Turkish Forum

Tag: Wulff

  • Turkish-German University to be opened in Istanbul

    Turkish-German University to be opened in Istanbul

    Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted a dinner in honor of German President Christian Wulff in Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Thursday.

    Friday, 22 October 2010 09:50

    wulff gul german uniTurkish President Abdullah Gul hosted a dinner in honor of German President Christian Wulff in Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on Thursday.

    Delivering a speech in the dinner, Gul said that some friendly European countries considered that Turkey’s EU membership would weaken harmony and coherence in Europe, but it was totally baseless.

    3 million Turks living in Germany were binding the two countries firmly, he said.

    President Gul said Turkey and Germany which shared universal values such as democracy, pluralism, rule of law, human rights and freedoms, equality and justice were the two allied countries exerting efforts for similar ideals.

    Gul said that a groundbreaking would be held for Turkish-German University in Istanbul on Friday and this university would contribute to relations between Turkey and German.

    “We are determined to complete the EU accession process successfully. We expect solidarity and cooperation from Germany in this matter,” he said.

    Gul said that Turkey’s EU membership would be a historic opportunity in every respect.

    AA

  • German President Wulff Visits Blue Mosque

    German President Wulff Visits Blue Mosque

    blue mosque

    German President Christian Wulff on Friday visited Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

    Along with his wife Bettina, Wulff toured inside the mosque and he was briefed about the mosque.

    During his official visit in inTurkey, German President held meetings with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ali Bardakoglu, head of Turkey’s Directorate General of Religious Affairs.

    Wulff also addressed Turkish Parliament.

    Read more about Istanbul.

  • President Wulff describes Turkey trip as extremely successful

    President Wulff describes Turkey trip as extremely successful

    Wrapping up his five-day trip to Turkey, German President Christian Wulff was full of praise for the hosts: In crucial political questions there was broad agreement, he said.

    The German president concluded his trip to Turkey with a call for more exchanges in education, ideas and culture. Christian Wulff and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul together laid the foundation stone for a new German-Turkish university in Istanbul.

    The project will combine the strength of both of the two countries systems of higher education, President Wulff said. Around 5,000 students are to begin studies at the university next year. German universities are to provide professors and teachers and the courses are to be taught mainly in German.

    Wulff visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul

    At the close of his visit, Wulff described the five days as “extremely positive.”

    “I have felt at every stage the trust felt towards Germany,” he said on Friday. He said key issues had been discussed openly, and there had been agreement on all the essential political questions. Turkey, he said, was on its way to becoming a successful economy.

    Religion and integration topping the agenda

    Wulff’s visit was the first by a German president to Turkey in more than a decade, and came at a time of heightened tension in Germany itself over the place of its ethnic minorities, of which Turks form the largest group.

    Wulff also became the first German head of state to address the Turkish parliament. In his speech on Tuesday, the president explicitly addressed the problem of the integration of Turkish immigrants in German.

    “Our fellow citizens of Turkish origin are welcome in our country, and belong to our country,” he said. “As their president, I urge every immigrant to actively integrate in German society.”

    Wulff was the first German president to adress the Turkish parliament

    Germany has around four million Muslims among its population of 82 million, with 2.5 million Turks forming the largest ethnic minority.

    Wulff also pushed for more freedom of religion for Christians within Turkey, taking part in a church service in the southern city of Tartus, said to be the birthplace of Paul the Apostle.

    On Friday morning, the German president met with Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople. He later visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, formerly a Christian church.

    Author: Andreas Illmer (apn, dpa)

    Editor: Chuck Penfold

    via President Wulff describes Turkey trip as extremely successful | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 22.10.2010.

  • German president in Turkey calls for religious freedom

    German president in Turkey calls for religious freedom

    wulff in turkish parliament1

    Germany’s president, visiting Turkey, said Turkish immigrants were a good influence but urged newcomers to “integrate responsibly”.

    Wulff addressed Turkish lawmakers at the parliament in capital Ankara, saying Turkey was a major asset for Europe as a bridge between the East and the West.

    “Many people of Turkish origin have established roots in Germany … many have become German citizens. That is a good sign. I would encourage everyone to integrate responsibly,” Christian Wulff said on Tuesday.

    “Committed to the West with an active and stability-building policy in the East and as a bridge between the East and the West, Turkey is a great asset for Europe,” Wulff said.

    The German president stated that his country monitored closely a recent overhaul of parts of Turkey’s constitution in a referendum, saying “Turkey has moved closer to standards of the European Union by adopting these reforms. I would like to support and encourage you to move ahead on this path.”

    “I believe that Turkey has a great opportunity to show that Islam did not contradict with democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Turkey reconciles a vibrant Islam with a modern democracy. Turkey looks on both the East and the West. Germany specifically supports the continuation of Turkey’s march on the path to the EU. We are committed to the decision that Turkey’s open-ended negotiations with EU be pursued fairly and expect Turkey to fulfill its own obligations,” Wulff said.

    Wulff noted that Muslims in Germany are “free to practice their religious duties”, which he said was confirmed by the growing number of mosques in the country.

    “We believe that Christian living in Muslim nations also have the same right to live their religions freely. We believe that they must be able to build their churches and train their religious clerks. We believe that people in Turkey and in Germany and in any other country should be granted equal rights and opportunities regardless of their religious backgrounds. We see that Christianity has a long past in Turkey. Christianity obviously belongs to Turkey, too,” Wulff said.

    Wulff said he welcomed the growing number of Turkish people who supported the opening of new churches and the conducting of services there.

    Merkel, who is under pressure from the conservative wing of her Christian Democratic Union, said this weekend Germany’s bid to create a multicultural society had “utterly failed”.

    Earlier this month, following the resignation of central banker Thilo Sarrazin after making blunt comments about Muslims and Jews, Wulff urged Germany to accept its four million Muslims as part of society.

    Wulff said then, “Islam belongs to Germany” and echoed that by saying “Christianity belongs to Turkey”.

    Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to expand rights for religious minorities to meet the standards of the European Union.

    President Abdullah Gul met Wulff earlier on Tuesday and thanked him for supporting Germany’s Muslims and backed his calls for newcomers to Germany to integrate.

    “It is a duty for all of us to ensure every citizen speaks the language of the country they reside in fluently,” Gul said. “The use of integration issues for political capital should be avoided, everybody must contribute to a solution instead.”

    Agencies

  • President Gül: a powerful Turkey in world’s best interest

    President Gül: a powerful Turkey in world’s best interest

    President Abdullah Gül has said Turkey would become stronger with a powerful economy, a better democracy and higher legal standards, and that a strong Turkey would be to the benefit of the world, Europe and its neighbors.

    Hayrünnisa Gül (L) and Bettina Wulff, the wife of the German president, visited Kayseri’s historic sites.
    Hayrünnisa Gül (L) and Bettina Wulff, the wife of the German president, visited Kayseri’s historic sites.

    Attending the Turkish-German Economy Forum on Wednesday in Kayseri, Central Anatolia, with German President Christian Wulff, Gül commenced his speech by welcoming the guests. “It is my pleasure to welcome you to the city in which I was born,” he said.The president said Wulff’s visit adds a fresh impetus to the already-good relations between the two nations, particularly mentioning the role of over 3 million Turks in Germany as a bridge between the two peoples.

    He said Turks show their fidelity to Germany by integrating into its society while at the same time protecting their Muslim-Turkish identity.

    He recalled Germany’s past support for Turkey’s membership process to the European Union and asked the “engine of the EU” to continue supporting Turkey’s case. The Turkish president also spoke about the recent success of the Turkish economy and a number of structural reforms that secured the country from the effects of last year’s global economic crisis while pushing Turkey’s economy to new heights.

    “Trade volume between Turkey and Germany exceeded $30 billion in 2008, but our exports fell as European markets sustained heavy damage from the economic crisis,” Gül said. If Turkey joins the EU, it will have a share in the current pie of wealth, he noted, adding that Turkey will first increase the size of the pie and then take its share.

    Wulff meets with civil society leaders

    German President Wulff, on an official visit to Turkey amidst a heated debate over the integration of Germany’s immigrant communities into German society, convened with representatives of some of Turkey’s major civil society organizations over breakfast.

    Osman Güner from the Anatolian Culture Association, Ayhan Bilgen from the Civil Society Development Center, Halime Güner from the Flying Broom, Human Rights Joint Platform (İHOP) General Coordinator Feray Salman and Alevi-Bektaşi Federation President Ali Balkız exchanged opinions with the German president during a one-and-a-half-hour-long meeting.

    Wulff mainly listened to the participants, taking frequent notes during the meeting, which mainly revolved around the topic of Turkey’s democratization process.

    The president was particularly interested in the mandatory courses on religion at the primary and high school levels as well as problems faced by Alevis on this issue. He was also curious about how an Alevi dede (religious leader) is trained.

    In the meantime, Turkey’s first lady, Hayrünnisa Gül, accompanied Bettina Wulff, the wife of the German president, on a tour of Kayseri’s historic sites. The two women first visited the Bürüngüz Mosque before heading to the ages-old covered market. The two women briefly spoke with tradesmen in the bazaar while shopping.

    One tradesman presented a shawl and a piece of traditional muslin to each woman. Another vendor in the market offered Gül and Wulff some Turkish delight. They later visited a nursing home and spoke with the elderly residents living there.
    21 October 2010, Thursday
    TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL
  • Turkish pres: Germany must help Turks integrate

    Turkish pres: Germany must help Turks integrate

    anatolia mapANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday urged politicians in Germany not to exploit the issue of immigration for political gain and said they should instead help Turks better integrate.

    Gul was speaking at a joint news conference with German President Christian Wulff who is paying a five-day visit to Turkey as his country’s increasingly debates the integration of millions of foreigners.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend her country’s attempts to build a multicultural society had “utterly failed.” While immigrants were welcome in Germany, they must learn the language and accept the country’s cultural norms, she said, voicing a belief heard increasingly across Europe as it battles an economic slump and worries about terrorism.

    “Instead of using the issue of integration politically, everyone must help reach a solution,” Gul said.

    Gul said Turks living in Germany should learn to speak German “for their own sakes, for the sake of their families, and so that they may be of use for their environment and society.”

    The Turkish president said however, both Germany and Turkey had failed to provide sufficient guidance to Turkish immigrants, many of whom went to Germany as “guest workers” in the 1960s to provide manpower for Germany industry as it was rebuilding after World War II.

    “We should not blame them,” he said. “Many went to German cities (from Turkish villages) without even having seen a Turkish city. Neither we nor you were able to provide the necessary leadership.”

    Wulff said that many immigrants had successfully integrated in Germany but said Germans’ fears over “religious fundamentalism and terrorism” cannot be ignored.

    He said immigrants had to learn German from a “very early age.”

    “They have to integrate into the German lifestyle, they must show respect to German society,” he said.

    Before his arrival, Wulff sparked a debate in Germany by saying “Islam now also belongs to Germany” in his speech marking 20 years of German reunification.

    Germany is home to an estimated 5 million Muslims, including some 3 million Turks.

    Many immigrants speak little or no German, work in low paying jobs or live off of government handouts at the same time the country faces an aging population and a shortage of highly skilled workers.