Promotional Program On “The Finnish Tatars” Book Held At YTB With The Participation Of President Of Finland Stubb

The promotion program of the "Finnish Tatars" book, translated into Turkish with the support of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), was held with the participation of the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb. In his speech, Stubb said that Tatars living in Finland are one of the strongest communities in the country.

The book "Finnish Tatars", translated into Turkish with the support of YTB and brought to the readers as a YTB publication, was introduced with the program organized with the participation of Finnish President Alexander Stubb on the 100th anniversary of Türkiye-Finland diplomatic relations. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, YTB President Abdullah Eren, President of the Finnish-Islamic Congregation Gölten Bedretdin, the author of the work, Imam of the Finnish-Islamic Congregation Dr. Ramil Belyaev and many guests attended the program.

 

A WONDERFUL WORK THAT TELLS THE ENTIRE EFFORTS OF THE FINISH TATARS

Speaking at the program, Finnish President Alexander Stubb pointed out that Tatars living in Finland are one of the strongest communities in the country. Underlining that the prepared book is a wonderful work that describes all the efforts of the Finnish Tatars, Stubb said, “It is a great pleasure to be here. The Finnish Tatar community constitutes one of the strongest communities in this country, with its identity that it has preserved for more than 200 years. Today, Finnish Tatars are raising doctors, academics and entrepreneurs among themselves. We are proud of them. The book 'Finnish Tatars' is a wonderful work that describes all the efforts of this community. "I have no doubt that this work will bring Türkiye and Finland closer together," he said.

 

THE WORK WILL BE A RESOURCE FOR FUTURE STUDIES

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that YTB provides social, cultural and academic contributions to our sister communities with its work. Stating that the Tatar community in Finland contributes to the relations between Türkiye and Finland, Ersoy said, "Finnish Tatars" book written by Ramil Belyaev describes the migration processes of Finnish Tatars to the country; It is very important as it examines in detail and in its entirety how they preserve their identity and culture and how they adapt to Finland. I think this valuable work will be a fundamental resource for future studies, and I would like to thank YTB for their efforts in bringing the book to us. We will continue to work to strengthen our friendship ties on the 100th anniversary of the Friendship Treaty signed between Türkiye and Finland in 1924. Our President also has the will to take our relations with Finland to a higher level. "I hope that "Finnish Tatars" book will be beneficial again and I would like to thank those who contributed," he said.

 

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR FINLAND'S PROTECTION OF THE TATARS

Speaking at the program, YTB President Abdullah Eren reminded that we are on the 100th anniversary of the friendship agreement between Türkiye and Finland. Explaining that YTB carries out historical and cultural studies for our kin and relative communities, Eren noted that our country also has responsibilities towards our cognates living in different geographies from which we come from the same lineage. Stating that the book Finnish Tatars is one of the works carried out by YTB with sister communities, Eren said, “We are very pleased to have translated this book into 3 languages. We are grateful that Finland supported our brother communities, the Tatars, during the most difficult times. Of course, there is also a Turkish diaspora in Finland now. Approximately 13,500 Turkish citizens live there. "We are extremely pleased that this diaspora of ours makes positive contributions to the relations between Türkiye and Finland, and we continue to work for this," he said.

 

WE PROTECT OUR IDENTITY THANKS TO FINLAND AND TÜRKİYE

Gölten Bedretdin, President of the Finnish-Islamic Congregation, emphasized that they preserved their identity thanks to Finland and Türkiye and said, “As the third generation of Tatars in Finland, I am very happy to be here. Our ancestors established an Islamic community in Finland to protect their identity. I would like to thank the author of the book about us. In our opinion, Türkiye is of great importance. We are carrying out good work with experts from Türkiye. Thanks to Finland and Türkiye, we continue to protect our identity. It's great to be here with you today. "We thank you very much for your interest in the Finnish Islamic Community and the Tatar diaspora," he said.

The author of the book is Dr. Ramil Belyaev, Imam of the Islamic Community of Finland. In his speech, Ramil Belyaev mentioned that Tatars, one of the oldest national minorities in Finland, integrated into Finland while preserving their own identity. Thanking YTB for translating the work into Turkish, Belyaev said: “Tatars have communicated with Türkiye since the times of the young Republic. Relations between Finland and Türkiye were also an element of the relationship between Türkiye and Finnish Tatars. I would like to thank YTB for translating this work into Turkish.”

The book "Finnish Tatars" written by Dr. Ramil Belyaev is the product of his doctoral study titled "Finnish Tatar Diaspora: Problems of Integration and Preservation of Identity". In the book, how the Tatar community living in Finland preserved their history, religion and identity is presented together with photographs compiled from various archives.

Within the scope of the program, the opening of the photo exhibition "Finnish Tatars", consisting of the photographs used in the work was also held.