On January 20, 2010, Wednesday, Mr. Adnan Oktar held a press meeting with a broad committee from Israel including the leaders of various religious groups and Mr. Ayoob Kara, the Deputy Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee. The purpose of the press conference is declared to prevent the artificial tensions striven to be formed between Muslims and Jews, to ensure the establishment of peace in the region and make a call to the public for the release of Israeli Private Gilad Shalit, who has been held captive for a long time.
Mr. Adnan Oktar delivered a speech in the meeting and stated that Muslims and Jews were the descendants of Prophet Abraham (pbuh)—one party being the descendant of the sons of Ishmael whereas the other being the descendant of the sons of Jacob—and thus the conflicts occurring between the two communities were quite unfounded. He further added that Jews and Christians were committed to their trust and, just like in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he would ensure best protection for them, and let neither Jews, nor Christians and nor Muslims be subjected to the slightest harm, stressing that this was the kind of attitude in compliance with the Qur’an and the hadith. Mr. Oktar stressed that the century in which we lived was the “Age of Mahdism” and that from then on wars, bloodshed and terror would come to an end, all weapons would be left and love would reign all over the world, the Middle East being the foremost. In reply to the question about the Iran’s nuclear weapon production, Mr. Oktar said that according to the Qur’an, the use of atomic bomb was unlawful (haram) and he sent a message to the Iranian Prime Minister Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about this issue and, indeed no sooner Iran made a statement declaring that atomic bomb was unlawful and thus Iran would not use it. Mr. Oktar also added that Turkish daily Hurriyet carried this statement to the headline.
Mr. Oktar, who also answered the questions about Private Gilad Shalit said, "It is very difficult for a person to be held captive under constant death threat.” Mr. Oktar also stated that Gilad wanted to rejoin his parents and that the pain suffered by both Gilad and his parents had to come to an end in no time. He also noted that the mothers, daughters and youth held in Israeli prisons had to also be released right away and added, “We desire each one of these brothers of ours come out of those prisons with the good morals of angels and become the kind of people who, by means of science and culture, struggle for peace.” Mr. Oktar noted that contacts with Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, were continuing, that he would be coming to Turkey in the following days but the details of his itinerary were being withheld due to security concerns. Mr. Oktar stressed that the efforts of those who strove to form tension between Israel and Turkey were in vain and those who desired conflicts to occur between Jews and Muslims, Muslims and Christians, Shiites and Sunnis, Shiites and Wahabbites were people who were in favor of constant bloodshed but that they would not attain their goals.
Rather than acting in a way that fans the flames, Mr. Oktar stressed the importance of assuming an appeasing, forgiving attitude that left the past behind but thought ahead and employed a peaceful and moderate style, and made important statements regarding how the outlook of Muslims and Jews had to be. He also stated that the words in the Qur’an, “Do not take Christians and Jews as patrons” was misinterpreted by some people, that the phrase “do not take as patrons” actually meant not making Christians and Jews “governors” for themselves and that that was quite natural since, for the general comfort of the public, the governor of a Muslim community would be a Muslim, the governor of a Christian community would be Christian and the governor of a Jewish community would be a Jew. Mr. Oktar reminded that the People of the Book lived at ease in our Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) time, that during the time of the Ottoman Empire, Jews were brought all the way from Spain, our lands were opened to them and they were placed and hosted there in the best way possible. Mr. Oktar added that just as it was the case in the past, people had to live in bliss.
Other participants of the meeting drew attention to the importance of holding such a meeting for peace and brotherhood. Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander, the Chairman of the Sanhedrin Court for B’nai Noah, read the message sent by Syrian mufti expressing his support for the initiation and stressed that the union of those who believe in only one Allah was a great power. Mr. Ayoob Kara, the Deputy Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee, said he believed this meeting would be instrumental in leading to a very noteworthy change in the Islamic world and expressed his happiness of being a part of this initiation. Hurrian Dimitri, the Orthodox Christian Leader, said the purpose of their existence in Istanbul and the message they would like to convey was the co-existence of all religions with love, brotherhood and peace and stated that, just like our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), Mr. Adnan Oktar was a very great person who became instrumental in changing all violence and prejudices.
The meeting was followed with great interest both by the local and foreign press. Mr. Oktar stated that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) would appear very soon, no wars would any longer take place, and the world had entered an era in which science, arts and aesthetics would prosper and gave the glad tidings of the establishment of the Turkish-Islamic Union in the very near future. “Two years ago I told that visas would be removed and Turkish Islamic Union would be established and this is how the events proceed now”, said Adnan Oktar. He added that a great unity of love and friendship had started to unfold and this unity would be the guarantee of peace on Earth.
The attendants from Israeli delegation are:
1)Mr. Ayoob Kara - The Deputy Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee (Deputy Minister Kara is the closest non Jewish person to the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has a vision to develop a strong and warm relationship between Jews, Muslims, Christians and all other religions.)
2) Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander - From Sanhedrin the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, Jerusalem Court for Issues of Bnei Noah
3) Rabbi Ben Abrahamson – Historian & consultant to the Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem, Sanhedrin relating Islam religion
4) Mr. Efraim Lahav - Senior Strategic Advisor Deputy Minister, Office of The Prime Minister; Chairman of Academic Union of Israeli Civil Workers; General Director Academic Association in Israel
5) Sheikh Ameen Kablan - Deputy of the Druze community
6) Mr. Hurrian Dimitri - Orthodox Christian leader
7) Mr. Ataf Krinawi - Bedouin leader
8) Mr. Japhet Tsedaka - Head of the Samaritan community