The Turkish community in Chicago will welcome its President Abdullah Gul who is coming to Chicago for the first time to participate in the NATO summit.
The President will arrive to the Windy City on May 18 and leave on May 22, said Onur Sayin, vice consul of Turkey in Chicago.
The consulate organized special programs that will involve the Turkish community during this week. They will have a reception on May 19, which is also a Turkish holiday – Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day – and the president will give a speech on May 22, Sayin said.
“NATO is very important in Turkey’s foreign agenda. We are now celebrating our 60th year,” he said. “NATO provides a security umbrella for Turkey.”
One of the messages of the Turkish delegation in Chicago will be trying to educate people to not stereotype Muslim nations as terrorist countries, Sayin said.
“I have been visiting some schools here and we made some presentations about Turkey. When we asked them, the first word that they said when we mentioned Islam or Muslim was terrorism,” he said.
Sayin said he knows the impact of 9/11 on the American population, but he thinks that everyone should understand that religion is a different affair.
“Terrorism is something else,” he said.
The Turkish community in Chicago is around 10,000 people. Most of the population is comprised of students and well-educated people who came here to specialize but then decided to stay and work in the U.S., he said.
“It’s a vibrant community– it’s a young community,” he said.
There will be a private reception for the Turkish community and their president on May 19.
Turkey has been part of NATO since 1952 and joined it with Greece after the Korean war.
After the Cold War was over, Turkey started to make some big changes in the direction of globalization. Turkey gave its contribution to help its partners fight some of the biggest problems in the last 60 years, Sayin said.
Because of the country’s strategic position, it’s a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. And that puts Turkey’s participation with NATO in an unique position compared to the other members, Sayin said.
“We are acting like a bridge for our Western neighborhoods to our Eastern neighborhoods,” he said.
The importance of being part of NATO for Turkey is founded in the civilization policy that the country has been following since it became a member, Sayin said.
“Turkey is the first Muslim country that established a democracy,” he said.
In NATO, Turkey is the only country with a predominantly Muslim population, with 98 percent of the people of that faith.
Sayin said Turkey is able to reach neighbors countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, and Georgia for cultural affinities and geographical position.
