On 18 October 2012 the NATO Defense College (NDC) was honoured by the presence a distinguished guest lecturer in the person of H.E. Kenan Gürsoy, Ambassador of Türkiye to the Holy See. Ambassador Gürsoy was welcomed by NDC Commandant LtGen Arne Bård Dalhaug and by Col Giuseppe Morabito, Director of the Middle East Faculty at the NDC.
The topic addressed by the Ambassador was “The Fundaments of Islam”: he provided the audience with a fascinating and authoritative overview, ranging from the origins and history of Islam to the tenets of Islamic faith and culture.
Ambassador Gürsoy’s lecture was an essential part of the programme of the eighth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC 8), which is organized by the Middle East Faculty for military and civilian officials from NATO member states as well as from partner countries of the Mediterranean and Gulf region. In this setting, the Ambassador’s address afforded a particularly fitting contribution to the Course’s overarching aim of enhancing mutual understanding and promoting multicultural dialogue among Course Members from different national and religious backgrounds.
Having so eminent a speaker as Ambassador Gürsoy address Course Members on Islam also provided a most appropriate complement to an earlier lecture entitled “The Fundamentals of Catholicism”, which was given shortly before Course Members attended a General Audience with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The College occasionally organizes Lectures of Opportunity such as that by Ambassador Gürsoy, so as to take advantage of the presence in Rome of a distinguished speaker who can contribute significant added value in discussing subjects of particular importance for Course Members and for the transatlantic community as a whole.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms. Eleonora Fuser, ITA C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN