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

VIDEOS: The Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding: Global Cases

More than 20 countries represented by scholars - watch the videos of Symposium on:

Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding : Global Cases

held at the National Press Club in Washington DC on October 24-26 2013.

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

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

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


Some quotes from the television program:

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

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

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

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


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

SEE ALSO :

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

 

NEW VIDEO - Peace Through Education and Dialogue

This is a new video produced in London that explains the important role Fethullah Gulen (Rumi Forum's Honorary President) ideas on peace and education are having in increasing social harmony and understanding. A must see for those interested in Gulen's ideas. (total video length is 17 minutes)


Peace Through Education and Dialogue PART I



Peace Through Education and Dialogue PART II

INTERVIEW in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal

In case you missed it, the Rumi Forum's Emre Celik was interviewed for an article in the New York Times about our Honorary President, Fethullah Gulen. Mr Gulen was also interviewed for the Wall Street Journal:

http://www.rumiforum.org/frontpage/two-articles-about-fethullah-gulen-have-been-publishen-in-the-new-york-times-and-the-wall-street-journal.html

Attitude of Gratitude

If you are new to the Rumi Forum, we thought it would benefit you to see some of the previous things we have done over the years. As one way of doing this we will include some articles from the main stream media that have covered our activities involving intercultural and interfaith dialogue - all in the hope of increasing community harmony and improving attitudes towards social inclusion.

Attitude of Gratitude
Community religious groups wrap week’s worth of interfaith events with Thanksgiving service.

Representing Burke Presbyterian Church where she serves as head pastor, Elizabeth Braxton took some time during her comments Wednesday, Nov. 26 at the 25th Interfaith Thanksgiving service at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax to reflect on a year’s worth of work.

"I think as I look out here about the wonderful year we’ve had with our interfaith relationships," she said to an audience of Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and Jews that filled the pews.

A coalition of churches and theologians, the audience had helped keep the homeless men and women from freezing with their Hypothermia for the Homeless campaign. They ran food drives to help restock the barren shelves of Ecumenical Communities Helping Others (ECHO) in Springfield and sponsored a Hunger Walk to benefit charities both local and international.

They did not do it alone. St. Mary of Sorrows, Adat Reyim synagogue on Westbury Oaks Court in Springfield and The Rumi Forum, a Muslim-based interfaith organization in Washington, D.C., all partnered to sponsor a week’s worth of events culminating in the Thanksgiving service. The night featured prayers and comments by all four of the faiths represented.

"As Protestant, Catholic, Muslim and Jew, we come together in joy on this national holiday to give thanks to God. Let us give thanks for that freedom," said Cuneyt Mehmet Simsek of the Rumi Forum in the call to worship.

Maureen Cassidy of St. Mary of Sorrows compared each faith and church represented that night to individual trees connected by a shared community....CLICK LINK BELOW FOR FULL ARTICLE

READ MORE Attitude of Gratitude


RECENT PHOTOS FROM RUMI FORUM

Guests from the Rumi Forum 2010 Ramadan Iftar Dinner Series held over numerous nights. Guests from think tanks, media, universities, embassies, interfaith and religious organizations and NGOs were in attendence

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Rumi Forum - welcome to our blog

We hope to by way of this blog let you the reader find out a little bit more about the Rumi Forum. Our activities - past and present, videos, photos, new books and some insight and opinions on numerous topics including intercultural and interfaith dialogue, social policy, multiculturalism, community harmony, conflict resolution, social responsibility, overcoming prejudice and increasing respect amongst numerous others.

We will also highlight news and views about our Honorary President, Fethullah Gulen who is a world renowned Islamic scholar and thinker, education and dialogue activist, poet and prolific writer - a modern Rumi !

We hope to continue in the tradition of the great Mevlana Rumi and invite with kindess and respect to all those that want to contribute to a greater world peace - around the table of humanity with love and respect as our sustenance.

We look forward to hosting you at our numerous events and activities, please sign up to our newsletter to find out about upcoming events...

http://www.rumiforum.org/ (on the right hand side)

In the meantime enjoy a short video that describes what the Rumi Forum is about :

For full size video click : http://www.youtube.com/user/RumiForum#p/a/f/1/qOj6UP-IXy4