President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the Turkish community in the United States to participate more strongly in social life and exercise its democratic rights in the upcoming midterm elections.
Speaking at an event held Wednesday at Gotham Hall in New York, Erdoğan said that Muslims’ integration into the societies where they live does not mean giving up their language, culture or roots. Erdoğan said Muslims in many parts of Europe were expected to assimilate rather than integrate, declaring: “Yes to integration, no to all forms of assimilation.”
Call for stronger representation of Turkish Americans
Erdoğan said that learning the Turkish community’s language and culture and maintaining ties with the homeland do not constitute an obstacle to integration. He called for stronger representation of Turkish Americans in political, economic, academic, cultural and artistic life.
Erdoğan said individual achievements should be transformed into strong institutions and lasting structures that can be passed down from one generation to the next. He said stronger communities could contribute to the fight against anti-Muslim sentiment, xenophobia and discrimination.
Call to exercise democratic rights in US midterm elections
Referring to the upcoming US midterm elections, Erdoğan called on citizens to exercise their democratic rights and demonstrate their will as strongly as possible at the ballot box.
Erdoğan also said communities in the United States should continue their activities in a spirit of unity, solidarity and brotherhood. At the event, organized by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee, the International Union of Democrats, the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association and the US Council of Muslim Organizations, he said support for the Turkish community would continue.