Rabbi Dr. Lawrence Arthur Forman: The Importance of Multi-faith understanding and the dangers of religious intolerance

The below talk was present by Rabbi Dr. Lawrence Arthur Forman, William & Mary, Feb. 3, 2013
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D.Min, D.D., Rabbi Emeritus, Ohef Sholom Temple, Norfolk, VA
Founder, Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, Old Dominion University, Norfolk
Intermittent Chaplain, Veteran’s Hospital, Hampton, Virginia

Leonardo daVinci, perhaps the most significant figure of the Italian Renaissance, told his disciples: “ the more you know of men and things, the more you love them. From great knowledge, great love springs. To know a man or a thing deeply, profoundly, inwardly, is to learn to love all human life.”

Today we know the truth of what Da Vinci taught his disciples: that knowledge of the “other” brings understanding and compassion, and that most hate springs from ignorance and fear.

Today, I want to share with you my understanding of the blossoming dialogue that is emerging here in the United States among the different faith groups, why it has been successful here, and what we each might do to foster its growth globally.

(Because of our time constraint I’m limiting my remarks to the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.)

Most of us are more familiar with Judaism and Christianity than we are with Islam. This afternoon, I would like to share a bit of my own experience with interfaith work among Christianity, Judaism and a particular facet of Islam, Turkish Islam.

In the late 1990s, after serving our community for some three decades, it became obvious to me that great accomplishments in the area of human rights and human services would in the future have to come from the impetus of our main-stream religions. In order for that to happen, I believed, that we in our respective Churches, Mosques and Synagogues, would not only have to study and know about our own faiths, but also, we would need to learn about the faiths and beliefs of our neighbors.


History has much to teach us. Allow me a few moments to catch us all up on a few key points.

Not all of the world’s religious systems have had a long-standing commitment to respecting the integrity, the worth and total value of every human being. That concept is a modern one. But neither did the ancient religions lack any manner of ethical life. They each have had some truth to speak to the world. Even the pagan world was not so morally corrupt that it was waiting only for a new revelation to teach it ethics and morality. Plato and Aristotle, Plotinus and Seneca, had molded the thought of the Mediterranean world long before Christianity or Islam appeared on the scene, and gave them exalted moral codes of living. But there is one thing which they did not do: their morality lacked a driving impulse; it was not dynamic. The Stoic, for example, who was a truly moral person, was content to be moral in and by himself, to lead a calm, disassociated life, and to perfect the self; he was concerned with self-culture and self-improvement. That there was evil in the world, that there was sin in the world, that there was slavery in the world, that there was poverty in the world, that other people were weak and did not have the strength that he possessed, that seemingly did not concern him. Christianity brought into that world the Jewish ideal of service, that the highest goal in life is not self-culture but human helpfulness. The Roman knew what it is to be a master, but did not know what it is to be a servant of humankind; and the Christian brought to him the Jewish message of the servant of God, that the highest type of person is not the masterful man, but the person who subjects himself, and works unceasingly for social justice and civil rights for all citizens, even for all humankind; to be a light unto the nations.

The ideals and virtues of humility, of meekness, of forgiveness, of mercy, kindness and love were not admired by the Romans. Those ideals came from Jerusalem. But it was through the channel of Christianity that these Judaic ideals entered into the world and became part of it. Christianity taught the Goths and Huns, the Franks and Saxons, the Visigoths and Teutons a new definition of civilization…that we are our brother’s keepers and we must take care of each other because we’re all we’ve got.

These were the ideals that first leaped from the lips of Isaiah and Jeremiah, from Amos and Micah, and they infused Islam through the influence, primarily of Christianity, but also through the impact of Jewish civilization on the desert Arab tribes. If our Bible today is translated into every living language and dialect, it is due primarily to Christianity. If the Jewish heroes, the spiritual giants, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, the Prophets—if they are known to the world, if they have become part of the speech and thought of mankind, it is due to Christianity, and if the basic Jewish ideal of the kingdom, the Messianic ideal, the hope that some day justice will flow over the world like a mighty stream, the hope that some day men will beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, the hope that some day each person may live under his vine and under his fig tree with none to make him afraid. The hope that some day all oppression will disappear, the hope that some day each child of God will inherit his divine patrimony…if that Messianic ideal is today the goal toward which civilized peoples are moving, then it is due, to a large measure, to the work of education and teaching which the Enlightenment carried into the world, and it is due to the liberalization of religion which has both its roots and fruition in our Democratic society, here in the United States of America.


Here in America there is the bright light of hope to promote the values we hold dear. Often we find that different faith traditions hold opposing views on important issues that affect not only the specific faith community, but because those values have implications that will necessarily affect others, they also spill out into the wider community. We might not all embrace those values and ideologies. Concepts of when life begins, the role of women in religious leadership, the origin of sacred texts and their authority within our lives, the appropriateness of dissention and diversity, the legitimacy of choice and the meaning of words like marriage and truth…these are but some of the realms where our religious traditions might find conflict. And yet, here in the U.S. we have seen time and time again, that for nearly all of us, the highest value we each hold in our diverse religious communities is discovering how to live in peace and harmony together – despite our differences. Yes, we all try to get our social agenda accomplished, but we do so in an environment of mutual respect. Even when we don’t agree with one another, most of us respect each other’s fundamental right to dissent.

Over the centuries, Judaism developed the concept of Pikuak Nefesh, that the saving of a life, takes precedence over all; This means not shedding blood over ideology; saving a life is the most crucial value. Thus, in Judaism, one can even violate the holy Sabbath, or any rite or ritual to rescue a person from harm. This means that if someone burns your sacred text, you don’t respond by destroying him; If someone denigrates your Prophet or Holy figure, you don’t shed his blood. If someone engages in a behavior that your religion finds abhorrent, you don’t resolve the matter by resorting to bloodshed. There is a line in Genesis, that all 3 Abrahamic faiths are predicated upon; and that is no matter how greatly we might be annoyed by our fellowman’s behavior, we are still our brother’s keeper, and we are responsible to ameliorate that behavior without resorting to the destruction of our brother.

It is primarily here in the United States where people have learned to differ peacefully and respectfully. People have come to understand that just as it is a sacred right of a human being to work toward shared values, so too is it a sacred right to protect our fundamental differences. And in this Democratic atmosphere of greater freedom and tolerance which has come to America, and through America is exported throughout the world, Judaism, Christianity and moderate Islam are becoming more courteous to one another.

There are today, people like ourselves, Muslims, Christians and Jews, who have inherent within them the post-enlightenment liberal spirit of Democracy, tolerance and understanding which has come into the world. It does not, of course, mean that Islam, Judaism and Christianity are becoming ONE. It does not mean that all our differences, are whitewashed. All three religions retain their distinctive coloring, their characteristic emphases, and all three are giving definitive direction to their faithful ones. But it does mean that these differences need not necessarily lead to hate and antagonism. By accepting these differences in the American spirit of Democracy, adherents of these three great faiths may yet, in a spirit of helpfulness, mutual cooperation and respect, work for common ideals, and the realization of those shared goals which benefit the common good.


The way to begin this process is precisely in forums such as this, among open-minded individuals, where presentations can be made to discuss the various possibilities to support and uphold those shared human values that can bring about healing, hope, happiness, prosperity and peace among these diverse faith groups.

For years, I have spoken in Churches and Temples about this interfaith idea. Everyone seemed to agree, but each individual Church and Synagogue, because of its primary purpose in advocating its own religious orientation, initially balked at putting the idea of an Inter-faith coalition as a primary agenda item.

But, the tragedy of 9-11 made this idea ever more relevant and crucial for our very survival as a freedom-loving nation based on Jeffersonian values and the principles of our Constitution.



I’ve worked in the interfaith community all my adult life. I have very dear and special friends in all of these religious systems. We have shared the microphone both on radio and television. But it was as faculty advisor to the Turkish-Muslim Better Understanding Club of Old Dominion University, that I learned of the broader ramifications of the Rumi Forum and Turkish Islam. In that advisory position I was invited to travel to Turkey to get a first hand experience of the excellent science and math schools being built in the Middle East and Africa by the Turkish Philanthropist, Philosopher and Scholar Fetullah Gulen, a man who continues to work for open dialogue and understanding among all races, religions and ethnicities.

With the direct assistance of individual supporters and ODU Presidents Jim Cook and Roseann Runte, we created the INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH STUDIES AND INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING. The Institute was designed to coordinate lectures, symposia and reading groups related to Jewish history and thought, as well as continue our dialogue with Christian, Muslim, and Asian faith traditions. We believed that by presenting information about the world’s religious and ethnic diversity in a University setting, through open dialogue, we would have an ever deepening understanding of one another, and perhaps even be able to set aside some of our stereotypes and prejudices. Our target groups included the students enrolled in the University and individuals and groups from all religious denominations from the community at large. We visited a variety of Churches and Temples in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

We learned that much of modern Turkish Islam is based on the philosophy and poetry of Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, a 13th century Sufi Saint, and the 20th century scholar and philosopher, Fethullah Gulen.

An outspoken advocate of dialogue, Gulen writes: (and I quote)“(We are all surrounded ) by enemies. Given this, we cannot afford to argue among ourselves. Moreover, we must temporarily forget some focal points of controversy between Christian and Jewish spiritual leaders and us, and seek dialogue with them. The uncivilized may think they will accomplish something by hitting and fighting, while noble and enlightened spirits believe they will realize their goals by thinking and talking. I pray we have left the period of brutality far behind. Victory in civilization and acceptance of truth will be accomplished through persuasion, discussion, debate and dialogue….”(end quote)

The Rumi Forum, an organization in Washington, DC, based on Gulen’s teachings and principles, recognizes and acknowledges all of the great religions, Eastern and Western, which ask the eternal human questions and seek answers to these dilemmas: As Gulen asks (with us): “Where can we find purpose and meaning in our brief days on earth?” “How can we live more in touch with what is real?” “How can we continually renew our quest for freedom, social justice, democracy and peace in an often torn and struggling world?”

The Rumi Forum emphasizes that dialogue will infuse our ethical actions, that through dialogue we will long continue to celebrate each other, so that we might see the future as an opportunity to be transformed, and to make our world worthy of redemption.

So where then is our energy to be spent if we are to encourage such dialogue?

In the 12th and 13th centuries Islam flourished; it created science and poetry, literature and art. But because there was no concomitant development in the area of modern scientific Biblical (or Koranic) higher criticism, there was backsliding and regression. As long as people remain locked in a dogmatic, authoritarian, fundamentalist position, claiming that only they have the right and correct way to God and exclusive rights to “the keys to the kingdom of heaven”, then it is almost a vain effort to propose dialogue toward mutual understanding.


Gulen’s movement, based in the Secular Government of modern Turkey, is the nearest thing we have to anything that might be called: “Liberal Islam.” Just as the Bible and the Torah have been interpreted in a modern, analytical way, thus leading to the development of Liberal Judaism and Liberal Christianity, so too must Islam, if it is to further a partnership in our Post-modern world, develop a Liberal Islam, with modern reformist ideas, addressing gender equality, human authorship of sacred texts with its accompanying fallibility, and full complement of modern religious hermeneutics to remain the vital faith that resides within its great history?

The nearest thing to Liberal Islam today, are the schools of science, math and technology that are being built around the world by the Gulen movement. This is a shining example of modern Islam in action! There are glimmers of light because of the work of Fethullah Gulen and his disciples! For example, here in America there is a movement in Islam to reclaim “jihad” as an inner personal spiritual struggle, a self-imposed battle for personal improvement, a “jihad” of the heart! “Jihad” is not to be interpreted exclusively as a physical battle, but the term has been appropriated for this exclusive negative meaning by extremists and terrorists. The word “Jihad” literally just means to struggle - and like Jacob struggling with the Angel to find his best self and his place in the world, so each of us must struggle in our quest for the divine to find the meaning we so desperately seek.

It was only in our Democratic Country that Judaism and Christianity were able to integrate science and liberal thought into their religious systems. Just as the United States originally imported liberal Christianity and liberal Judaism from Germany, then reworked them over and over again, finally exporting American Liberal, reformist, progressive Christianity and American Reform Judaism back to Europe, Israel and other lands, so it is in America that we can best foster a more Liberal Islam; and building upon the Gulen movement, encourage that faith community to share its new-found sense of openness, and consequently perhaps even influence Islam around the world.

And so we are met at this forum, in dialogue and friendship, to reaffirm those core ethical values in our own respective faiths, and to grow toward a better understanding of one another; and as one loving family, come together with the reaffirmation to heal and repair this wonderful world of potential that God has given us.

The great 12th century Jewish philosopher, Judah Halevi, in his famous text, the “Kuzari”, speaking of Christianity and also of Islam, said: “These people, these religions, are the preparation for the Messianic day which is to come. Just as a seed must break up and separate into parts in order that it might absorb the fruits of the soil; the rain and the sun, so that it might become reintegrated later on in a fruit and a flower, true to itself and its nature, so Judaism had to separate, in a sense, disintegrate, into other faiths besides itself, so that it could absorb the strength of the whole of mankind for its own ultimate growth in the fulfillment of its destiny.”

Great and eternal is the debt that these great religions owe each other. Now it is up to us to learn and to teach, to understand and to share, to speak and to show by the example of how we are living our lives, that the grand humanistic teachings of these three ancient yet modern faiths can yet be carried out, so that together, we might tap the mind of the One God of us all, and see the future as an opportunity to be transformed, and to make our world worthy of redemption!


Thank you.

Jewish businessman Alaton: Fethullah Gulen (and Movement) enlightens people and transmits knowledge. I cannot see anything more magnificent than teaching people knowledge that will serve as a life-long capital

Ishak Alaton, a Jewish businessman in Turkey speaks about his respect for Fethullah Gulen.

Ishak Alaton praises Turkish schools abroad

İshak Alaton, one of the most respected businesspeople in Turkey, praised Turkish schools abroad during one of his book talks in İstanbul on Thursday.

The event, organized by the Florya Businessmen's Association and Horizon Dialogue Association, hosted Alaton and Mehmet Gündem, the author of Alaton's biography, “İshak Alaton: An Unnecessary Man.” In reference to the section about Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and the movement inspired by him, Alaton said that in the 90-year history of Turkey, the educational activities of the Gülen movement are noble and bring prestige to Turkey.

Talking about people working abroad in Turkish schools, Alaton, chairman of the board of the business conglomerate Alarko Holding, said the following: “Our brothers enlighten people and transmit knowledge. I cannot see anything more magnificent than teaching people knowledge that will serve as a life-long capital. We will witness the real benefits of this process in the decades to come. Many people are learning Turkish [through the schools] and beginning to really like Turkey. Well-educated students of these schools are the ministers and the prime ministers of tomorrow, and they will have the love of Turkey in their hearts, which will contribute to Turkish people's prestige.”

‘The Kurdish conflict should end'

Speaking on the most recent peace process initiated between the government and terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Alaton said that he believes in peace and the necessity of ending the Kurdish conflict. “I believe we should grant our people equal rights of citizenship,” said Alaton, underlining that everyone is free to express his or her opinion, including opposing ideas, on Turkey's most significant conflict.

‘You need to try extra hard to fail in today's Turkey'

Commenting on the current economic outlook of the country, Alaton projected a very bright future. The veteran businessman said that in today's conditions, one needs to show extra effort in order to fail, in a comparison with less advantageous conditions in the country in the past.
Alaton also praised Turkey's increasing role in health tourism, thanks to successful hospitals and medical staff in the country. Alaton added that he is trying to “brainwash Ankara” to place more importance on investing in the health sector.

SOURCE:
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-304460-ishak-alaton-praises-turkish-schools-abroad.html

FETHULLAH GULEN: Respect For Humankind

M. Fethullah Gulen

Loving and respecting humanity merely because they are human is an expression of respect for the Almighty Creator. The other side of the coin, loving and showing respect to only those who think the same as one thinks, is nothing but egotism and self-worship. More than this, it is irreverent and self-conceited behavior to hurt the feelings of others who may not think exactly as we think, but who still are on the same main road with us in their thoughts and visions.

We dream of a generation who will embrace and build the future upon interpreting problems not according to the sources or reasons from which they arise, but with respect to their ideals. If we are passengers who are on different paths and using different strategies, but all heading for the same destination, then why should we defame the others who are with us on this sacred journey that has such a lofty goal?

The circumstances that will shape humanity in the future, in particular current world affairs, are forcing us to act with utmost care and alertness; in fact, they are forcing us to do so to such an extent that any decision hastily taken for temporary measures will result in errors that have no compensation. The architects of the future are obliged to build their world on the foundations of what human love and respect stand for and what they appear to be.

With its many dimensions, the modern world has pushed humanity into many dark alleys. And we have come face to face with many problems, the nature of which we have no idea. We are trying to cope with these problems, but they are extremely slippery and inconsistent, and in due proportion the outcomes are full of contradictions. There are thousands of Khidrs who are committed to fetch the water of life from Mount Qaf for humanity, but none of them possess any sign of the elixir of immortality. Despite all the efforts of these people who are “apostles-to-be,” respect for the human soul has been severely challenged by real dangers.

We have struggled for many years in this way; nevertheless, we have not accomplished any synthesis that will constitute the pillars of tomorrow. This has indeed been impossible. Our feelings and thoughts have promised and brought about discrete things, and we were like musicians with a broken record and an incomplete composition, swaying from one door to another, looking for a producer. When every individual denies all the other truths because of the portion of truth which they hold in their hands, and when they compel others to stick to their respective portions, will it ever be possible to have ideas line up one after another, to attain new syntheses, or to discover remedies that save? Can this ever be possible while some are harassing others with accusations of unbelief and sinning, or even physically assaulting them? 

The present situation that we have reached today is very dramatic and thought-provoking. Those who walked side-by-side in the past are strangers to one another today. The truths and untruths have been shifted, in accordance with group preferences, from their foundational pillars to rest on slippery rails. Under such chaotic conditions, it is impossible to discern either the loftiness of the goal or the differences of the means to attain it.

Humanity today appears to have become fixated on a single flower alone, although they had set out to enjoy the spring. They have lost all their hopes for reaching the goal that is on this path; the means to do so are what they have been fighting for. Their efforts and actions are merely to engage in effort and action. Just like a guide who has forgotten the responsibility of serving the temple and their servanthood to God, who is absorbed by trying to entertain the visiting tourists, so too have those who devoted themselves to a clique or a party today become foreign and indifferent to the ideal and the goal.

The humanity of our time has been imprisoned by focusing on one flower on the way to the spring, and has been deceived by a drop while chasing the ocean. I feel that such slavery will be impossible to overcome until we have liberated humanity and given them a new outlook. We are burdened with the task of expressing the truth . . I wish that we had been able to have done so!

No matter how charming and enchanting the atmosphere that catches the eye or fills the heart is there is no permission for us to forget the truth to which we are committed. We cannot stay alien toward each other while we are in the same camp. We do not have a monopoly of the good and the beautiful; therefore we cannot be allowed to wage a war with the passengers who are heading to the same destination but on a different path.

We may have some criticisms about the path and system of someone who thinks differently from us; this is an expression of minds that operate in different ways. But, if we are striving to reach the same horizon, we must at least respect the way others think. This is a prerequisite of heading in the same direction, sharing the same belief, utilizing the same terminology, and finally and above all, of respecting the sacred meaning glorified by God Almighty.

Let us be respectful to humankind! Let us respect the exalted truths they possess. Let us love them because of their Almighty Creator. If we can raise a community upon this perspective, people will eventually recover and they will manage to compensate for whatever they have lost.

The Fountain  - Issue 53 / January - March 2006

SOURCE:  http://www.fountainmagazine.com/Issue/detail/Respect-For-Humankind

GOODNESS & MERCY -Cynthia Butler on Fethullah Gulen and Rumi Forum

Goodness and Mercy

Are Following you all the days of your life.

Which is why the Gulen Movement and the Rumi Forum are in America. It's the other side of Islam- the side that built civilizations before Europe existed as we know it. There is an Islam which is kind, merciful, peaceful and nothing like the screaming Islam of 'terrorists' neocons wanted us to associate with the word 'Muslim' There are Muslims who are deeply devoted to peace, peace-making, inter-religious dialogue and building bridges of hope, prosperity and Love between all peoples. Gulen is a guy who has been accused of being too much muslim for the Secularist Turks who revere Attaturks Secular reform. They fear he has engineered a secret coup from a wooden bunker in the Poconos. Gulen apparently advocates a model for higher educational advancement, building schools of higher learning all across the world. He appears to be a new prophet (small "p" because they believe Mohammed was the last legitimate prophet and there are no more) of a new Islamic Enlightenment which is friendly to democracy and capitalism. In fact beating capitalism at its own game.

The Rumi Forum in Washington, DC is a think tank of religious reconciliation and inter-religious dialogue and cultural exchange. It is an Embassy of Enlightenment and Hospitality, inviting Congresspeople, dignitaries, Ambassadors, Scholars, Authors and Religious figures who have one goal: mutual understanding, loving co-existence and peace-building through dialogue. The Rumi Forum has honored Priests, Diplomats and Congresspeople, heads of NGOs and Foundations and Professors. It is a brilliant organization founded on something so exceptionally simple it evades modern life: Loving Kindness.

Leslie Stahl recently did a 60 minutes episode on the Gulen Movement [here] and the President of the Rumi Forum (www.RumiForum.org) filled in the gaps of her interview [here]on their website regarding what it is all about. It is a remarkable movement that embraces all faiths and people and is the clearest expression of God and holiness outside a church I have ever seen. click: RUMI FORUM

In the last two days they have had two speakers, both Jewish, who were welcomed graciously to discuss their ideas, theology, books and missions. One was a Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason's School for Conflict Resolution and the other, the son of an Iraqi Kurdistan Jewish immigrant who was a Professor in Aramaic (the language of Jesus he reminded us) at UCLA. He has recently written a book called "My Father's Paradise" about his journey discovering his father's early childhood in the mountains of Kurdistan. This son, a former journalist, spoke about how the Muslims and Jews in Kurdistan before a mass exodus of Jews from that region in the 1940s were so close as to be considered family or brothers, living in harmony and peaceful mutually protective co-existence. Harmony is a good word, and the name of the Charter schools the movement has set up. Harmony is something musical that comes from a spiritual realm that resonates a balance, a beauty and a reverberating joy. If Rumi was the poet of Love, Gulen is the poet of Harmony-
and his presence in America is a tribute and honor to us. We have an angel among us, one who prefers the quiet of a Pennsylvania mountain stream perhaps to TV interviews or a spotlight.

While his presence may be hidden the fruits of his harmony are not- and you can glimpse some of them at the Rumi Forum in downtown Washington, DC and several other states now. The President of the Forum in America is a jovial Australian of Turkish background (ever meet a Turk with an Australian accent?) who opens his heart and his kitchen to everyone he meets. Lectures often come with lunch because breaking bread together in every tradition builds bonds of friendship and family. Truly, this is a piece of God in a sometimes dark place.

God is Great, God is Merciful and God Loves Us All. On that, we can all agree.

SOURCE: http://www.democracytruth.blogspot.com/2012/05/goodness-and-mercy.html

Ori Soltes speaks on Historic Ottoman Exhibition - The Art of Living Together"

Summary
Come see how the Ottomans were able to cohesively and harmoniously live and provide sanctity to their minorities. In a first for Washington DC, Rumi Forum has organized re-prints of Ottoman Decrees regarding their Armenian, Jewish and Greek minorities dating back 550 years, also including documents and letters outlining the transatlantic relations between North America and the Ottoman state.A total of 25 documents are present in this exhibition. All re-prints of original documents from the Ottoman archives with both English and Turkish translation.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

OTTOMAN EXHIBITION - The Art of Living Together RECEPTION June 6, 2011

RUMI FORUM Presents Historic Ottoman Exhibition The Art of Living Together

MEDIA - Turkish Policy Quarterly : Fethullah Gulen's "Jewish Dialogue"

Fethullah Gulen has been a global pioneer in regards to the important message of dialogue - both through his words and by encouraging numerous service (educational, welfare, health and dialogue) projects. Fethullah Gulen's only aim is riza ilahi i.e. gaining the pleasure and favor of the Almighty. His intentions are neither worldly, nor for fame or fortune. It is in this light that all this good work and service should be viewed and understood. The following 2 links provide greater understanding of Gulen's thoughts:
The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue by Fethullah Gulen
A Movement Originating Its Own Models by Fethullah Gulen


TURKISH POLICY QUARTERLY recently published an article by Efrat Aviv titled Fethullah Gulen's "Jewish dialogue" on Rumi Forum's Honorary President, Fethullah Gulen. Excerpts are below:

Fethullah Gulen's "Jewish Dialogue"
by Efrat E. Aviv* , TURKISH POLICY QUARTERLY






...Tolerance and Jews

According to Gülen, the idea of tolerance does not aim to confine itself in a narrow space. On the contrary, you must begin with the immediate environment, and then spread to more distant circles. Gülen sees great importance in disseminating tolerance because of the fact that the world is a global village, and it is imperative to lay the foundation for communication without making distinctions between Christians, Jews, Atheists or Buddhists. However, you must still begin with your immediate circle, since without it you cannot move onward and outward. In this way, you can radiate tolerance from your immediate environment to more distant ones.

Gülen remarks that tolerance is occasionally interpreted superficially by specific individuals, since they are attempting to change those around them under the guise of dialogue, but the idea that stands behind tolerance is to accept everyone as is, regardless of faith or beliefs. Beyond this, tolerance also includes the ability to connect with each other, to make a connection, to talk and communicate.

In fact, the religious tolerance that Gülen represents is not new to the Turks. It is based on the tolerance of the Ottoman regime throughout six hundred years and spanning three continents. Gülen gives numerous examples from the Ottoman history, the one to which he repeatedly refers is Fatih Sultan Mehmet, who unraveled the Greek and Armenian patriarchy in Istanbul and gave its leaders religious autonomy and authority.On the 31st anniversary of the establishment of the Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakfı, in an event that took place in İstanbul, Jak Kamhi, a Jewish Turkish industrialist said that Gülen has not really reinvented anything with his interreligious activity, since the Turks exhibited love and respect for all nations for hundreds of years. Moreover, Kamhi said that were it not for this tolerance of the Turks, he himself would not exist: “Gülen manifests a long-standing tradition of tolerance, which helps familiarize the world with the beautiful sides of Turkish society”.

Because of this approach, of perceiving dialogue as both a religious and a moral-national-social obligation, Gülen met with countless leaders and key people from the three religions during the 1990s. He met with Jewish leaders, both secular and religious, inside and outside of Turkey, in order to promote dialogue between Judaism and Islam. Gülen was the first one to initiate interreligious meetings in Turkey, as testified by Yusuf Sağ Monsignor, patriarchal representative of the Catholic- Assyrian church in Turkey. Yusuf Sağ was one of the first religious leaders to meet Gülen in Turkey, who said that the initiative for the interreligious meetings was made by Gülen. The first to join was the Greek patriarch, followed by the Armenian patriarch, Rabbi İshak Haleva, Yusuf Sağ, and finally the Mufti of Istanbul. Sağ, in a personal interview, said that he himself attended at least 14 of Gülen’s Ramadan meals in 2006, under the umbrella of interreligious activity. Sağ recounts that Gülen was the first to talk about interreligion at a time when no one even thought or spoke about dialogue. Sağ mentions that numerous others followed Gülen’s example.Due to all the aforementioned, it is extremely important to examine the Gülen initiative associated with the interreligious meetings and to pay special attention to the interests vested in it. The purpose of each these meetings should be ascertained. The first of a series of meetings with Jewish leaders was with representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, whom Gülen met with at least twice, once in the United States and once in Turkey. The first meeting between Gülen and the League took place in New Jersey, attended by the President of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, and Kenneth Jacobson, who was then National Deputy Director of the League, as well as the Director of Foreign Affairs, and an additional representative. The League representatives arrived at Gülen’s house during his convalescent period in 1997. This was a specific League meeting. Jacobson said the following about the first meeting:

‘‘Circa the 1990s, we worked intensively to promote Turkish understanding in America, as part of the effort to strengthen Turkish-U.S. relations, so that Turkey would be able to continue its relations with Israel… We were known to be involved with Turkey… And then some people contacted us… and said that they had information about a very important and moderate individual… that takes Islam in the right direction… a very interesting phenomenon indeed... We decided to meet with him [Fethullah Gülen]… and this meeting took place with Abe Foxman, myself and another colleague. The meeting lasted approx. one hour… Gülen talked about his moderation regarding Islam, the Jews, Israel, and expressed reasonable and non-extremist views… It was a very good meeting, very friendly… A group of his followers came to see us after our meeting with him and then asked if we could introduce Gülen to people in Washington… but I don’t recall which specific meeting came after. I think we offered our help in introducing him to others, which I think happened/didn’t happen.”

Kenneth Jacobson recounts that the second meeting took place in Istanbul during a visit by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, on their way back to the United States from Israel. Despite the opposition of the military and government, as well as people in the Turkish Jewish community, to hold a second meeting with Gülen, Jacobson decided to meet with him and two others, one of who was then the Chairman of the Conference of Presidents, Leon Levy.The first meeting took place at Gülen’s initiative, via mediators. These mediators came to the League representatives following the League’s involvement in several conferences, including the main conference to commemorate 500 years of Jewish life in Turkey, which took place in the United States. The League also organized a gala dinner in New York for then Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz. In a ceremony conducted on 18 December 1997, the League awarded the tolerance prize to Yılmaz for his efforts in promoting democracy, and for his religious pluralism and tolerance. During that same period, the League worked intensively to tighten U.S.-Turkey-Israel relations, which seems to have spurred the movement’s desire to meet with the League.

Jacobson said the following about the second meeting, which took place in Istanbul in 1998:
‘‘I remember it like it was yesterday. There were all sorts of television cameras there, TV networks, and lots and lots of cameras, as if it were a high profile meeting. We met, and it was another pleasant encounter. We were given gifts… again Gülen spoke in terms of moderation. He presented himself as someone that cares about moderation in Turkey and cares about a moderate Islam and as someone interested in good relations with Israel and the Jews… afterwards there was a follow-up meeting with his assistants in New York…as far as I know, he is not in touch with us… The meeting lasted half an hour and did not go into as much depth as the first, since we had to rush and join the rest of the group, which was waiting for the return flight to the U.S.”

It is possible then, that Gülen’s goal was to reach key people in Washington via the League members. However, Jacobson recounts that the essence of the meetings with Gülen was mostly introductory and courteous, and for the most part, no particularly significant decisions were made during these meetings.
Another meeting between Gülen and a Jewish leader was held in 1997 with Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, who served as the Chief Sephardic Rabbi in Israel between 1993 and 2003. This meeting took place because of Zali De Toledo’s initiative, the cultural attaché in the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. The invitation was accepted.

Prior to the visit, there was a request from Abdülkerim Balcı, who was then the correspondent of the newspaper Zaman in Israel, to bring Gülen and Rabbi Bakshi-Doron together, which did not happen.The then The President of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yılmaz, initially opposed meeting, claiming that Gülen did not have any official title, but he eventually agreed. The Israeli Foreign Ministry thought that a meeting with Gülen could help quell the hatred and resistance to Israel and/ or Jews, and therefore they authorized it, but Bakshi-Doron had a different interest – he wanted to ask for help in freeing Iranian Jews that were imprisoned for alleged espionage. Back then, Zali De Toledo says the following about the meeting: ‘‘At first, I translated for Rabbi Bakshi-Doron and Fethullah Gülen, in front of approximately 15 television microphones. The meeting took place in Gülen’s building in Istanbul. When Gülen entered, I extended my hand to him, a gesture that he did not return, but in order for my hand not to remain outstretched, one of his assistants immediately shook it. The Rabbi and Gülen quoted excerpts from the Torah and the Koran, and I translated. Afterwards, we adjourned to a quiet meeting, with the attendance of Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, Fethullah Gülen, his assistants, Rabbi Bakshi-Doron’s assistant Rafi Dayan, Eli Shaked, who was then the General Consul, and me. Rabbi Bakshi-Doron requested assistance for Iranian Jews, saying that there are widows and ‘agunot’ (literally ‘anchored or chained’, a Halachic term for a Jewish woman who is “chained” to her marriage). left there and that there is no Rabbi there to help them. Gülen said that he had no ties with Iran and that’s where the matter ended… Gülen was interested in opening one of his schools in Israel and that was the reason for his meeting with the Chief Rabbi.”

During this meeting, Gülen told Bakshi- Doron that it was imperative to discuss issues pertaining to all the religions and that it was their duty as religious leaders to pass this message on. In response, Rabbi Bakshi-Doron said that he appreciated Gülen’s efforts to create interreligious dialogue and world peace. He also added that they must, as religious leaders, visibly work towards peace. He added, that he had agreed to meet Gülen because he was an important personality in the Muslim world and it was important that such a message come from him. Bakshi-Doron apparently agreed to opening a Muslim school in Israel in principle, but the idea was rejected at the government level.

According to a senior personality that worked with Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, Gülen requested to establish a Muslim school in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. According to this testimony, Gülen wanted to visit Israel, but his visit was not authorized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The source testified that Gülen left a positive impression on the Rabbi and that the two  exchanged greeting cards for the holidays, at least until Gülen left for the United States.In other words, there was a mostly mutual interest at the basis of these meetings, but the meeting was also utilized to strengthen interpersonal ties.

On the other hand, Gülen’s true purpose in strengthening ties with the Jewish community and Israeli representatives in Turkey might have been to try to create world peace and harmony, with Israel playing a key and significant role in giving a global example of peace. If Israel, renowned in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict it has been embroiled in for years, expresses a message of peace, then it will influence the international arena and maybe even propagate to other conflict zones. Thus, Israel could serve as an example and symbol of successful dialogue. Moreover, there is an attempt to initiate dialogue with “post-Ottoman” zones and from here the path to dialogue with Israel as a former Ottoman territory.It should be noted that the people in Gülen’s Movement, via the Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakfı, organized a communications conference in Istanbul at the end of May 2008, to which Turkish and Israeli journalists were invited, with the purpose of creating a more in-depth acquaintance between them.

Several meeting were also held in Turkey between Gülen and Turkey’s former Chief Rabbi, David Asseo, with Rabbi İshak Haleva, who was then Asseo’s deputy, also in attendance. In a personal interview, Haleva stresses Gülen’s assistance to the community.He mentions Gülen’s mediation between the community and elements in the media that published inflammatory content against the Jews. In Haleva’s opinion, Gülen did a tremendous service, not only to Jews, but to Turkey as a whole. According to Haleva, minorities in Turkey were regarded with suspicion due to the process of nationality that the Republic underwent, and therefore the closeness that Gülen created between the Muslims, Christians and Jews in Turkey, was of ultimate importance. When you speak, he said, the negative impression dissipates:

If I do not hate someone, then I learn to love him over time. So perhaps Gülen’s activity will not have an immediate impact on the next generation, but it will definitely have one on future generations… and this is how they will learn to love him. Personally, I very much admire Gülen"... 

Reverend Elizabeth Brown, affiliated with the Unitarian Church, conjectured: In her opinion, the criticism towards Gülen was actually caused by the “soft coup” of 1997. She says that since then, the regime in Turkey tended to be intolerant of anyone religious and Gülen fits into this definition. Brown also notes that she is not surprised that Gülen has dissenters, “like Jesus”, she adds. Her testimony that you do not need to see Gülen in order to be impressed by him suffices to get a positive impression of him and his people. The work that Gülen’s people do, says Brown, “brings me to tears”...

Discussion with numerous Turkish Jews paints a picture of apprehension and fear towards anything associated with the Gülen Movement, even if people are only familiar with him from the media. It is possible that Jewish society is influenced by the general society and may be apprehensive since any religious issue tends to be met with even greater reluctance or repugnance among the Jews than among the Turks. Notwithstanding, secular society in Turkey, as Rıfat Bali attested, does not only oppose Gülen Movement, but any community, movement, or religious organization that jeopardizes Kemalism and secularism in Turkey, with its worldview. Subsequently, the opposition to Gülen is not actually due to the Movement’s components, characteristics, or principles of its belief, but due to a general fear of religious domination over Turkey. The fear and misgivings from Gülen Movement are applicable to any movement, organization or party that deals with religion. Perhaps the fear of Gülen and his Movement may be greater than of other movements, because of its popularity. In other words, the more popular the Movement becomes, the greater the reservations about it become. Therefore, fear of Gülen and his movement is actually the fear of anything connected, even remotely, to religion, and therefore opposition to Gülen’s movement may not be because of what it stands for as a specific movement, but rather due to it being a religious movement....[continues]

SEE ALSO THOMAS MICHEL'S ARTICLE:
Fethullah Gulen: Following in the Footsteps of Rumi by Thomas Michel


SUGGESTED MEDIA LINKS on FETHULLAH GULEN
http://rumiforum.blogspot.com/2010/09/rumi-forum-suggested-links-has-been.html

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://www.turkishpolicy.com/

* Dr Efrat E. Aviv is a member of the faculty at Bar Ilan University, Israel, Department of Middle Eastern Studies.