently, on 7 March, we launched the “Let there be a parcel from you too” campaign together with the Turkish Red Crescent; this work of ours is still continuing.
On this occasion let us underline once more: our position on Palestine is clear and our determination will never change. For the safety and the freedom of our brothers and sisters, for the independence of Palestine and for the prosecution of the perpetrators of this genocide, we will continue to struggle together with our government and with our civil society organizations.
Most esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
Despite many hardships and disasters, Türkiye continues to be a safe harbour in its region as a country that stands on its own feet, that has achieved political and economic stability and that grows continuously.
The steps taken over the past twenty years are now bearing fruit, and our country is making enormous moves from the defence industry to energy and from health to tourism. With its trained human resources, its flexible production capacity and its logistics capacity, Türkiye is on the eve of a period of great leap forward. If we are patient and determined, we will experience these historic moves all together and, step by step, reach our goals one by one with the vision of the Century of Türkiye, God willing.
The world is passing through a critical and historic period. There is no longer a bipolar world. Nor is there a unipolar world. Today, when a new order is being sought in a multipolar world, Türkiye is coming to the fore as an order-establishing country. Of course this has a price. Taking these steps despite terrorist organizations, regional actors and global powers is possible only with large and well-trained cadres, a sound economy and a strong political administration.
As the MÜSİAD family, we contribute to our country's increasing its commercial and economic capacity on its way to these goals. That is why the cause and the responsibility we shoulder are very great and vital.
As MÜSİAD, we will continue to stand by our state and our nation in this historic period with patience, with determination and with sincerity.
Let no one have any doubt about this.
My dear brothers and sisters,
On this occasion, I would like to remind you once again of something we have often emphasized recently…
The most important thing that will make us strong is our being “one and together”. Not you, me, him; only if we are “We” can we bring out our own strength. Only if we are “we” can no power stand before us and can we become the ones who truly have a say.
God willing, the unifying nature and the abundance of the blessed month of Ramadan will also be a leaven that strengthens our togetherness.
Because MÜSİAD means never departing from the good pleasure of God.
Because MÜSİAD means working so that Türkiye takes the place it deserves in the world arena as a strong country, and struggling for Muslims.
Because MÜSİAD means being one, being united and being together.
Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,
I ask the Almighty Lord that the month of Ramadan we are in may be a means for the increase of goodness and may multiply the good in our hearts…
May God accept the fasts and the good deeds of us all…
I thank you very much for your participation and greet you all with respect and reverence.
May God protect you.
Mahmut Asmalı
President of MÜSİAD