GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY AWARDS ORHAN PAMUK HONORARY DOCTORATE

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 31 2007

Turkish author and Nobel literature prize award winner Orhan Pamuk
was this week given an honorary doctorate by Georgetown University
in Washington, DC. Pamuk, who spoke to the attending audience after
receiving his doctorate, called himself "someone who has formed
bridges between people after locking himself in a room." Georgetown
imam Yahya Hendi spoke after Pamuk at the ceremony, noting "Pamuk
writes for the greater good. May Allah direct him with love and peace."

Interestingly, a planned speech by another important Turkish figure,
the spiritual leader of Armenians in Turkey, Patriarch Mesrob II, was
cancelled at Georgetown last month. Mesrob’s appearance at Georgetown
came at the height of debates in the US capital over the passage of
the controversial Armenian bill, and with Mesrob vocally opposition the
passage of the bill, many speculate that his appearance at Georgetown
was cancelled due to pressure by local Armenian groups.