Aid Campaign for Palestine Dinner Program- Opening Speech

31 January 2024

Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,

Distinguished Guests,

Esteemed Members of the Press,

Welcome, all of you, to our Aid Campaign for Palestine Program.

We praise God that we are together on the occasion of this meaningful gathering. However, the news coming from Palestine and from Gaza deeply saddens us.

Today is the 20th day of the noble month of Rajab, and six days from now we will once again comprehend the miracles of Isra and Mi'raj. How painful it is for the Islamic ummah that Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the place and setting of these miracles, are under occupation. In Gaza, another part of these blessed lands, our brothers and sisters are being subjected to genocide and face the danger of starvation. The International Court of Justice issues a decision on provisional measures against Israel's genocide, yet cannot even call for a ceasefire. In short, the international system is unable to produce justice or sanctions. The perpetrators of the genocide and their accomplices continue to display the same attitudes barbarically and shamelessly. And the Islamic countries, unfortunately, watch helplessly what is happening.

If a solution cannot be produced in Palestine with the current methods and efforts, and if the genocide in Gaza cannot be prevented, then as the Islamic world we must find, develop and implement other effective methods. We are obliged to increase our efforts, our endeavours and our struggle.

We cannot remain with our hands tied in the face of these atrocities. We must do whatever is in our power. At the very least, we are duty-bound and obliged to send aid to our needy, aggrieved and oppressed brothers and sisters.

In one of his hadiths, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) says:

“A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not wrong him, he does not treat him unjustly and he does not surrender him to the enemy. God fulfils the need of whoever fulfils the need of his Muslim brother. Whoever relieves a Muslim of a hardship, God Almighty relieves him of one of his hardships on the Day of Judgement. Whoever conceals the faults and shortcomings of a Muslim, God Almighty conceals his faults and shortcomings as well.”

At this program, which we are organizing in cooperation between MÜSİAD and the Turkish Red Crescent, we are conducting a Food Parcel Aid Campaign for our Palestinian brothers and sisters, who for decades have shown honourable resistance against the Israeli occupation.

God willing, on this occasion we will lighten a little the heavy burden on the backs of our oppressed brothers and sisters; God willing, we will be a breath of relief for them…

Esteemed Guests,

Our Most Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,

As we all know, a great human tragedy is unfolding in Gaza today. Israel is carrying out a great massacre without regard to any target, without regard to women, children or the elderly…

The Palestinian people, who struggle to protect the dignity not only of the Islamic geography but of all humanity, are suffering on their own soil under the massacre of the Zionist Israeli regime. The Israeli occupation, which has continued for 76 years, and this genocide, massacre and oppression, which has continued for 4 months, have displaced almost 2 million people from their homes. More than 26,000 of our brothers and sisters, most of them children and women, have been martyred.

Today a serious risk of famine has emerged in Gaza, which has a population of 2.3 million. The vast majority of the people trapped in this region are struggling to survive at the level of starvation.

The civilian settlements, places of worship, hospitals and educational institutions in Gaza have been levelled to the ground. The infrastructure system has been destroyed… People's electricity and water have been cut off… People are wounded, without food and without water…

We know from the past as well this massacre that the State of Israel has been carrying out for months before everyone's eyes, and especially before the eyes of the entire Western civilization… We know it from Sarajevo, which lasted for years. We know it from Arakan…

Such days are days when humanity is tested anew, when what we call “civilization” is weighed once again on the scales of humanity… On such days a person determines their side and comprehends once more the importance of which evil they must struggle against…

Esteemed Guests,

Our Most Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,

The conscience of humanity is on its feet against this heartrending oppression and massacre, yet not even a strong voice is raised by international actors… We, as Muslims, must raise that strong voice. As MÜSİAD, we must stand up for the oppressed Palestinian people, who have been left alone and by themselves.

As MÜSİAD, we will continue to defend the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people against Israel's attacks in all national and international arenas. The Palestinian cause is for us a cause of civilization. This cause lies under the shared responsibility of all Muslims and of all humanity. For this reason, we once again invite all civil society organizations, the business world and media institutions in Türkiye and in the international community to be sensitive on this matter.

As the MÜSİAD Family, we have always stood by the oppressed. We will continue to stand by them from now on as well. We are making our preparations for the needs that have arisen after the massacres in Gaza. Together with our members and the institutions with which we cooperate, we will stand strongly by our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

In this process, as MÜSİAD, which is also an effective and strong actor of humanitarian diplomacy, together with all our members we will deliver our aid to Gaza through the Turkish Red Crescent.

Dear Friends,

We pray for God's mercy upon our brothers and sisters martyred in Palestine and wish patience for their relatives and for all Muslims. With God's help, we believe that the Palestinian people will be delivered from oppression and will attain victory in their just cause.

What will make us strong is, above all, our being “one and together”. If we free ourselves from personal matters and become aware of our own strength, we will have a say in this community we call the international society. Only if we become “We” can we bring out our own strength. And only if we become “we” can no power stand before us and can we become the true decision-makers.

Esteemed MÜSİAD Family,

I hope that this blessed gathering of ours will be a means of increasing good deeds. I congratulate you in advance on your Mi'raj night. Calamities are times for prayer and repentance. Let us all pray and repent together so that divine help and mercy may pour down upon us like rain.

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