Not long - only four or five years – ago, I had expressed the urgency of establishing two major structures under the names Istanbul Crisis Center and Istanbul Peace Center. I had made calls regarding this matter.

The state of affairs in the region and my projections for the future contained such great concerns that I thought, if these two formations were really shaped based on independent and serious principles, there would be hope.

Countries are being divided, civil wars are becoming widespread, organizations are determining the power map of the entire geography, the violence epidemic is increasingly becoming normal, the perception of Islam is being transformed, chaos is becoming regionalized, the entire geography is being pulled into a huge storm through sects, maps are being re-drawn, city states are brought forward rather than states, the management or leaders of the region are involved in 'Small Games' within the 'Big Game' with great lack of foresight, people living on the same street come to a state where they can strangle one another, and most importantly; the people of this geography were filled with such hatred that they could never again, live together. At the time I made the call, my fear wasn't what I saw and what was lived alone. I knew worse exam ples would take place. Because every incident, crisis, indicated worse examples would come, and ever since that day, a bigger one came and crises became more widespread.

But we failed to develop a force, a discourse, a stance, an idea that would turn the tide. The intellectuals, leaders, the people of letters, artists and security guards of this geography were not able to show the courage to stand against that chaos storm, which is enough to cover that century.

Most didn't even understand what was happening. They evaluated each incident on a daily basis; they saw each one as an individual case. They didn't know that every crisis is part of a grand project. Those who understood, those who comprehended the gravity of the situation could not show the courage to stand in the way of this wave. Just as they became defensive and apologetic after the Sept. 11 attacks, they were also unable to stand upright against the regional crisis.

Today that differentiation, conflict, chaos is getting deeper. We are heading toward a future that will drag the entire region, including Turkey, into disaster. Becoming armed, your defense policies can do nothing against this disaster. War, conflict, security strategies are going to make the situation even more vital. Those who increase their power will expand, start making geopolitical calculations, and produce reasons for a conflict the way they use sectarian differences today. Power battles are going to create regional hellholes like our homes are surrounded by flames.

The final point of the conflict in the region divided into two, like Iran and its oppositions today are undergoing a Mecca Battle. Take note of it. Because this is how the entire setup has been planned. Even the countries that believe they are fighting for their own nation are actually filling the void that the great plan has left them.

Hence, we should try other things. We should be able to develop the language of peace, the language of partnership, a language for a future together. We, who have been in conflict, disintegrated, divided since World War I, should reverse this history which we were made to believe is our fate. Our political leaders, intellectuals, everybody who can read and write, all who feel a responsibility should mobilize for this means.

This is why we are calling for an Istanbul Crisis Center to intervene in crises, an Istanbul Peace Center that will fight for peace. In order to save our geography - which is becoming more desperate by the day - from a sad future, we need to spare time and resources for these projects as much as we do for security strategies.

Their names should not be Turkey, Middle East, Ankara or Islam Cooperation Organization, it should only be Istanbul. Only this way it could be impartial and taken seriously. It should never be under the control of a state, and in no way should it be under the İİT. All matters ranging from ethnic crises to the sectarian problems that are currently becoming rapidly regionalized should be attended to, with primarily giving crisis-solving missions and peace models should be developed for each incident.

Turkey, the only island of stability and peace in the region, should implicitly support the founding and strengthening of these structures and their activities; yet, it should never turn these into state institutions.

Wise Men's Committees should be formed for both the Crisis Center and the Peace Center; representatives from Muslim countries should be included in these committees. Influential people from politicians to religious leaders, intellectuals to opinion leaders, who will embrace the entire region, should be brought together. I'm not talking about a once in a while meeting; it should be a regular effort.

These centers should be turned into deep-rooted institutions and the area of focus should primarily be Muslim countries and then the rest of the world. They should be able to become involved in every incident from identity crises to source wars, from border problems to areas of social conflict.

At least 10 countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Algeria, etc. should provide support. It should be noted that all of the countries that are required to provide this support will face the same painful fate tomorrow.

The Peace Summit held yesterday upon Turkey's call, reminded me of these. Look around you, at your neighbors, a little further, and a further more… You will see that the storm is affecting everything; that it is getting closer and closer to us, and that there are no countries, aside from a couple, that are able to maintain their stability.

At a time when Armenian genocide claims are turned into a sanction against Turkey on the anniversary of a battle like the Gallipoli War in which the entire world battled, it is now time to close the century-old bracket. Conflicts will continue as long as humanity continues. But never underestimate the power of the language of peace.

I hope that the step taken by Turkey on this path becomes a seed, and I hope that this seed will sprout. And let us not forget that there is no other country in the region capable of taking such a step. However, let us not allow our language of peace to be a retrospective one. What we need is future-oriented peace projects. Because we have concerns that the future might bring greater disasters.