Amina Frense talks to us, the Blue Brigade and the Turquoise Harmony Institute.

Amina Frense spoke to us last week on her work at the Southern African Broadcasting Association.  It sounded a difficult job under uncertain circumstances.  Nici Hammerschmidt ran the brag in singular sandals, as you can see!

Most of the men, by some weird fluke, were wearing blue shirts...so here is the Blue Shirt Brigade!  Maybe it was just a blue rinse!  I am certainly going to make sure that I don't wear one next week!

Our speaker this week is Aydin Inal, the Director of The Turquoise Harmony Institute which also houses the Turkish Cultural Centre.

Turquoise Harmony Institute

Turquoise Harmony Institute (IT 11269/06) was originally established in 2006 as Interfaith Foundation of South Africa (IFSA) in order to foster relations among different faith and cultural traditions to contribute to the well being of humanity. We encourage and facilitate exchange of views and experiences between different parts of the society and engage in activities that are aimed at stimulating critical thinking and analysis of affairs affecting the lives all people.

We engaged in many activities in our short history such as conferences, seminars, iftaar dinners, intercultural trips, dialogue awards, etc. The aim of these activities is to promote dialogue, tolerance and understanding among peoples of South Africa and the world by contributing to the universal values such as love, tolerance, democracy, human rights and justice.

In the past, these activities mainly focused on interfaith dialogue and with the new structure (THI) we hope to engage in activities of wider spectra so that greater contribution may be made to spread dialogue and understanding in all communities.

Every new day is proving even more strongly that one of the most needed qualities in today’s world is tolerance and understanding of the other as despite the developments in technology and social life the distance between people seems to be growing. With growing distance among people understanding among people is slipping away and labelling is becoming a norm. There is a great tendency in superficial appearances and shallow understanding that comes with lack of knowledge of the ‘other’. It is of great importance that everybody should be allowed to exist as themselves and be accepted as he/she is. It must be noted that our diversity and differences are God-given and our richness and strength. The unity in diversity will give us the power to overcome the challenges of our time.

THI operates mainly through its volunteer members who organize the events and functions. We have now established cultural centres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town where we hold various activities. These venues are designed to serve their communities where people may comfortably visit and spend their time in productive engagements.

THI’s funding comes from business people who live in South Africa and do not receive any state funding from any other government. These individuals are mainly of Turkish origin and have been living in South Africa.

Activities

In order to realize our objectives we organize as many events and activities as possible. Following are examples of such activities in summary.

Iftar Dinners

Iftar dinner is a meal that is shared at the end of the day when Muslims fast. Our branches host Iftar programs during the month of Ramadan at the homes of our volunteers, at partner organizations, and at a prestigious venue where we invite community, religious and political leaders to pave way to a dialogue on that level.

Visits to other Institutions and organizations

We form formal and informal partnerships with various departments and Institutions (mostly Project-based) and pay visits to them on various occasions. These include discussion programs, lunch and dinner programs, old-age homes and orphanage visits, etc.

Cooking Classes

Cooking Classes are held at our centers for ladies. The classes are a time of fun, food, and fellowship. At each class we learn how to make several Turkish dishes, and then join together to enjoy the results!

Turkish Language Classes

For those who wish to pursue Turkish Language for varying reasons may do so at our centers. Respective branches may be contacted to enquire about the details of these classes.

Intercultural Trips to Turkey

One of our aims is to establish bridges between people of Turkey and South Africa. Turkey is a land where diverse faiths and cultures have lived in peace for millennia; it is a land of dialogue and tolerance, it is the land of long and rich history. In this regard Turkey offers much opportunities of promoting dialogue and mutual understanding.

Serving Noah’s Pudding

Observing an Islamic tradition that celebrates the landing of Noah’s ark, THI volunteers prepare and offer a special desert called Noah’s Pudding to commemorate this important event existing in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

Conferences and Public Lectures

We host and organize conferences and public lectures on broad range of issues concerning the wellbeing of the public. Some of such events we have done include Clash or Cooperation of Civilizations, Heroes of Peace Conference, Rumi Conference and Whirling Dervishes Performance, Abrahamic Values Public Lectures, Living Together in Peace and Harmony, etc. We do these programs in collaboration with various institutions.

Solidarity and Aid

We mobilize our volunteers and engage in relief work in the community. Poverty is one the greatest ills threatening social cohesion and relief works serve the purpose of establishing bridges between rich and poor and appreciation of each other’s circumstances. On such projects we cooperate with schools established by Turkish entrepreneurs and volunteers. These schools have a strong community links and have been performing well in their field and they also share similar values as ours especially in their approach to common universal values.

• Upcoming events

Iftar Dinners will take place during the month of Ramadaan in four cities

• Regular events

i. Friendship and Dialogue Dinner

ii. Ubuntu Lecture and Dialogue Awards

iii. Seminar Series

iv. Cooking classes

v. Turkey Trips

vi. Turkish Lessons

• Relief Work

In conjunction with other organizations THI engages in relief activities. These activities are aimed at both providing an immediate relief of those in need an also building bridges between those who have and those who do not. For various reasons there are millions today who do not have an immediate source of food and shelter and in most cases this is not through their fault. Hence we have a responsibility to reach out to them.

We also acknowledge that poverty alleviation requires long term and sustainable projects but the importance of immediate assistance should not be undermined.

• Visits

A major part of our work is to establish relationship with individuals and organizations sharing similar vision as us and cooperate in various projects. For this purpose our volunteers pay visits to individuals and organizations.