Marty Markowitz – “Peace at Home, Peace in the World” – Religious Harmonization as a Prerequisite for Global Social Economic Prosperity

Hello my friends.

    Thank you for inviting me to join you here in izmir at the 9th annual “world congress of councils conference”

    My name is marty markowitz – and i am proud to hold the office of “borough president” of brooklyn the most populous of the five boroughs of new york city.

    Actually, brooklyn was once its own city, before new york was consolidated in 1898 –

    And if we were our own city today, with our population of 2.6 million, we would be the fourth largest in the u.s. – and of course, new york city as a whole is our america’s largest.

    I speak to you today because, in addition to being a major population center – brooklyn is also one of the most diverse places on the planet.

    Like america itself – brooklyn is a land of immigrants.

    As i always remind my friends here, brooklyn proud to be the “turkish capital of america.”
Every day, brooklyn is enriched by the contributions of turkish-americans in every field of endeavor and every walk of life.
We’ve got turkish mosques and so many businesses owned by turks – in construction, retail, design, food and grocery, you name it!
I must tell you, in brooklyn alone, i’m sure there are more turkish restaurants than there are american restaurants in turkey.
(and i have a feeling that soon everyone in brooklyn will be eating “simit” and drinking chai in tulip-shaped glasses!)

    In addition to our large turkish contingent, brooklyn is also the epicenter of the united states’ caribbean diaspora, with the largest caribbean community outside the islands.
We’ve got the largest pakistani population –

The largest russian population –

The largest polish population –

The largest jewish population outside of israel

And the fastest-growing muslim population in new york city.

We have the fourth-largest chinese community and the fifth-largest latino community in the u.s. – (with a fast-growing mexican sub-set)

And the largest african-american population of any county in the u.s. that is not its own city.

And i haven’t even mentioned our large italian, french, irish greek, and bangladeshi communities.

Brooklyn residents speak 136 languages.

They hail from 100 nations.

38 percent were born in another country

47 percent speak a language other than english at home.

And they are members of every religious faith.

We are so diverse –
And yet, we live side-by-side, 99.9 percent of the time in peace.
So how is this possible?
though the title of my talk is “religious harmonization as a prerequisite for global, social and economic prosperity” –
I must tell you, i don’t have the one answer that will solve the problems of religious strife across the globe – but i believe there are some “best-practices” brooklyn can share with the world.
not being a religious leader or a historian of centuries-old animosities, or a geo-political expert – my advice centers on what local governments can do to sow harmony among cultures and religious and racial groups -and build relationships that result in unity, and yes, prosperity.

In brooklyn, the generally held belief is that “our diversity is our strength.”
Far from being a problem, it is in fact the source of our creativity and innovation.
It is a condition with the power to challenge us, test us, educate us – to continually refresh, thrill and delight us.
That is, we believe it is not only possible but desirable – and indeed preferable – to live side-by-side with those who are not exactly like us.
But there are several governmental factors that must be in place for this to take root.

The most important of these i believe is our nation’s foundational commitment to being a secular state.
Like turkey’s founder and first president mustafa kemal ataturk –
Our founding fathers sought to protect america’s people from the passionate conflicts that religious confrontation often inspires.
It is important to remember as well that the architect of america’s declaration of independence, and our third president, thomas jefferson called for a “wall of separation between church and state” not only to protect the state from the church, but the church from the state.
And when he founded his secular state right here, ataturk said “the separation of religious ideas from politics is the principal factor in turkey’s progress”
he said we must “show respect for religion” – but “not mix religious affairs with affairs of the nation.”
This is more true today than ever.
In brooklyn, we peacefully coexist with those of different faiths – because at root we trust that we all are viewed equally under the law.

And within that framework, there is much that local governments can – and indeed must – do to bring cultures and religions together in better understanding of one another.
For example in brooklyn we have a beautiful civic building called brooklyn borough hall.
It has a large rotunda, a community room – and grand stairs leading down to a plaza and park, with views of the manhattan bridge (which just turned 100 this year) in the distance.
And what i have tried to do – i think successfully – is make it a safe space, a neutral space where open dialogue can take place – a celebratory space, a space people feel is their home.

What do i mean by this?

I mean we have thrown the doors open to every culture, every religion – we have given them a platform and we have, as attaturk suggested, shown them respect.
Each year, we hold multiple cultural heritage events – featuring the clothing, the food, the customs, the music of various communities.
Some might look at this as purely ceremonial.
But these gestures are so much more critical and relevant than they may appear.

We know that ethnic and religious communities – especially those of recent immigrants – tend to keep to themselves –
That they may have little contact with government and often very little representation in the halls of power.
When we show respect by holding these celebratory events, we begin a conversation that bears fruit in multiple ways as we move forward.
We not only learn about one another in ways that allow us to be more culturally sensitive –
But we form the relationships that can translate into opportunities for greater prosperity.

For example, my office was the first government entity in new york city to hold and iftar dinner during ramazan.
And the good will that has come of that annual event cannot even be measured.
I have been told that the fact that i would do this – as a jew – means a great deal to our muslim community in brooklyn – and shown that we have great respect for their tradition.
When i speak at this event i talk about the similarities between judaism and islam – and christianity.
And i am now shy about addressing so-called “hot-button” issues, believe me – (that is one of our characteristic traits in brooklyn, we always say what we think.)
These are occasions to share our views, not bury them or hide them.

I also do a lot of visiting our borough’s places of worship – spending time in our ethnic enclaves and honoring each culture’s leaders and community activists on special occasions.
Again – this can be viewed as superficial.
But think again.
So many of our ethnic groups believe they have little reason to interface with government –
And then only end up doing so when something goes wrong.
The goal is to create the relationships through celebratory, happy occasions – that lead to ongoing working relationships all year long.

These relationships not only help communities gain a voice – they help our economy grow.
As you know, the economy is bad in the united states right now.
But we know that one of the sectors that is performing the best overall is our small immigrant-owned businesses.
Building cross-cultural relationships is that way we can help these businesses grow and employ even more brooklyn residents – of all cultures and faiths.
This is the way we turn diversity into prosperity.

And i will tell you something, when you spend time among so many cultures – the similarities begin to shine through.
I recently attended a muslim funeral, and i have to be honest, i felt like i was in the middle of hasidic jewish brooklyn.
The similarities between religious muslims and religious jews are many.
The more we experience one another’s customs, the more we become aware of these likenesses.

As our President – and this year’s “Nobel Peace Prize” recipient – Barack Obama said this year in his landmark speech in Cairo – “all of us share common aspirations: to live in peace and security; to get an education; to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our god.”
“this is the hope,” – he said – “of all humanity.”

My belief is that world peace will become a reality when the world’s religious leaders come together and deliver a clear message:
This life we know here on earth – whether we live in turkey, or iran, or israel, england or china or america or brazil – is so very short.
We are here for such a very short time.
What other purpose should religious leaders have?
We all want for our children and grandchildren the same things – education, opportunity, and end to poverty and disease.
We all want it – and together we can make it so.
The world the must recognize that whether your religion proclaims that jesus is the messiah, or mohammed is the prophet, or moses is the rabbi and teacher – whether you read the old or new testament – study the koran or the torah –
We must all recognize that we are children of one almighty – (however you choose to define it) –
There is something out there that is greater than, as we say in my country, “me, myself, and i”

It is only once we all understand this basic concept –
And open our doors to one another.
That we can exists in a climate of mutual respect
And prosperity, and most importantly, achieve ataturk’s greatest goal –
“peace at home – and – peace in the world.”