An Antidote Story
I had planned to write this article before the despicable events in Istanbul. But I did not need to change the subject afterwards. The reason is that, as a matter of terrible coincidence, the cowardly attacks on two Jewish temples had something directly to do with what I was going to narrate. Terrorism poisoned Ramadan and Sabbath. And I was going to tell you 'an antidote story' from America.
I was invited to Chicago last week. The host was a Turkish-American organization called the Niagara Educational Services. Working in the fields of education and culture, Niagara was trying to gather representatives of all religions in Chicago at an iftar* occasion. To tell you the truth, I have accepted Niagara's invitation, which is not very well known, just out of courtesy, to escape from Washington's political atmosphere a little bit. But a sweet surprise was waiting for me and people who think like me, in Chicago.
When I arrived at Swissotel on Thursday evening, I have seen prominent leaders of the interfaith dialogue community arriving one by one. Guests from almost all religions, some put on their traditional or religious outfits, gave their colors to the dull corridors of the luxury hotel. The atmosphere was so intimate that the guests were all engaged in deep conversations even before sitting at the reserved tables.
When I sat at my table, I realized I was not the only journalist who was carried away by Niagara's flow. Sitting beside me on one side was Chicago Tribune's religion writer Geneive Abdo, and on the other side was Oak Park Journal's editor, Ed Vincent. Sitting across from me were a freelance writer and representatives from Chicago Public Radio.
Those among the lectern were also distinguished representatives of the rich religious tableau of Chicago: Dr. Scott Alexander of the Catholic Theological Union, Stanley L. Davis of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), Father Demetri C. Kantzavelos of the Greek Orthodox Church, Dr. Shakeela Z. Hassan of the Islamic Foundation, Dr. Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Corps (IFYC) and Rabbi Daniel Sherbill of Adas Yehuda V'Shoshana Synagogue.
I don't know whether it was because of the Ramadan's blessing, or the organizers' sincerity, or the beauty of tolerant and warm people of Chicago; one might see an exceptional spiritual pleasure on the faces of those in the salon.
Speaking of spiritual pleasure, I cannot help telling the story of a gentle-lady who sat at our table. I say gentle-lady, because this woman, whose name is Barbara, was a genuine Midwestern American lady. She had attended the Sufi whirling dervishes performance, which Niagara sponsored during a Turkish festival held in last September, along with thousands of Americans. She was so impressed that she expressed her heart-felt feelings by writing a long letter to Niagara officials. And they invited her to this dinner. Without minding it at all, she came all the way from Sycamore, which is 100 kilometers away.
Another meaningful instant was during the speech by Father Demetri of the Greek Orthodox Church, who talked about Turkish-Greek experience with its bitter, and (more) pleasant moments. Father Dimitri said, "People, who were enemies once, understand each other better." He also quoted Reverend Fethullah Gülen, who is one of the pioneers of the Muslim-Orthodox dialogue in Turkey, and our national peace hero.
Gülen, one of the names that comes to mind first when one talks about inter-civilization dialogue and peace in the Islamic world, is the honorary chairman of Journalist and Writers Foundation of Turkey, which was represented by Cemal Ussak at that night. Ussak, in his speech, invited dialogue volunteers from Chicago to the Prophet Abraham meeting that will be held in Mardin, Turkey next May. Speaking on behalf of Turks who founded the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue in Texas, University of Texas visiting scholar Muhammed Cetin expressed similar sentiments.
At the end of the night during which magnificent moments were experienced, Oak Park Journal newspaper editor Ed Vincent asked me to introduce him to Turkey's Chicago Consul General Naci Koru. And I brought him to Mr. Consul's table. Vincent said, "These people have represented your country very well.' As usual, good deeds were recorded in Turkey's scoreboard.
Furthermore, a nice example of unity and solidarity in American Turkish community was displayed on the night. Dr. Orhan Kaymakcalan of the Assembly of Turkish-American Organizations (ATAA) congratulated Niagara. Mehmet Celebi, President of Turkish-American Cultural Alliance of Chicago (TACA) said: "I came here from the Chicago mayor's dinner. Most of the people who should have been there are here tonight." Young and modest Kemal Oksuz (or 'Kevin', as Americans call him in short), who has managed to establish a wide network though he came to Chicago only six months ago, was undoubtedly one of the first people who deserved to be congratulated in Niagara ranks.
Now I am asking. Which damn bomb can tear apart this friendship, brotherhood, and sincerity chain that reached out to America? Our thanks go to Niagara, for having us taste the antidote potion against the terror poison once again.
ZAMAN
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