My Dear Brothers and Sisters, esteemed friends,

I greet you all with my deepest affection and with my feelings of brotherhood and unity.

Today I praise my Lord for being a part of this sacred gathering.

From the shadow of Hagia Sophia, freed from its chains, greetings to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which awaits its deliverance from captivity!

From our İstanbul, the exhibition ground of martyrs and the vicinity of Hz. Eyyup El-Ensari, the host of our Prophet, we send our heartfelt prayers to the blessed city of Gaza, to occupied Jerusalem and to Ramallah, the symbol of honourable resistance.

As we did yesterday in Hagia Sophia, today, thanks be to God, we pray freely in the Umayyad Mosque. And tomorrow, God willing, I believe with all my heart that we will experience this freedom in Jerusalem.

Today we have once again felt this truth in our hearts: Jerusalem is the keystone of the world.

Without peace coming there, it is not possible for humanity to find serenity. Until freedom comes to Jerusalem, serenity to Gaza and justice to Palestine, we will stand by our cause and we will continue to be the voice of the oppressed and the nightmare of the oppressor.

As the MÜSİAD Family, we act with 14 thousand hearts and a single conscience. Holding the sake of truth above all else, we stand firm beside the oppressed and against the oppressor, and we will continue to stand so.

Never losing hope in God's mercy, we will continue to work patiently and persistently for that blessed day on which justice will be established.

My Brothers and Sisters,

What we have witnessed recently in Syria, our neighbouring geography, is one of the finest manifestations of the truth that the cry of the oppressed will not be left with the oppressor. The Assad regime, which for years made its people suffer through tyranny, has now, praise be to God, been overthrown. Free Syria has prevailed after a dark night lasting years, and the prayer of the oppressed has been answered.

There is no doubt that the share of our beloved nation and of our state in this victory is very great. Our state's friendly attitude and its stance open to dialogue and full of compassion had a great share in this process.

Let us never forget this; throughout history this glorious nation has never bowed to the oppressor. And it has always been a nation that took its place beside the oppressed.

As the voice of humanity's conscience, Türkiye has always been the hand of the oppressed and the support of the friend, and it will continue to be so.

Türkiye, which stood firm yesterday against the oppression experienced in Syria, will always oppose the bloody regime in Jerusalem today and in the future, as it did in the past.

Let us not forget; “Türkiye is greater than Türkiye.”

The trusts of our ancestors and every inch of our homeland's soil are sacred to us. We are conscious of our humanitarian, Islamic and historical responsibilities, and let no one have any doubt that we will fulfil whatever is required when the time and the hour come.

Let us never forget this: “There is no victor but God.” (Yûsuf, 21). And “God is the best of those who take retribution…” (Rûm, 47)

He hears the cry of the oppressed and weighs stolen rights on the scale of justice.

His scale of justice is unerring! It is the only scale that will weigh both the cry of the oppressed and the tyranny of the oppressor.

That scale bows neither to the games of the unjust nor to the pressure of the powerful.

In God's justice, whose hand is bloody and whose heart is clean all become perfectly clear. The prayer of the oppressed carries weight on that scale; the tyranny of the oppressor, however, melts away and disappears in that balance.

And let us not forget that the owner of this blessed scale is God Almighty, who knows the truest of everything and gives every rightful owner his due.

My dear brothers and sisters,

As far as we are able and as far as our tongues can express, with our Lord's permission, we will continue to raise the name of truth upon the face of the earth, from Syria to Palestine, from East to West, God willing.

On this occasion, I once again remember with mercy and gratitude our beloved martyrs who bestowed upon us our heavenly homeland, our independence and our future.

I greet you all with respect and with affection.

May God protect you.

Mahmut Asmalı

President of MÜSİAD