Gülen warns against adventurism, using force against Kurds

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. (Photo: Today's Zaman)

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has warned against adventurism as well as using force to respond to demonstrations that have turned violent since reports that the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has captured the strategic city of Kobani (or Ayn-al Arab) over the weekend.

The problems should be addressed without spilling blood or sparking hate, Gülen urged, warning against the use of force.

“The guns we often resort to in today's world perpetuate hate, strengthen and churn up vengeful feelings and animosity and inflame the fire further,” he said, recalling that the Kurdish problem has been exacerbated in the last 40 years because of the application of force to find a solution to the problem.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala used threatening language towards protesters in a statement to reporters late on Tuesday. Calling on all protesters to go home, Ala said: “The violence will be returned in double. [...] Otherwise, results that cannot be predicted might occur.”

Ala's threat of violence against demonstrators has been criticized on the grounds that the state can only use force when necessary and justified, and only in a measured response.

Islamic scholar Gülen said the Turkish government could have approached the matter from a different perspective by using education and the economic and social policies that the people in the region have been waiting for.

“Why have you not tried to win their hearts?” he asked, lamenting the lack of rights given to Kurds by the state.

Gülen also noted that the Quran's principles dictate that Muslims approach their problems with a peace-oriented attitude and soft-spoken language rather than through harsh words.

“If the resolution of a problem is possible with a peace, then you should not be adopting harsh behavior,” he said.

Gülen has been known for his advocacy of expansive Kurdish rights, including education in their mother tongue, and has criticized successive governments for using a heavy-handed approach, including military force, when suppressing Kurdish demands.

He has urged his followers to establish modern schools in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish regions in the southeast, despite the threat of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).  

Gülen also repeated his earlier warning about the dire consequences that may result from Turkey's unilateral involvement in a mission in Syria or Iraq that goes against the mission of the international community.

The Turkish authorities should avoid any action that might cause the Turkish people to experience sorrows similar to those of World War I, he had earlier said.  

Gülen emphasized that all of the Islamic Prophet's wars were defensive in nature, saying that Muslims cannot wage war unless they have been attacked directly or if there is a real possibility of imminent attack.

He reiterated that the Turkish government should not engage in adventurism that might lead to unknown conclusions.  

In a speech published on Oct. 4 on herkul.org, a website that publishes his speeches, Gülen said those who are working to turn Turkey into an intelligence state -- in a clear reference to the government of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) -- should not be overcome by aspirations to make Turkey enter a war “here and there.”

Mr. Gulen was referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's insistence that the mission include the toppling of the Bashar al-Assad regime.  

“My wish from God is that they [government officials] do not enter a war here and there and make the people [of Turkey] experience a new World War I, as the Committee of Union and Progress [(CUP), which has been accused of dragging the Ottoman Empire into World War I] after they [the committee] were overcome by their aspirations and made the Devlet-i Aliye [the Ottoman Empire] the victim of an adventure,” Gülen said.  

Gülen's speech came at a time when Parliament had voted to grant the government unlimited powers to send troops abroad for one year and to allow foreign forces to use Turkish territory for possible military operations against ISIL. The motion led to serious concerns that Turkey may become involved in the military campaign against ISIL in Syria and Iraq.  

Gülen has clearly supported international actions against ISIL, which is also known as ISIS. In his recent message published in US newspapers, he said, “ISIS actions represent those of a terrorist group and they should be brought to justice and compelled to answer for their horrific crimes.” He also said that it is incumbent upon all of us to join hands to counter and defeat, through legitimate means, any extreme ideology or violent radicalism.  

Based on his message from yesterday, while he still very much supports international and Turkish action against the ISIL threat, he is against the idea of the Turkish government unilaterally focusing on toppling the Assad regime, as that would be against the international community's core mission and will put Turkish people in harm's way.

SOURCE: http://www.todayszaman.com/national_gulen-warns-against-adventurism-using-force-against-kurds_361056.html#

FOREIGN AFFAIRS :The Muslim Martin Luther? by Victor Gaetan

Foreign Affairs magazine published an important article by Victor Gaetan on Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement. Below is an exerpt and link to the orginal article.

...His commitment to education as the main solution to problems plaguing most Muslim societies is the most concrete expression of Gulen's religious teachings. Drawing on Islam's sacred texts -- the Koran, hadith (words of the Prophet), and Sira (biography of the Prophet) -- as well as Turkish and Ottoman cultural tradition, Gulen has developed a distinct form of Islamic theology that puts social engagement, not political engagement, at its center.... Read More

Fethullah Gulen's Interview with Today's Zaman [Part 1]

Islamic scholar Gülen calls conditions in Turkey worse than military coup

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired a worldwide network active in education, charity and outreach, has described large-scale slander, pressure and oppression his Hizmet movement currently faces as worse than that seen during anti-democratic military coup regimes witnessed by Turkey. He also calls on his supporters to remain patient and steadfast and to not despair.

“What we are seeing today is 10 times worse than what we saw during the military coups,” he said, adding to that “we face similar treatment [as seen during the military coups] but at the hands of civilians who we think follow the same faith as us.”

Gülen's remarks represent a stark reminder of how he feels today in comparison to past military coups, during which he said he was prosecuted and persecuted. His comparison confirms what Turkish opposition parties are saying; namely, that the government in Turkey has staged a civilian coup and suspended the constitution and the rule of law in the country following the breakout of a corruption scandal on Dec. 17 of last year.

“But despite everything, I don't complain. … All we can do is say ‘This, too, shall pass,' and remain patient,” Gülen added. He also predicted that the current oppression engaged in by the government will not last long. “Aggressors will be turned upside down when they least expect it,” Gülen said.
Having stayed largely silent in the face of relentless attacks amounting to hate speech by beleaguered Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was incriminated in a massive corruption scandal, Gülen spoke to Today's Zaman and provided his account of how he sees the recent events in Turkey in the first interview with the Turkish media since Dec. 17.

In an extensive interview that  publisished in Today's Zaman as a four-part series starting on Monday, March 17, Gülen explains his views on the corruption investigations, upcoming local elections, whether he will support any political party, slander leveled against him, voice recordings that have been leaked to the Internet, the release of suspects in the Ergenekon trial, the settlement process with the country's Kurds, rumors on a possible lawsuit against members of the Hizmet movement after the elections, Hizmet's alleged involvement in the takeover of the Fenerbahçe sports club, how he sees Turkey exiting from the current crisis, his return to Turkey and other questions many have been wondering about.

In the first part of the series, Gülen makes it clear that no conspiracy, slander and smear attacks can overcome truth, prudence and foresight. “What evidence are they relying on when speaking so confidently? I really don't know,” he said, challenging those who spread lies about the Hizmet movement to bring forth evidence in support of their allegations. Recalling that believers have been denigrated throughout history, Gülen emphasized that “everyone acts in accordance with their character.”

Despite attacks and a campaign of defamation, Gülen said almost all of his friends have acted with fidelity. “There was virtually no shock or breakup from among our companions and friends,” he noted in an apparent response to Erdoğan's failed efforts to drive a wedge between the leadership and the grassroots of the Hizmet movement. Erdoğan repeatedly said there is a difference between the leaders of the Hizmet movement and the members of the organization. “While the organization's members at the grassroots level are displaying sincerity, its leaders have taken a different position,” Erdoğan noted, accusing the leadership of conspiring with what he called “international dark circles.”
Recounting the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, during which he was victimized and forced to leave the country amid the military's ouster of an elected government, Gülen said he tried his best to prevent the coup from taking place, including appealing to political leaders to call for an early election to get a fresh mandate. “Tension was building and everyone was searching for ways to save the country from this predicament [the impending threat of a military coup] with minimal damage. And like many others, I said early elections might be the cure. I suggested early elections should be held under a new election law.”

Gülen also talked about his alleged role in a conspiracy to change the management of the Fenerbahçe sports club, which boasts an estimated 25 million -- some say over 30 million -- supporters. However, a new voice recording leaked on YouTube early in March revealed that Prime Minister Erdoğan had attempted to get a candidate close to him elected as chairman of the Fenerbahçe sports club, instructing his son Bilal on how to prep his favored candidate with talking points.

“It has been understood that this claim [the Hizmet movement taking over Fenerbahçe] has turned out to be an aspersion,” Gülen said in reference to the voice recording. He added that “the emerging trend of our time is to attribute every inexplicable event to the Hizmet movement and use it as a scapegoat.” Gülen underlined that he rejoices the achievements of Turkish sport teams, be it Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Trabzon, Beşiktaş or any other team.

Gülen described remarks by Erdoğan's top advisor, Yalçın Akdoğan, as a trick. Akdoğan had suggested conspirators, a veiled reference to Hizmet, had used the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer coup plot trials, in which many military officials, including top brass, were convicted, to target the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). They tried to blame Hizmet for what they had done, he said. Recalling that the government rushed a bill from Parliament to save one man, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan, from ongoing legal troubles in February 2012, Gülen said Erdoğan's government could have done the same for the others had it wanted.


You have in recent times been the target of all sorts of preposterous lies and slander. Very strong words have been used. But despite these accusations, you have remained silent, refraining from giving a response.
I have of course been very saddened. What evidence are they relying on when speaking so confidently? I really don't know. I don't know of any historical incident in which an unbeliever [hostile to Islam] had ever uttered a similar word or accusation against those who believe [i.e., Muslims]. I did not expect it from those who uttered them. I do not want to say that they are lying. Rather, I prefer to say that they are misleading the people with incorrect statements. For the time being, I find consolation in the fact that, throughout history, but particularly during times of discord (fitna), we can see that people were defamed and the believers denigrated, and people who did not know the truth about the development were implicated in that sin. So who are we, then? People even hurled accusations at Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, in the Age of Happiness (Asr al-Saadah) [i.e., when the Prophet Muhammad was alive]. Even worse, unbelievers cast aspersions on God. The Quran frequently refers to these aspersions. "God has taken unto Himself a son," they say. Or "The angels are the daughters of God," they say. These inappropriate and improper descriptions about God always bother me. God, the prophets and the saints were all subjected to this improper treatment. And today, some believers do the same to an ordinary, worthless person who is me. This is not a big thing, I conclude, and I find consolation in this fact.

Everyone acts in accordance with their character. People capable of oppression engage in oppression. But because you have no teeth, you cannot bite anyone. And it's better that way. Let them indulge in oppression. Let them go on with oppression. And let us be guided with poise and vigilance and ask for God's mercy and forgiveness for those who have the capacity to turn back from their errors, and let us ask God to save them. Being on the receiving end of slander, aspersions and conspiracies has and always will be the destiny of those traveling on this path. However, prudence and foresight undo such adversity. No conspiracy or slander can resist prudence. Those who let themselves be driven by these conspiracies and illusions should try to revise their path in the light of the Quran and the Sunnah [i.e., the example of the Prophet].

Do you think the following lines from a poem you frequently quote sufficiently describe our time: “Friends are unfaithful, fate merciless, time restless / There is much trouble, and no cure; the enemy is strong, and fortune weak”? (Fuzuli)
Almost all of our friends have acted with fidelity. Despite so much defamation, there was virtually no shock or breakup from among our companions and friends. Yet, it is our wish that everyone should act by their true worth. Sometimes, this expectation does not fully hold true. I do not know if we have the right to expect certain, experienced longtime friends of ours to speak out the truth. However, I would at least like to say that I would expect certain people to be more than just friends when times are good.

There was a person who used to say he was ready to die for me. And after we were released from prison after March 12 [1971], we were working on the construction of the Bozyaka Dormitory. I said let's complete the construction work. And he said, “Please don't involve me in this business.” It is important that people not be shaken in hard times. Capacity matters. In the face of our friends' inability to act properly, we should not resent. In the Hereafter, everything -- including those shameful acts -- will be obvious to everyone. We bear with it for the sake of the Hereafter. We work for eternity [i.e., heaven]. If you seek to attain eternal bliss, you don't look to this lowly world.
We forgive whatever wrong has been done to us. Let everyone hear this. But if any wrongdoing concerns religious or sacred values, the One [i.e., God] to whom those values belong will hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions. Aggressors will be turned upside down when they least expect it. Indeed, we do not even want that to happen because the heart of a human being should be like a rose [i.e., soft and elegant]. Our words should also be like roses so that wherever they are heard they leave behind a nice fragrance.

You are one of the main victims of the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup. A lawsuit was brought against you as a result of an unprecedented media lynch campaign and this lawsuit dragged on for eight years. A group of people who see hostility against you as their raison d'être now claim that you supported the Feb. 28 coup, and by doing so they try to pave the way to further victimization. Do you feel like you are re-living the same events?
We have gone through these kinds of things many times. I was sentenced to six-and-a-half months in prison on the charge of “penetrating into the state apparatus” at the time of the March 12, 1971 military memorandum. At that time, Article 163 [of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)] stood as a guillotine for Muslims until it was abolished by [former Prime Minister Turgut] Özal. In the wake of the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, the authorities tracked me for six years as if I were a criminal. Raids were carried out. Our friends were harassed. In a sense, it became a sort of lifestyle for us to live under constant surveillance in a coup atmosphere. What we are seeing today is 10 times worse than what we saw during the military coups.

But despite everything, I don't complain. This time, we face similar treatment but at the hands of civilians who we think follow the same faith as us. I should acknowledge that this inflicts extra pain on us. All we can do is say "This, too, shall pass," and remain patient.

Mention is made about your criticisms concerning Necmettin Erbakan, who served as prime minister at the time of the Feb. 28 coup. You are claimed to have supported that coup.
Everyone knew and saw that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) grew uneasy when the Welfare Party (RP) came in first in the elections. Clouds were gathering, but had not yet turned into a storm. I remember [journalists] the late Yavuz Gökmen, Fehmi Koru and Fatih Çekirge from Ankara. I shared my thoughts and feelings with them. I received unfair and unfitting reactions. Yet there were also others who had realized the imminent danger.

When, riding on the wave of social reactions amassing in the wake of the Susurluk scandal, certain groups implemented the coup, it was too late. My name was added to the report prepared by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) about the Susurluk scandal [the 1996 Susurluk affair exposed links between the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and Turkish security forces] at the last moment. Although I later learned who did this, I never held any suspicions about believers [i.e., pious Muslims]. Then came the Feb. 28 coup. The second article of the infamous statement demanded that our schools be nationalized in accordance with the Law on the Unification of Education. Tension was building and everyone was searching for ways to save the country from this predicament with minimal damage. And like many others, I said early elections might be the cure. I suggested early elections should be held under a new election law. This was not an idea voiced only by me, but also by many others, most notably Korkut Özal. There were even some pro-government groups and media outlets that thought the same and ran headlines to that effect. A brief look through the archives will reveal who said and wrote what.

There is another aspect. I explained to the then-Labor Minister Necati Çelik the coup atmosphere that was forming in the country at the time. Several witnessed this conversation. Alaattin Kaya [the former owner of the Zaman daily] and Melih Nural [a member of the Board of Trustees of Turgut Özal University] were with us during that meeting. "They are planning to get rid of the government," said. I worked hard to avert any anti-democratic development. Minister Çelik enthusiastically listened to my worries, and then left. He conveyed my concerns to Erbakan. However, Erbakan did not opt to take measures to prevent adverse developments.

Likewise, I tried to explain the impending threat to [former Prime Minister] Tansu Çiller, briefing her about the negative developments. "Let us act with moderation," Çiller responded. And this saddened me. I did not venture into details. Having realized that I could not explain the danger to anyone, I was urged to say something to avert an incident that would lead to a possible coup, examples of which we already witnessed in this region.

I am in no position to tell anyone, "You have failed." Everyone knows that I show due respect to the people entitled to represent the nation. At that time, making mention of Abu Bakr [the first caliph] and ‘Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz [an Umayyad caliph known for his righteousness], I asserted that it would not be a regression for the government to resign from office. If a mass resignation of deputies from Parliament -- which would trigger a process leading to early elections -- would avert more serious disasters, it should be employed -- which also applies to the coups of May 27, 1960 and Sept. 12, 1980. Indeed, in response to the e-memorandum of April 27, 2007, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) decided to hold early elections and was thereby able to avert disaster. The tactics employed with this memorandum were similar to those wielded by anti-democratic forces during the Feb. 28 process, and the early elections card really worked. Thus, my message was: "Amend the election law and hold early elections."

I should note that a closer look at the Susurluk report and the memorandum of Feb. 28 reveals that the Hizmet movement was one of the main targets of the junta. What happened later was the implementation of that intention. Any claim to the contrary would be unfair and misguided.
In part two of this series, to be published tomorrow, Gülen says he could not advise people to turn a blind eye to allegations of corruption.

---

Scapegoating Hizmet became a pattern

In our previous meetings, you had stated, referring to the claim that the Hizmet movement is trying to take Fenerbahçe under its control, that it is absurd to make such a claim. What would you like to say about this claim in light of the latest information that has emerged?
Yes. Fenerbahçe is an outstanding sports club. As far as I see, its management, audience and fans tend to act in unison. This solidarity is the envy of many. And who should be disturbed by this? When Galatasaray saw success in the European championships, I rejoiced over its achievements. It is my hope that Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor and the country's other teams are very successful. They should make their mark in the world. From this perspective, with which apolitical goals can you explain efforts to bring Fenerbahçe or any other club under control? The emerging trend of our time is to attribute every inexplicable event to the Hizmet movement and use it as a scapegoat. It has been understood that this claim [the Hizmet movement taking over Fenerbahçe] has turned out to be an aspersion.

Gov't adopts double standards in court cases

A large number of suspects were released in legal cases and investigations that were closely followed by the people, Ergenekon being the prime example. How do you assess this matter?
We will side with what the laws dictate and specify. The remark that a plot was staged against the army was a trick. They attempted to blame the movement for what they actually did. They convened Parliament to make a law for a single person. They could have acted with the same sensitivity with respect to these people as well. A release is one thing; a trial is another. They are still being tried. The legal decision should be respected. We have always been in favor of the law and universal values. We will remain the same. The law should be respected even in critical times when you are subjected to grave assaults.


Read the full interview here  

CONFERENCE: Education and the State of our Future: Critical issues facing our children @Georgetown University

Rumi Forum Social Issues Conference Series 2014

Education and the State of our Future: Critical issues facing our children

REGISTER HERE

DATE:

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

TIME:
10:00 – 15:45

VENUE:
Copley Formal Lounge, Georgetown University
37th and O St., N.W.
, Washington, DC 20007


SYNOPSIS: This conference aims to highlight critical social, pedagogical and civic issues as they relate to the pre-K to 12 U.S. educational systems in the 21st century. Early education and K-12 areas in America will be discussed, in light of causes, effects and, in particular, solutions, at a local and national level.

REGISTER HERE
PROGRAM
10.00 - 10.15 - Welcoming and Opening/Keynote Remarks
10.15 - 11.45 - Panel 1:  Addressing Some of the Basic Challenges of the U.S. Education System
11.45 - 12.00 - Coffee Break
12.00 - 13.30 - Panel 2:  Education Reform Efforts and the Path to Educational Success
13.30 - 14.15 - Lunch Break
14.15 - 15.45 - Panel 3: School Environment & Teacher Training and Effectiveness

Moderators and Panelists
Panel 1: Addressing the Basic Challenges of U.S. Education System
Melissa Foy (Moderator) – Executive Director, Georgetown Scholarship Program, Georgetown University
Elizabeth Schultz – Springfield District Representative, Fairfax County School Board
Patrick Murphy – Superintendent, Arlington Public Schools
William Brozo – Professor, Graduate School of Education, George Mason University
Rosa Aronson – Executive Director, TESOL International Association

Panel 2: Education Reform Efforts and the Path to Educational Success
Michael McShane (Moderator) – Education Policy Studies Fellow, American Enterprises Institute
Lindsay Torrico – Director of Policy and Advocacy, United Way Worldwide
Kara Kerwin – President, The Center for Education Reform
Mary Ann Stinson – Principal, Truesdell Education Campus, DC Public Schools
Tom Gage – Professor Emeritus, Humboldt State University

Panel 3: School Environment & Teacher Training and Effectiveness
Eileen Kugler (Moderator) – Executive Editor, Embrace Diverse Schools
Sharon Robinson – President and CEO, The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Julia Gelatt – Research Associate, Urban Institute
Agnes Cave – Associate Professor of Education, The Catholic University of America
Harold Barber – Principal, The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School, Baltimore City Public Schools, MD

Biographies
Abstracts
REGISTER HERE
CONFERENCE CONTACT:
Mehmet Saracoglu, Ph.D.
Director for Government, Media and Community Affairs

Rumi Forum
1150 17th St. NW #408 Washington, D.C. 20036
TEL: (202) 429-1690 EMAIL:  mehmets@rumiforum.org
WEBSITE: www.rumiforum.org BLOG: rumiforum.blogspot.com

SOURCE:  http://www.rumiforum.org/upcoming-events/conference-education-and-the-state-of-our-future-critical-issues-facing-our-children.html

Hizmet Essay Contest 2014 - open to all US university students

The Hizmet Movement and Solutions to Today’s Problems

The Hizmet Essay Contest is a contest series that encourages research on the Hizmet movement and Fethullah Gulen. The contest aims to motivate individuals to research the works of Fethullah Gulen and the activities of various Hizmet institutions locally and globally, with the purpose of addressing how the Hizmet movement contributes to the individual, the community, society and the world in general.

The Hizmet movement, which derives its name from the word “service”, has established hundreds of educational and civic service organizations and institutions in over 140 countries, active in the areas of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, intercultural-interfaith dialogue, education, media and relief work. These organizations and institutions engage in various initiatives that foster inclusiveness, build community capacity, and create shared spaces.

Topic

The theme of this year’s essay contest is:

“The Hizmet Movement and Solutions to Today’s Problems”

The contestants are asked to evaluate the societal impact of the activities of the Hizmet movement and the ideas of Fethullah Gulen in solving the societal problems at the local, national or international levels.

Essayists are encouraged to focus on the following two topic areas:

1. Specific Focus: How activities of the Hizmet movement, in areas of peacebuilding; interfaith and intercultural dialogue; education; relief work; and other initiatives of Hizmet movement organizations and institutions in different parts of the world such as United States, Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, Middle East, Africa and Australia, contribute to the improvement of these societies.

2. Conceptual focus: How teachings and writings of Fethullah Gulen lay the foundation of the Hizmet Movement’s initiatives and hence contribute to producing solutions to societal issues.


Rules

*Essays must be no fewer than 3000, and no more than 4000, words in length. (Citations and bibliography are not included in the word count).

*The essays must be double spaced.

*One entry per person. Essays must be submitted by August 31st, 2014, no later than11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time. The Rumi Forum has the right to change the contest deadline when deemed appropriate.

*Essays must be the original work of entrant and must be owned by entrant. Plagiarism will result in disqualification. Essays must not infringe on any third party rights or intellectual property of any person, company, or organization. By submitting an essay to this Contest, the entrant agrees to indemnify the Rumi Forum for any claim, demand, judgment, or other allegation arising from possible violation of someone’s trademark, copyright, or other legally protected interest in any way in the entrant’s essay.

* All submitted essays will become the property of the Rumi Forum.

* Awardees will be notified via e-mail by September 30th, 2014. The Rumi Forum reserves the right to change the notification date.

Eligibility

*Entrants must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program that awards Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctoral Degrees. Both full-time and part-time students may apply.

*Open only to US Citizens and lawful residents of the US.

*We encourage students of all backgrounds and ability to participate in this contest.

Awards

There will be 2 student categories:

Undergraduate prize: $1500

Graduate prize: $2000



Registration

Please register your interest via the link below. Further details and updates will be sent to those registered. Registration is important and should be considered the first step. There is no fee or cost to register or submit an essay.

Register Here


For queries please email info@rumiforum.org with “Hizmet Essay Competition” in the SUBJECT line.

SOURCE:

http://www.rumiforum.org/hizmet-essay-contest-2014.html?Itemid=&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

HUFFINGTON POST Op-Ed: Fethullah Gulen: From Izmir to the Global Hizmet Movement by Emre Celik, President, Rumi Forum

Gulen's name has progressively reached a wider Western audience. From the New York Times to 60 Minutes, the average American has had slight and subtle exposure. But over the last two months, Gulen's name has been featured prominently in the global press (such as the BBC who scored a very rare video interview). Now there are thousands of references to his name in the world media. Attention is being paid.

But, let us note that most of news coverage paints Gulen within a political narrative -- forgetting (or ignoring) four decades of civil society advocacy, education and dialogue activities and support for democracy and human rights. There is more to Gulen than this current political paradigm. Some history and perspective will help set the facts straight.

Gulen was raised in a very pious family in Eastern Turkey in traditional Sunni Islam while also being immersed in various sufi teachings. He was trained in the spiritual and religious sciences, both at home and under the tutelage of the region's religious and spiritual masters. He was very influenced by the sufi works of Rumi and Yunus Emre.

He was also introduced to Said Nursi's Risale-i Nur ("Treatise of Light") a collection of some 6000 pages on issues of faith and science and their interdependence. In one section Nursi's speaks of the three social ills in the Muslim world being ignorance, poverty and disunity, and the responsibility of all Muslims to overcome these. Gulen takes this social awareness one very important step further -- these three social issues are not Muslim specific, but affect all humanity, and that it is incumbent on all Muslims to help alleviate them no matter one's race, creed or color. These are the intellectual seeds for Gulen's "Service" Movement (Hizmet in Turkish).

During the late 1960s and 1970s, Gulen preached these ideals from the mosque pulpit to local coffee houses in Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, and garnered a following -- particularly among the local business people and, later, university students. His eloquence and oratory skills, his passion and tears-filled discourses, his love of country, love of God and Prophet Muhammed, love for humanity, his encouragement of service, and his desire to break the rigid mold of building mosque and madrassa initially led to a small fan base of supporters who volunteered and raised funds to support the first small dormitory and education center in the seventies. During his travels as a guest preacher, he became more well-known and popular throughout Anatolia. Similar projects begin outside of Izmir. During this time in 1979, supporters began publishing Sizinti (meaning a spring or fountain), a magazine dedicated to spiritual values and science. Throughtout the '80s, institutions start to increase in size and number. The first private college opens in Istanbul in 1986 -- the private Fatih High School.

During this time Zaman newspaper is purchased with an daily circulation of approximately 5000. Today, it is Turkey's most read newspaper with more than 1.2 million daily circulation. In 2007, an English daily, Today's Zaman started publication. With time various institutions were founded and multiplied, amongst them FEM prep schools, Fatih University, Kaynak Publishing Group, Samanyolu Television Group, Kimse Yokmu a relief and humanitarian aide organization now services more than 100 countries through various social service and community building projects and relief work. Dialogue and bringing together polarized communities was an essential element in Gulen's message and the first organization to bring together disparate sectors of society was the Journalists and Writers Foundation which brought together Turks and Kurds, the political left and right, Alevis and Sunnis, secular liberals and religious conservatives and Muslims and Non-Muslims. Tuskon, a national federation of various regional and provincial business networks, now has the largest membership in Turkey of any business organization with numerous international offices encouraging trade and cooperation.

All these institutions added to the Hizmet's mix of civil society initiatives -- all with those initial three social issues in mind. Numerous and various institutions supporting these shared values appeared throughout Turkey over these past four decades. In the early 1990s with the break up of the Soviet Union, Gulen encouraged business people to take up the challenges of Central Asia. Within a short time with the assistance of philanthropic business people investing in the region schools began to open. Similarly through business people's and university students' engagement with local diaspora groups, Gulen's ideas spread initially through Europe, Australia and North America and later Africa, Asia and South America.

The role model and positive activism of Hizmet participants were crucial in this process. As too was the example of institutions already flourishing and successful in Turkey. Gulen's articles, books, audio and video cassettes also played an important intellectual role.

Follow Emre Celik on Twitter: www.twitter.com/emrecelikrumi

SOURCE: bit.ly/Izmir2Global 

Hizmet from the Heart - Dr Jon Pahl, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

Jon Pahl

As delivered at “Friendship Dinners” in Portland, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts

For the past six years, since attending an event very much like this one, I have been fortunate to meet thousands of individuals around the world inspired by a single ideal:  Hizmet.  

I could tell you tonight about my scholarly “take” on this Hizmet movement as a historian of religions. I could introduce you to or deepen your understanding of the thought of the Turkish public intellectual Fethullah Gülen. I could describe the roles of Turkish Muslims in building science academies and schools in some of the poorest places on the planet. And I could talk about how individuals inspired by hizmet are building peace through interreligious dialogue, civic engagement, and social enterprise.

But instead, tonight, I want to talk about hizmet from the heart.

I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, in a devout Lutheran family  From as early as I can remember, we played church in my home. I’d dress up in one of my father’s white dress shirts, and my mother had a fancy cross that I would wear around my neck as I dressed like a “pastor.” We would process into the living room of our tiny story-and-a half home, and there I would preside over church: we would sing a hymn, say a prayer, and then I would collect the offering….

Church was the center of my family’s social life. That meant potlucks and confirmation classes and youth group — all the things Garrison Keillor has made a fine living poking gentle fun at. But it also meant that I learned, in many and various ways, to live with a paradox that Martin Luther articulated in a 1520 treatise entitled Christian Liberty. “A Christian,” Luther wrote, “is a perfectly free servant of none, subject to none.” That sounds pretty good to most of our Western ears. Freedom! But as I grew up I also learned that this freedom — the freedom of the gospel that flows from grace, had a purpose. “A Christian,” Luther continues, “is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” That complicates things, doesn’t it? Perfectly free; perfectly dutiful. But that paradox—we might call it the freedom to serve, has been at the core of my lived experience.  

Now, six years ago, I attended an event very much like this one in Philadelphia, where I was first introduced to Fethullah Gülen’s book Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance.  At that event, I also first met individuals inspired by the teachings of Mr. Gulen. And since that time, my life has been changed in countless ways for the better. . . by hizmet.

Sociologist Muhammad Cetin — now serving in Parliament in Turkey, in a brief book Hizmet: Questions and Answers on the Gulen Movement (pdf), describes how Hizmet is an Islamic-inspired “movement to mobilize huge numbers of religiously-minded and observant individuals not only to accept but to cherish a secular, pluralist democratic social and political order.”

OK — you might be thinking at this point, that sounds pretty heady — Muslims, secular, pluralist, democratic -- what does that have to do with “Hizmet from the heart?”

In addition to being a historian, I am the father of three children. I trust many of you here tonight are parents, and those of you who are single—since you are attending an event like this, probably participate on some level in what Jonathan Schell called “universal parenthood:” working on behalf of a better world for coming generations.  

And I don’t know much at all about your lives, but in my experience of parenting, for all of its joys — and they are many: raising children and fostering a new generation has also been the most difficult, demanding, and anxiety-producing calling of my life.  

Yet here’s where it all comes together. In 2009, my wife Lisa and I took a trip to Turkey, sponsored by our local Dialogue Forum — a group of individuals in Philadelphia inspired to hizmet. Lisa wasn’t sure about the trip. She was worried.  

But once we arrived in Istanbul, she fell in love — as did I, with the layers of history in Turkish culture — going back millennia to the dawn of civilization. We fell in love -- with the beauty of the Bosphorus, the mosaics of the Blue Mosque, the splendor of Aya Sofya. In 2011, we returned to Turkey to begin studying the language. When she left — a few weeks before I did, and when I asked her on the phone how it felt to be back home in Philadelphia, she said: “I miss Istanbul!”

Now this nostalgia was not only for a place: it was also for people — for their hopes and dreams, fears and concerns, anxieties and aspirations — which we learned to realize that we shared across the Atlantic, across the language, across religions. We discovered people — Muslims, who cherished their freedom — freedom that they see as coming from God — as did Martin Luther, but that they articulate in secular terms and democratic political structures. AND we discovered these same people who cherish freedom were also dutiful and devoted and decent and kind. What my wife Lisa and I have learned to love, and what I miss even now, and find endlessly fascinating in its similarities to and differences from what I grew up with, is a Turkish version of the paradox of the freedom to serve -- which is what the word hizmet means: “service.”

Hizmet motivated Turkish engineers and businessmen and teachers to move to Kampala Uganda and start a school — Turkish Light Academy, that I was privileged to visit in 2010. The school has a beautiful modern campus with soccer field, dormitories, and hi-tech classrooms. 75% of the students at that school, started by Muslims, were Christians. When I spoke at the school, I talked about the power of religion to move societies toward justice and peace — as in the US Civil Rights Movement, and I urged the young men to learn tolerance in their relationships with people of different faiths. During the question and answer session, a young man named Andrew D’Aloi Ayeni stood up and asked me: “Could you name a time in your life when you practiced tolerance, sir?” It was the perfect question — and since then Drew and I have kept in touch — he’s on Facebook, and he has now graduated from college with a degree in Economic Development and hopes to study for his masters — if he can round up the resources -- here in the U.S.

And Hizmet motivated Emine Unal — the mother of two and a student in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, to undertake studies in religious peacebuilding with me at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. And Hizmet motivated my friend Naji Yazicioglu to study genetics in a Ph.D. program at the University of Pennsylvania, and now go back to Turkey to teach.   And Hizmet motivated Emre Celik — an Australian Muslim of Turkish descent from near Sydney, to move to the U.S. to lead Rumi Forum — a think tank and advocacy group in Washington, DC.  

These names may mean nothing to you, but what they mean to me is that I now have colleagues and friends — sisters and brothers, around the world who share with me — for all of our differences, in living out the paradox of the freedom to serve  I have learned from them. We can all learn from them.  

Some of these friends have been to our home; and I’ve been to theirs.  So it did not surprise my wife Lisa and me, at all, when our son Justin — 27 and finishing his first novel, announced after he had saved enough money that he was moving to Istanbul. He now lives there and works as an editor at The Fountain magazine. The point? We have entrusted our first child to Turkey, toHizmet! Late last week he wrote to me a long email about an academic conference he had attended, where the speakers from Pakistan and Turkey and the U.S. talked about faith and doubt, religion and sexuality, politics and service — in a word, abouthizmet.

And also last week Justin published an essay in Today’s Zaman — an Istanbul newspaper. What motivated the column was his trip home to the U.S. this summer, where when he told his old high school and college friends that he was living in Turkey, they’d ask him: “Aren’t you afraid? Do you feel safe?” Slowly, as he was asked these questions over and over, his patience gave way. He narrates in the column how he did some homework. In 2012, Istanbul — a city of nearly fourteen million, had 111 murders. Philadelphia? A city of 1.3 million — 335. What does the FEAR that so many Americans project onto Turkey, onto Muslims, say about the state of our own civil society, Justin asked! And then he wrote: “The graciousness I've encountered in Turkey has shown me that I can live with less, and give more.” 

That’s hizmet. And yet it is also the path to a meaningful, rich life — rich in the things that matter, the things that endure, the things that aren’t things.  

Rabbi Michael Lerner has insistently made the point that we need in America to get beyond pervasive and paralyzing cynicism to a new politics of meaning — open to the wonder of life, its variety and beauty, and yet also working ceaselessly with the rigor of science to promote understanding, justice, and peace. That’s hizmet: freedom from fear, secure in the ultimate mercy and grace of a compassionate God, yet freedom to serve: recognizing the needs and suffering of one’s neighbors, and the strength and joy found in solidarity and community.

Thank you for coming tonight. Thank you for your work on behalf of future generations — whatever you do. Thank you for being a person of hizmet — even if, like me six years ago, you’d never heard the word before tonight.

SOURCE: http://ltsp.edu/hizmet-heart

THE CHAUTAUQUAN DAILY: Saritoprak shares knowledge of Turkish traditions and Gülen movement

BRIAN SMITH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Zeki Saritoprak, the Nursi Chair of Islamic Studies at John Carroll University, speaks about his homeland of Turkey during an Interfaith Lecture in the Hall of Philosophy at the Chautauqua Institution.

by FREDO VILLASEÑOR

Zeki Saritoprak is the Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University. At 2 p.m. Friday in the Hall of Philosophy, he delivered an Interfaith Lecture on the Gülen movement and on Turkish culture and religion. Saritoprak is a contributing author of Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gülen Movement, edited by Hakan Yavuz and John L. Esposito.

Before discussing Gülen and his Hizmet movement, Saritoprak gave a brief outline of Turkish history, from the start of the Ottoman Empire to the founding of the Republic of Turkey. He spoke on how Islam appeared in Turkey and on the religiosity of modern Turkish people.

Gülen became a prominent Turkish preacher and imam in the 1980s, Saritoprak said. People would come from hundreds of miles away to hear him speak. Gülen’s Hizmet movement is the largest civic movement in the world today, Saritoprak said.

Gülen has been successful in encouraging Turkish Muslims to establish and attend secular schools.

“Muslims have to establish … not religious schools, but just regular, secular high schools,” Saritoprak said, “because [Gülen believes] mathematics is talking about God, physics is talking about God, chemistry is talking about God.”

Among Gülen’s critics are Turks who feel he is not enough of a nationalist, Saritoprak said. Because of Gülen’s emphasis on interfaith dialogue and his connections with leaders of other religious traditions, some Muslims have accused him of secretly being a rabbi or a cardinal.

The Hizmet movement has opened its own schools to promote peace, nonviolence and tolerance, with at least 1,000 schools in Turkey and in more than 40 other countries, Saritoprak said.

“In the generation that [is being] educated in these schools … I think we have a good promise of our future,” he said.

He noted that the Hizmet movement has also opened hospitals and has been involved in relief efforts; for example, those in Haiti and New Orleans. The movement’s newspaper is one of the most widely read in Turkey, Saritoprak said.

Gülen has held meetings with figures such as the chief rabbis of Israel and Pope John Paul II, and he is generally respected among the Jewish and Christian communities for bringing Muslims into dialogue with those of other faiths, Saritoprak said.

“I think the most visible part — and sometimes criticized part — of this movement is interfaith dialogue,” Saritoprak said.

SOURCE: http://chqdaily.com/2013/08/18/saritoprak-shares-knowledge-of-turkish-traditions-and-gulen-movement/

NEW BOOK: So That Others May Live: A Fethullah Gulen Reader

Fethullah Gülen is undoubtedly one of the most influential Muslim thinkers of our time. His work and writings have inspired a transnational civic movement that advocates for education, promotes intercultural and interfaith understanding, and delivers humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Originated in Turkey, this “Hizmet” or “Gülen Movement” is active in more than one hundred countries across the globe.

So That Others May Live offers a definitive compilation of Gülen’s characteristic essays. Some of them are available here in English for the first time. The rest have been carefully re-translated and edited, providing even familiar readers with new insight into Gülen’s most remarkable writings on faith, morality, education, civic service, and modern civilization. Together, this selection functions as a valuable guide to the ethical impetuses of a global social movement—one that has rooted itself in Gülen’s signature synthesis of humanism and Islam.

About the Author:
Erkan M. Kurt is a researcher at the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, Houston, TX. He has a PhD in Islamic theology and a Master’s degree in Christian theology. He is the author of Creation: The Principle of Nature in Islamic Metaphysics.

More Info: http://www.amazon.com/That-Others-May-Live-Fethullah/dp/1935295209

NEW BOOK: Beginnings and Endings: Fethullah Gulen's Vision for Today's World

Walter Wagner attempts to present a framework of understanding that outlines the philosophy and theology of Fethullah Gulen, a worldwide known scholar of Islam who inspired a global movement of education and interfaith dialogue. This book shows how Gülen's vision for the present and future makes the present and future forms of Hizmet an essential part of his wider and urgent call for the formation of a community of religiously committed and non-religiously committed persons to work toward a just, equitable and prosperous world now.

About the Author:
Dr. Walter H. Wagner is adjunct faculty at Moravian Theological Seminary (Bethlehem, PA) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is an ordained Lutheran pastor (ELCA), retired from parish ministry. He has taught at California, Lutheran College, Upsala College and Muhlenberg College, and served as the director for theological education of the Lutheran Church in America. He is the author of a number of articles on early church history and Islam as well as Opening the Qur'an.



More Info: http://www.amazon.com/Beginnings-Endings-Fethullah-Gulens-Vision/dp/1935295268

FOREIGN POLICY: Honorary President Fethullah Gulen on TOP500 list

Fethullah Gulen, Rumi Forum's Honorary President appeared on Foreign Policy's Global TOP500 list.



See also in FP: FOREIGN POLICY - Meet Fethullah Gülen, the World's Top Public Intellectual

The FP Power Map

The 500 most powerful people on the planet.

MAY/JUNE 2013

Is it possible to identify the 500 most powerful individuals on the planet -- one in 14 million? That's what we tried to do with the inaugural FP Power Map, our inventory of the people who control the commanding heights of the industries that run the world, from politics to high finance, media to energy, warfare to religion. Think of it as a list of all the most important other lists....

SOURCE:  http://bit.ly/RF-TOP500

ANNOUNCEMENT Fethullah Gulen, Rumi Forum Honorary President, named in 2013 TIME 100 list

We were delighted to hear today that Mr. Fethullah Gulen, an inspiration for many of our volunteers and donors, was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.

Being named on the TIME100 list is recognition we see befitting of Mr. Gulen, who has dedicated his life to interfaith tolerance and peaceful coexistence with people of all faiths and backgrounds. His reinterpretation of aspects of Islamic tradition not only meets the needs of contemporary Muslims, but also inspires millions in Turkey and around the world to promote community service, intercultural dialogue and education.

The 2013 TIME 100 includes other noted world leaders such as President Obama and Pope Francis . In the past, TIME has honored global leaders such as the Dalai Lama, Pope Benedict XVI and Aung San Suu Kyi in their TIME 100 list. Last year, TIME’s honorees in education were Salman Khan and Cami Anderson.

TIME recognized Gulen for “preaching a message of tolerance that has won him admirers around the world.” As you may know, Hizmet volunteers over the years have been involved in building schools, dormitories and tutoring centers, teaching college preparatory courses, mentoring students, and providing financial aid to those in need. With a focus on science, math, literature and multicultural understanding, its award-winning schools have been established around the world, including Indonesia, Congo, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, South Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

To read more about Mr. Gulen’s and Hizmet’s efforts in education, please visit the Alliance for Shared Values at www.afsv.org. The Rumi Forum is a member organization of AFSV.

To read more about Rumi Forum,  please visit  www.rumiforum.org

You can also follow us on

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Blog:                http://rumiforum.blogspot.com

Thank you all for your continued support  and service to Rumi Forum

Best,

Emre Celik

President

Rumi Forum