WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT interviews Rumi Forum

Excerpt from full article that explores the new and growing language courses in Washington DC including our Turkish language classes

Jeffrey B. Spense Award for INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING presented to Rumi Forum

The Rumi Forum was recently honored by receiving Jeffrey B. Spense Award for INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING presented by the VIRGINIA CENTER FOR INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES in recognition and appreciation for continuing humanitarian contributions within and across religious communities (31 March 2010, Norfolk Virginia)

FINANCIAL TIMES: Fethullah Gulen on front page

Inspiring or insidious

By Delphine Strauss

Published: April 29 2011

Scholar: Fethullah Gulen at home in Pennsylvania. Below, a school in Istanbul run by his supporters. The professional aim is to create a ‘golden generation’ able to succeed in the global economy while exemplifying faith and virtue

In one corner of the courtyard, green-painted railings enclose the tomb of a saint. In another, a pair of 12-year-old boys in spotless white shirts and neatly pressed trousers politely answer visitors’ questions. In Diyarbakir, a city in Turkey’s Kurdish south-east where many children work on the streets or land in jail for throwing stones at security forces, these two have come to prepare for high school entrance exams. Asked what they want to do later, one says “doctor” and the other, grinning, declares “police”.

MEDIA - Intercultural Dialogue Organization shows love

Intercultural Dialogue Organization shows love

For decades, many organizations at UK have focused on reaching out to the student population by promoting positive missions throughout the school year.

New York Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz gives a proclamation for Fethullah Gulen

NYS Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz gives a proclamation for Fethullah Gulen during the 4th Annual Friendship Dinner organized by the New York based Turkish Cultural Center.

Gülen Trial: The Gülen Legal Journey NEW BOOK

A new book on Fethullah Gulen has been published that highlights the issues surrounding a court case that involves Mr Gulen and shows the difficulties of free speech, democracy and human rights within the framework of modern Turkey

Proclamation From the Governor of the State of Maryland, Martin O’Malley

The State of Maryland

Proclamation

From the Governor of the State of Maryland

THE RUMI FORUM

March 30, 2011

LATEST VIDEOS: Kenneth Bedell, Steve Clemons, Max Finberg, Bishop John Bryson Chane

Enjoy the videos from our Rumi Forum Luncheon Series

White House Blog mentions efforts to promote interfaith dialogue

Turkish organizations honor world youth in Washington D.C.

The Rumi Forum was proud to be associated with the Gulen Institute in organizing an international essay competition that reached its finale in Congress yesterday.

Rumi Forum Newsletter - March 2011

Check out the latest Rumi Forum Newsletter - March 2011
Check out our RumiForum.org

In this issue:

Q&A - Is the Gülen Movement a Religious Order?

Is the Gülen Movement a Religious Order? *
M. Enes Ergene

Image via Wikipedia

Even though the essential dynamics of the Gülen movement look similar to those of the classical Islamic tradition of spiritual orders in certain aspects, its organization is different with regard to producing civil

Fethullah Gülen: An Islamic sign of hope for an inclusive Europe by Paul Weller

As Europe heads deeper into economic recession, political crises and loss of social equilibrium, an increasingly diverse continent faces potentially serious challenges to cohesion, justice and equity.

The Europe of history, rather than of ideology, has always been a context for religious and cultural diversity, with a longstanding and substantial presence of Jews and Muslims, as well as Christians. But there have also always been ideological attempts to deny and/or destroy that diversity. This began when pre-Christian pagan traditions were replaced with Christianity --often (though not always) by means of force. It continued when the flowering of Christian, Jewish and Muslim culture in the Iberian Peninsula was rolled back by the advance of a militant Catholicism that could not countenance the peaceful coexistence in a single geographical space of the three “Peoples of the Book.” Within living memory there was industrialized genocide and the attempted liquidation of the Jews in Europe under the aegis of Nazi Germany and its collaborators, while in the 20th century there were the attempts at “ethnic cleansing” of Muslims in the Balkans. Finally, among those claiming to act in the name of Islam against the actions (Afghanistan and Iraq) and inactions (Palestine) of “the West,” there have been the bombings in Madrid (2004) and in London (2005). Living with diversity Against this background, and bearing in mind that social crises can all too easily follow from economic and political ones, it is critically important for the Europe of the coming decades to find a way to live at ease with its diversity. In particular, this means overcoming the worrying developments of Islamophobic scapegoating that can be observed in some countries and that will end only in suffering for Muslim minorities and a cultural impoverishment for all. Muslims form the largest religious minority in Europe. A substantial proportion of these are of Turkish ethnic background, and Turkey is a majority Muslim state that is in a “special relationship” with the European Union. Because of these factors, and in the context outlined above, an important sign of hope for the future of an inclusive Europe comes from the teaching of the Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, who is currently resident in the US, as well as from the civil society initiatives found across Europe that have been inspired by his teaching. Akbar Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University in Washington, D.C., and former Pakistani high commissioner in the UK, identified Gülen as a key “role model” for contemporary Muslims. In Ahmed’s book “Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization” (Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 2007), which was written on the basis of anthropological fieldwork and questionnaire results, Gülen is identified as one of the most influential Turkish Islamic figures of his generation. Gülen’s influence among Muslims comes first and foremost from the fact that his teaching is thoroughly Islamic, being rooted in a deep and profound engagement with classical Islamic scholarship. He is therefore not a “reformist” in any sense that might make traditionalist Muslims suspicious that he is selling out the distinctiveness of Islam. Knowledge in a contemporary context While “traditional,” Gülen is himself not “traditionalist.” For example, in his native Turkey he recommended the building of more schools before the building of any more mosques. In doing so he was taking the traditional Islamic theme of the importance of knowledge, or ilm, and translating it into the contemporary context, resulting in over a thousand schools being founded throughout the world by those inspired by his teaching. As well as being properly traditional, Gülen’s teaching is also informed by a Sufi Muslim heritage that, while rooted in the distinctiveness of Islam, is ready to identify goodness wherever it is found. This is the approach of the 13th century Muslim mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi, reflected in his famous saying that “one of my feet is in the center and the other is in 72 realms [i.e. in the realm of all nations] like a compass.” Of this, in his important book “Towards a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance” (The Light, 2004), Gülen said of Rumi that “he drew a broad circle that encompassed all believers.” Thus many of the organizations inspired by Gülen’s teaching are committed to the promotion of dialogue with Christians, Jews and people of other religious faiths. As an example of this, it should be noted that the Gülen-inspired popular magazine called The Fountain has opened its pages to Christian authors to, among other things, provide an exposition of key texts in the Christian scriptures. This openness towards providing a platform for voices from other religions within a magazine that is primarily read by faithful Muslims is indicative also of an even wider spirit of inclusivity that stretches to embrace not only those of other religious faiths, but also those of no faith. For example, the Dialogue Society in London, which is inspired by Gülen’s teaching, has more atheist and agnostic members of its Advisory Board than it has Muslims. Importantly, Gülen’s Islamic teaching and practice was developed in the forge of Turkey’s 20th century project to create a secular state, as initiated by the Turkish nationalist revolution of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. That project became an ideologically “secularist” one, locked in symbiotic conflict with an “Islamist” reaction. So, arising from that context, Gülen has criticized a politics rooted in a philosophically reductionist materialism. But he has also argued that Islam and democracy are compatible and he encourages greater democracy within Turkey. He also argues that a secular approach that is not anti-religious and allows for freedom of religion and belief is compatible with Islam. While especially within Turkey there are those who argue that the movement inspired by Gülen’s teaching harbors secretive aims to take over the state and to impose Islamic rule, Gülen himself has criticized the instrumentalization of Islam for political ends. In this, he insists Islam does not need an Islamic state to flourish and that the politicization of Islam will only damage the state, society and also Islam itself. Gülen has been robust and unequivocal in his condemnation of terror attacks conducted in the name of Islam. But his commitment to dialogue is not reactive to these. Rather, it is based upon the deep wells of authentic Islamic tradition rooted in the Quran and teaching and example of the Prophet Muhammad. Precisely because of this, Gülen’s teaching and the initiatives inspired by it offer a robust challenge to the terrorist appropriation of Islam. In the words of the title of a publication by the Dialogue Society in London, they offer the possibility of “Deradicalisation by Default: The ‘Dialogue’ Approach to Rooting out Violent Extremism” (Dialogue Society, London, 2009). Striving for peace and the common good In his teaching and his writing, Gülen emphasizes the importance of a shared humanity in striving for peace and the common good. He argues that we are human beings first of all, and only then Muslims, Christians, secularists or others. While to some this may seem unexceptional, it is important to understand that Gülen articulates this from an Islamic perspective. Of course, the process of translating ideals into the kind of choices that need to be made in the context of ambiguities of history is a challenging one, fraught with dangers and difficulties, and is one in which outcomes cannot at the moment be known. But how these initiatives continue to develop is likely to be of considerable importance for the future of Islam, the future of Europe and the potential geopolitical role of Turkey as a bridge between historic civilizational zones. Among the practical examples that could be cited are the Journalist and Writers’ Foundation, the Intercultural Dialogue Platform and the Dialogue Eurasia Platform -- each of which have brought people of religious and secular perspectives into dialogue together around matters of common concern. Thus Gülen and the initiatives inspired by his teaching challenge the tendency found among some Muslims groups to separatist withdrawal from the wider non-Muslim society. By contrast, they offer a basis for Muslim engagement with the wider society based upon a confident and richly textured Islamic vision. That vision also draws upon the historical wealth of a multicultural civilizational history to argue that neither Turkey nor the European Union have anything to fear, but have much to gain, from a future of full Turkish membership in the EU. In the meantime, Fethullah Gülen’s teaching and the initiatives inspired by it offer an important Islamic sign of hope for an inclusive Europe. *Paul Weller is professor of inter-religious relations at the University of Derby in the UK, and, along with İhsan Yılmaz, the editor of the forthcoming (January, 2012) book “European Muslims, Civility and Public Life: Perspectives on and From the Gülen Movement.” http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=157777&SearchType=Basic

BOOK REVIEW - Faith, Theology and Service in Peacebuilding

Stanley Ridge*

Fethullah Gülen's work and thinking starts and ends in faith. In a world that commonly extends conflict by speaking of religion either in stereotyped or in ideologized terms, this is a refreshingly engaged perspective.

Faced with the challenge of mounting hostility between the Islamic world and the West, and with belligerent and increasingly fundamentalist groups on both sides supposedly speaking in the name of religion, the need for peacebuilding with integrity is pressing. The writers of different traditions whose essays resonate here explore the faith-based ideas of one of this century's seminal thinkers and tease out their implications and potential for peacebuilding.




Gülen is deeply and unequivocally Islamic. The first three chapters of the book, by the editors and Mohammed Abu-Nimer, introduce his approach to peacebuilding. They analyze his ideas through various modern lenses as within a tradition from Rumi, Al Ghazali, and Said Nursi, while also showing that the specific approaches he takes to peacebuilding arise from a thorough reading of the contemporary globalized world. Because these approaches are predicated on faith, the initiatives are heuristic. The movement into a caring engagement with the world is a movement of faith, marked by openness to discovery and so by an expectation of change. The object is not simply to change others, but to be changed with others, and so to move into and discover more of the just and caring social condition desired by Allah.

Part 2 takes a closer look at Gülen's reading of the globalized world and his deliberate transgression of the kinds of borders which are a product of modernism and fail to meet human realities or to orient us to global perspectives. In a fascinating essay, Klas Grinell bringsGülen's thinking into association with wider, postmodern debates. Borders, he points out, are associated with fixed identities which do not accord with our realities "in the multi-layered present" (68). Accordingly, crossing the border into the territory of the "other" perhaps does not characterize Gülen's aspiration because it seems to accept existing stereotypes and fails to leave room for the large areas of overlapping territory. Grinell changes the metaphor, seeing Gülenrather as on the border in the sense proposed by the Argentinian Mignolo:

Border thinking ... is thinking and knowledge produced from the borders of colonial modernity, knowledge that recognizes the colonizing aspects of what has been seen as true knowledge in mainstream modernity, and uses local resources to confront and alter that knowledge in order to know the particularities of life lived in that setting better. (75)

Irina Vainovski-Mihai pursues some of the implications of dialogue, which requires an open awareness of the other. She concludes that "the dialogical approach may transform the experience of the other into an experience of the self" (96). As Karina Korostelina suggests, though, that self embodies the creative tension in a dual identity, between "one component connected to a religious identity and another component that reflects membership in a secular nation" (104). The borders involved are different and shifting, finding resolution in a much more sophisticated and tolerant sense of the self. That, taken with Gülen's view of globalization outlined by Richard Penaskovic as more than economic and ideological, as referring "to connectivity and interdependence in all areas of life: cultural, ecological, economic, political, religious, social, and technological" (126), makes hostility manifestly problematic and is conducive to peace.

The third part of the book examines Gülen's theology of dialogue in comparative perspective. Turan Kayaoglu's informative essay traces the overlapping theologies of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Pope John-Paul II and Fethullah Gülen - theologies which place interfaith dialogue in the context of the core concerns of each faith. The theological leadership of these three major figures "validates, accommodates, and humanizes the 'other' in order to open up religious space for interfaith activities and to establish religious grounds to complement humanity's quest for peace, tolerance, and care for God's creation" (166). Zeki Saritoprak shows the continuity between Gülen and Ibn Khaldun, the fourteenth century Muslim sociologist, who emphasizes asabiyya or a non-racist, non-nationalist "group solidarity" around key transformative values. Forgiveness, love and compassion are values at the heart of all major religions and are essential to our full humanity. However, in the heat of social tension, they tend to provoke persecution which has to be faced with a patience that involves being true to the self one has discovered through faith. Despite the legal and spiritual persecution and exile Gülen has faced, he concludes "We are going to respect our character... As a believer, I promise that I will never shun any person, and I will not persecute those who have transgressed against me" (184). Approaching the topic from another angle, Douglas Pratt examines the historical "baggage" in Muslim-Jewish-Christian relations and some of the ways in which Gülen seeks to surmount it. I would have welcomed more attention to the persistent discursive patterns that mark that history. However, central to the notion of dialogue is acceptance that the supreme greatness of God cannot be captured in words and that truth blossoms and its implications become clear in an ongoing process of awed interpretation. For People of the Book, "The 'book' is ever a text requiring interpretive understanding and application" (203). Felicitously, the final chapter in this section has a strong emphasis on the hermeneutic. David B Capes places the thinking of the American Baptist, A J Conyers in dialogue with Gülen. Conyers critiques "the modern, secular doctrine of tolerance" in attempting to reclaim "the practice of Christian tolerance based upon humility, hospitality and . . . the incarnation" (207). At the same time, he explicitly recognizes the affinities between Christians and those of other faiths, including specifically "the Sufi mystics of Islam," in this practice (not doctrine) of tolerance (209). Capes concludes with the observation that whileGülen is specific about forgiveness, there seems to be no explicit discussion of it in Conyers. Of course, Gülen's "the road to forgiveness passes through the act of forgiving" (221) is strikingly resonant with "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" in the Lord's Prayer. Capes concludes that the difference in the contexts in which the two theologians worked accounts for this apparent gap, implicitly emphasizing the need to interpret contextually.

Part four looks at the practice arising from this rich understanding of Islam. The five sets of initiatives discussed are a sample of the hundreds of innovative Gülen Movement ventures undertaken worldwide. All are undertaken by volunteers who seek to serve in lands or regions faced with conflict and very difficult social adjustment. In Gülen's words, "Holy people" carry the "new atmosphere, new understandings and dialogue" around the world, creating "islands of peace for stability and harmony" (181). What is most remarkable to me is the humility and rigor with which the volunteers "read" the local situation to determine how best to engage with it.

Modern Cambodia, recovering from more than two decades of traumatic instability, is a striking example. The situation of the minority Cham Muslim group, impoverished, hostile to public education as assimilatory, with religious education usually separated from life needs, and a high level of illiteracy in Khmer, complicates recovery. Philipp Bruckmayr shows Gülen Movement participants supporting Cambodian NGOs which promote "the acquisition of secular knowledge" within the context of faith, and offer practical support to the Chams (234f). The emphasis on "common values rather than differences" is reflected in translation of seminal works on Islam and in cooperation and dialogue with Buddhists (235). More characteristically Gülenian is the Zaman International School of Phnom Penh, which offers excellent secular schooling within a spiritually sensitive context, and has no assimilationist motives (245).

Jonathan Lacey discusses the Turkish Irish Educational and Cultural Society, a Gülenian group in a country with a tiny, fragmented and fractious Islamic minority. It emphasizes dialogue, supports conferences, and shows hospitality in annual iftar dinners during Ramadan, but most strikingly its members accept full, responsible citizenship: "[T]hey have no intention of assimilating, but instead intend to integrate" (263). It is a vital distinction.

The importance of civil society is emphasized by Mehmet Kalyoncu. He looks at the ways in which Turks, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrian Christians have been mobilized by the Gülen Movement in Mardin "to cooperate in tackling their common problems" (275). The Gülenian school there is also a community focus, and helps build civil society organizations. The focus shifts to initiatives in Kenya and the Philippines, again based on schools which bring together the children of parties in conflict, and provide a platform for addressing local needs.

The role of the Gülen Movement in predominantly Muslim South East Asian societies where there is strong sectarianism and a divisive politicization of religion is explored by Mohamed Nawab bin Mohamed Osman. The fact that the volunteers are driven by a sense of duty to serve in places in great need underlines the appropriateness of the Turkish name of the Movement: hizmet or "service to humanity." The service in Singapore and Indonesia involves dialogue and education with a strong emphasis on honoring and using local customs, as in the Halalbihalal ceremony in Indonesia to bring conflicted groups together in an atmosphere of trust and hospitality.

The final essay by Harun Akyol puts the Movement's credentials to the acid test in the multiple conflict zone of northern Iraq. Fifteen successful schools and a university have been established to provide a base for thinking and interacting differently.

This book, bringing together key papers from three conferences, offers refreshingly varied, critically nuanced views of Gülen's thinking and shows the profound impact hizmet has had on particular individuals and societies.

* Emeritus Professor of English and retired Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

Published on The Fountain Magazine, January-February 2011 issue

See also:

• Press & Media  - Washington Post, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Prospect, PBS TV, NPR Radio, The Age, Forbes, LA Times, Reuters
• The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue by Fethullah Gulen
• A Movement Originating Its Own Models by Fethullah Gulen
• Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi by Fethullah Gulen
• BOOKS by Fethullah Gulen and on the Gulen Movement
• PBS 'Religion & Ethics' : The Gulen Movement aired on US public television last Sunday
• Honorary President (F.Gulen) commended by resolution passed by Texas Senate
• Gülen movement challenges Islamophobia, contributes to peace
• Fethullah Gulen: Following in the Footsteps of Rumi by Thomas Michel
• 'Gülen movement makes Turkey more noticeable'
• Greek broadcaster praises contributions of Gülen movement
• Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement
• VIDEO - Peace Through Education and Dialogue

And Rumi Forum sites:

• HD videos    
• Youtube videos
• Picasa photos
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• Podcast

MEDIA - Bishop Chane: Gülen one of the greatest scholars

Eighth Bishop of Washington in the Episcopal Church John Bryson Chane has said Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen is probably one of the greatest scholars and religious people in today’s world.

Speaking at a Jan. 20 meeting of the Rumi Forum, a think tank established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to foster intercultural dialogue, the bishop praised Gülen and the Gülen movement inspired by him. During his speech, titled “Interfaith/Intercultural dialogue: a First Priority in the 21st Century,” Chane referred to Gülen as a “magnificent man”. “In the 50 books he has written he has probably been one of our greatest voices. He is a scholar and communicator who has really addressed -- not only the role of religion -- but the place of religion as an antidote to violence throughout the world, stressing the importance of the need to come to the table for dialogue and conversation.” Bishop Chane serves a diverse diocese of 91 congregations, 23 church-related schools and 45,000 members in the District of Columbia and the counties of Prince George’s, Montgomery, Charles and Saint Mary’s in the state of Maryland. Noting that Gülen has contributed much to the life and stability of the global community already, Chane said, “I really want to make a point in recognizing him and honoring him for the work he continues to do for global peace among all of God’s children.” Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar well known for teachings that promote mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures, is now residing in the US. Gülen has pioneered educational activities in a number of countries, along with efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the world. One of the world’s most influential Islamic scholars, Gülen made the top of the list of “The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals” in the magazines Foreign Policy and Prospect in 2008. SEE PHOTOS: http://picasaweb.google.com/110222538312634006729/RUMIFORUM# SOURCE:http://www.todayszaman.com/news-233607-bishop-chane-gulen-one-of-the-greatest-scholars.html

Op-Ed - Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement - Muhammed Cetin

The recent extraordinary interest in activities by and related to the Gülen movement leads many to think about civic engagement and its efficacy and success.

Civic engagement is extremely vital for improving and enhancing conditions in any contemporary democracy. It means promoting the quality of life in a community through both political and non-political processes. It means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities. It develops a combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference.

This kind of empowerment was developed mostly outside of and beyond partisan politics. It helps foster citizens’ learning about democratic cultures, human rights and multiculturalism, especially in divided societies. Also, it brings socially responsible leadership into intercultural and democratic dialogue and engenders peaceful social change. However, judging by the high level of crime, conflict, corruption and violence in most countries, many organizations seem to offer little by the way of a roadmap or leadership. Key terminology and goals remain confined to the intellectual or academic field. They lack the resonance to galvanize a new generation of peaceful activists. So what can be done about this decline?

There are key factors or characteristics that deepen citizen engagement in public life: First, important issues need to be identified by the public. Then, non-contentious, peaceful and non-coercive means must be used for developmental models for citizens’ civic learning, democracy building, respect for diversity and human rights, democratic dialogue, inclusiveness and social change. Also, citizens must know their cultural and political rights. Individual willingness or initiative should be accompanied by organized mobilization for the common good. And lastly the civic engagement needs to be supported by altruistic giving.

Bearing these key factors in mind, let’s turn to the Gülen movement, as it is now mostly described as “hizmet,” altruistic voluntary services to humanity or volunteer services. Many factors contribute to hizmet’s efficacy. Papers presented at international conferences maintain that hizmet defines clearly the organization’s goals. It mobilizes and puts to use effectively the available resources of people, material and ideas. It establishes legal and lawful institutions and so people and society at large take the movement’s aims seriously.

Hizmet is a complex collective actor, composed of many decentralized civil society organizations and institutions pursuing similar goals but different strategies. It is argued that decisions on goals, that is, on what to do, are taken in a process of consultation, locally or in an individual project-network. The consultative process means that no one owns the services and authority in the name of hizmet as a collective actor. The efficiency of decision taking in its service networks is seen to be the constancy and richness of the interaction of many individuals.

The most important factor in its success is that non-contentious, peaceful and non-coercive means must be used for developmental models. In this aspect the Gülen movement really excels. It diffuses a discourse of dialogue, tolerance and a valuing of diversity. It has never shown any inclination whatsoever towards violence or extra-legal tactics of any kind. It has transformed the potential to use coercive means to induce changes in political systems into peaceful efforts to produce beneficial services. Hizmet is successful because of the interweaving of the service-project mentality with integrative peaceful strategies. It has convinced the public to use its constitutionally given rights to serve humanity positively, constructively and through self-motivated philanthropic contributions and charitable trusts.

For this reason, hizmet has become, first, a vital component in providing an alternative and barrier to egoistic interests at the expense of others and a remedy for societal discord, conflict and violence. Second, it has become one of the most significant and leading actors in the renewal process towards a civil, pluralist, democratic and peaceful society.

I feel that an understanding of the Gülen movement can help to reverse the kind of decline in civic engagement that we see in many contemporary societies. It can show activists and other civic society movements how to expand their repertoire of action for societal peace and inter-civilizational cooperation. Very diverse people can come together to achieve very worthy goals. Hizmet has discovered this, reminds people of it and acts on this simple truth. For this reason, I believe that, in spite of opposition from groups that benefit from conflict between people, the Gülen movement, or hizmet, will continue peacefully and successfully in the way it always has.

SOURCE:http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-232955-civic-engagement-success-and-the-gulen-movement.html

SEE ALSO:
Gülen chair holder praises movement’s focus on education

Honorary President commended by resolution passed by Texas Senate

The senate of the US state of Texas on Tuesday passed a resolution commending Rumi Forum's Honorary President Fethullah Gulen for his contributions to the promotion of global peace and understanding.

Senate Resolution No. 85, which was approved during last Tuesday's session chaired by Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, said, “The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Fethullah Gülen for his ongoing and inspirational contributions to the promotion of global peace and understanding.” The resolution said Turkish scholar, author, poet, preacher and educational activist Fethullah Gülen has inspired a worldwide social movement that promotes humanistic values and service, known as the Hizmet movement, or the Gülen movement.

“Based on the principle that each human being is of value, regardless of background, faith or culture, the Gülen movement offers a multifaceted approach to seeking world peace. It also places a strong emphasis on intercultural understanding and the embracing of differences; it values compassionate acts of care and concern; and it promotes the importance of education in laying the groundwork for fostering better [CONTINUES]

SOURCE ARTICLE

SEE ALSO :

• Press & Media  - Washington Post, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Prospect, PBS TV, NPR Radio, The Age, Forbes, LA Times, Reuters
• The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue by Fethullah Gulen
• A Movement Originating Its Own Models by Fethullah Gulen
• Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi by Fethullah Gulen
• BOOKS by Fethullah Gulen and on the Gulen Movemen
• PBS 'Religion & Ethics' : The Gulen Movement aired on US public television last Sunday
• Honorary President (F.Gulen) commended by resolution passed by Texas Senate
• Gülen movement challenges Islamophobia, contributes to peace
• Fethullah Gulen: Following in the Footsteps of Rumi by Thomas Michel
• 'Gülen movement makes Turkey more noticeable'
• Greek broadcaster praises contributions of Gülen movement
• Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement
• VIDEO - Peace Through Education and Dialogue

TV - PBS 'Religion & Ethics' : The Gulen Movement aired on US public television last Sunday

PBS's 'Religion and Ethics' aired a program that discussed the Rumi Forum's Honorary President, Fethullah Gulen and the movement based around his ideas last Sunday on January 23, 2011. Below is the program and some quotes.


Some quotes from the television program:

PROFESSOR HELEN EBAUGH (Dept. of Sociology, University of Houston; Author of “The Gülen Movement”): When Fethullah Gülen began preaching in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s in Turkey, his message was we don’t need more madrassas. We need schools that would promote science and math and secular subjects, and his contention was that one can be modern and one can be scientific and still be a good Muslim....

WILLIAM MARTIN (Senior Fellow, James Baker Institute at Rice University): I think it’s fair to say that Islam has had difficulty in coming to terms with modernity, and in that I think that the Gülen movement offers a much more positive picture of what Islam can be....

MARTIN: Gülen has always emphasized education, and that really lies at the core of this movement. To be a good Muslim meant to be well educated, and to be a good Muslim who participated in modernity meant to be conversant and well educated in science, math, and technology....

SEVERSON: Kimse Yok Mu and in the US Helping Hands contribute millions of dollars in humanitarian aid each year. Professor Ebaugh says in Turkey Gülen urged businessmen to grow their businesses and give a part of their earnings, as much as a third, to support humanitarian aid and education....[CONTINUES]


Full transcript: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/january-21-2011/the-glen-movement/7949/

SEE ALSO :

• Press & Media  - Washington Post, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Prospect, PBS TV, NPR Radio, The Age, Forbes, LA Times, Reuters
• The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue by Fethullah Gulen
• A Movement Originating Its Own Models by Fethullah Gulen
• Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi by Fethullah Gulen
• BOOKS by Fethullah Gulen and on the Gulen Movemen
• PBS 'Religion & Ethics' : The Gulen Movement aired on US public television last Sunday
• Honorary President (F.Gulen) commended by resolution passed by Texas Senate
• Gülen movement challenges Islamophobia, contributes to peace
• Fethullah Gulen: Following in the Footsteps of Rumi by Thomas Michel
• 'Gülen movement makes Turkey more noticeable'
• Greek broadcaster praises contributions of Gülen movement
• Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement
• VIDEO - Peace Through Education and Dialogue

 

RADIO INTERVIEW - NPR network's WHRV 'Hearsay' with Cathy Lewis

Rumi Forum's Emre Celik from Washington DC and Norfolk Virginia Representative were part of a hour long radio interview on NPR network's WHRV 89.5 FM on Cathy Lewis's talk show 'Hearsay' broadcast out of Norfolk, Virginia.

Listen below:
http://www.hearsay.org/post/The-Rumi-Forum-January-20-2011-Thursday.aspx

SEE ALSO :

• Press & Media  - Washington Post, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Prospect, PBS TV, NPR Radio, The Age, Forbes, LA Times, Reuters
• The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue by Fethullah Gulen
• A Movement Originating Its Own Models by Fethullah Gulen
• Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi by Fethullah Gulen
• BOOKS by Fethullah Gulen and on the Gulen Movemen
• PBS 'Religion & Ethics' : The Gulen Movement aired on US public television last Sunday
• Honorary President (F.Gulen) commended by resolution passed by Texas Senate
• Gülen movement challenges Islamophobia, contributes to peace
• Fethullah Gulen: Following in the Footsteps of Rumi by Thomas Michel
• 'Gülen movement makes Turkey more noticeable'
• Greek broadcaster praises contributions of Gülen movement
• Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement
• VIDEO - Peace Through Education and Dialogue

Turkish Classes in Washington DC- enjoy our new Rumi Forum video

Rumi Forum's new video on our Turkish courses is below.The new 2011 courses start February 6. Those interested should contact Kenan bey on turkish@rumiforum.org

More info here and here

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