On September 26, 2011, the Turkish Cultural Center Queens held a commemorative program titled "A Decade After 9/11: Incitement to Hatred and Violence on the Basis of religion or Belief.”
The program started with a moment of silence and the national anthem was sung afterwards. Right after national anthem, the 9/11 Video was presented to renew our memories, sadness and to share our feelings.
Therefore, the significance of this event was to figure out, what have we done wrong, and what have we done right? Where are we today? And, where are we headed tomorrow throughout the last decade. Hence, Distinguished speakers were kindly presented to the stage to address their feelings and views towards the 9/11 incident. An editor of the Fountain Magazine, Hakan Yesilova, expressed his feelings and mentioned that as our hearts bleed for the victims of the 9/11, we believe that we altogether-regardless of our distinct cultures, ethnicities, and races- do share a common dream: A peaceful world, in which love is very much loved and hatred is doomed to be hated. Let's open not only our minds but also our hearts.
Afterwards, Reverent Joshua Hallman was also presented to the stage .He mentioned that terrorism, violence, and vandalism have no religion. The best answer to these social diseases is to further strengthen our relationships in the community because we all know that the very aim of terrorism is to disrupt the social peace and harmony. The American creed, which unites all races, ethnicities, classes, religions, and ways of life on this soil, remains to be a powerful source of inspiration for us.
Finally, both reverent Joshua Hallman and Ibrahim Sayar who is a Director of the Peace Island Institute Interfaith Platform prayed for those who had been died during the horrific 9/11 incident.
