Gülen Movement Discussed in a Conference at University of Southern California

The “East and West Encounters: The Gülen Movement” Conference was held on Dec. 4-6 and was organized by the Pacifica Institute, a Turkish-American institution established by the Turkish community in the Los Angeles area. The conference was sponsored by the University of Southern California's Office of Religious Life, the International Education Center at Santa Monica College, the department of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, the department of religious studies at Humboldt University and the department of religious studies at Whittier College. The conference was held on the USC campus.

During the conference, various topics about Gülen and his movement were discussed, including the characteristics of the Gülen movement, which were described as hizmet (service), the functionality of the movement in contrast to the organizational structure, the contribution of the movement in dialogue between Muslims and Christians, the personality of Gülen and his reflections on hajj, gender issues and the Gülen movement, and hijra (migration) for the sake of God by admirers of Gülen. Some other topics that were discussed included the education of young men as practiced in Gülen-inspired schools and a comparison between educational and spiritual foundations of Gülen schools and Jesuit schools in specific contexts, such as Gülen schools in Australia and Kosovo.

Again, among the topics that were discussed was a comparison between Gülen and Alasdair MacIntyre, who is a contemporary philosopher at the University of Notre Dame, and the contribution of Gülen to public life through the promotion of virtues and spirituality, as well as another paper that dealt with the critiques of Gülen and his movement in political, economic and ideological contexts. Dr. Kathleen Moore of the University of California at Santa Barbara spoke of Turkey's secularism and the Gülen movement. Dr. Juan Campo spoke on Gülen's reflections of hajj, which led me to think once again of the importance of studying Gülen from a religious perspective and not only from a political or sociological perspective.

For more information about this conference and the discussed topics, please visit the conference web site: http://www.gulenconference.net/

Growing up in the turbulent Turkey of the 1980s

Growing up in the turbulent Turkey of the 1980s, Muhammed Çetin knew how to hate and he had tangible reasons for doing so. Like others in his home, he had to serve two-hour shifts keeping vigil in the night, because if a bomb were tossed into the house, someone needed to be awake to throw it back.

“At that time the basic attitude was if anybody was in a different camp, they had no right to live,” Çetin recalled. But then Çetin heard Fethullah Gülen preaching about Islam’s demand for mutual respect, caring and cooperation — ideas that would change the direction of a teenager’s life.

Today, Çetin, an internationally educated scholar, spends his life promoting Gülen’s teachings through translation work, books and speeches, such as the one he gave Thursday during the annual Community Prayer Breakfast organized by the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

More than 200 people attended the morning event held this year at St. George Catholic Church in Baton Rouge. For years the federation was known as the Greater Baton Rouge Federation of Churches and Synagogues, but in 2007 it changed its name and opened its membership beyond Christians and Jews to include Muslims and followers of other faiths.

Çetin, serving as the first Muslim speaker for the breakfast, talked of how Gülen helped Turkey through a time when political and religious strife threatened to pull it apart. “(Gülen) exerted all his scholarly, intellectual and practical efforts to convince individuals and university students that they did not need violence, terror and destruction; they could establish a progressive and prosperous society without such terrible acts,” Çetin said. “Instead, they could avoid violence, ignorance, moral decay, and corruption by conversation, interaction, compassion, education and collaboration.”

Education and altruism are at the heart of Gülen’s message, Çetin said. “Only if they receive a sound education can individuals and their society respect the supremacy and rule of law, democratic and human rights, diversity and other cultures,” Çetin said. Gülen talked to people all across Turkey and convinced many to fund new schools, where children from a variety of factions could not only learn, but also become friends, Çetin explained. “The education at the schools and institutions accepts differences and renders them valuable,” he said.
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“We may be powerless as individuals, but when we work together, we have the power to shape our community and history; we can all leave our mark for good because we all can serve humanity,” Cetin said.

For the full article, please visit: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/67440072.html?showAll=y&c=y

Gülen Movement an Inspiration for all

Dalia Mogahed, appointed by US President Barack Obama and the first Muslim woman to be a member of the White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has said the Gülen movement, a faith-based social movement named after Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, is a model and inspiration for all those working for the good of the society.

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Specifically drawing attention to the movement's emphasis on intercultural and interfaith dialogue activities, Obama's advisor said this initiative is "highly admirable and impressive," adding that the "followers of this movement have done a phenomenal job by working on interfaith dialogue."
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"I think the Gülen movement offers people a model of what is possible if a dedicated group of people work together for the good of the society. I also think that it is an inspiration for other people and Muslims for what they can accomplish," Mogahed said, commending the movement. She noted that "this initiative has a lot to teach to other people and Muslims, but it needs to broaden its membership profile." She then elaborated on her advice to the movement. "It has moved beyond Turkey in its very benevolent projects and it serves people from all around the world of all backgrounds, but it is still made up mostly of Turks. That is what I feel is in need of expanding," she said.

For the full article, please visit http://en.fgulen.com/press-room/news/3355-gulen-movement-an-inspiration-for-all-says-obamas-muslim-advisor-mogahed.html

Christians, Muslims forging new bonds in United States

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Muslims and Muslim Americans across the country were subjected to threats and derogatory remarks, investigated by law enforcement and had their faith characterized as a "terrorist religion."

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A new effort is unfolding among Christians and Muslims to build additional bridges at a time when President Obama has made reaching out to the Islamic world a national priority.

"So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity," Obama said in a major speech in Cairo in June. "And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end."
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The challenges are formidable. For decades, interfaith talks here have produced soaring rhetoric and polished statements. But polls have indicated that despite the intentions and efforts of religious leaders, a good deal of ignorance and misunderstanding about other faiths remain in the pews.

"We have a lot of work to do," said Father Alexi Smith, the ecumenical and interreligious affairs officer of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The stakes could not be higher in the view of the Rev. Canon Gwynne Guibord, co-founder of the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group. Guibord is the ecumenical and interreligious concerns officer for the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese and a prominent figure in such efforts by the National Council of Churches.

"I believe that we will either perish together or we will survive together," Guibord said in a recent interview. "In order to survive together we really need to be more than tolerant of one another. We need to grow in understanding of one another."
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This is an excerpt from an article published in Los Angeles Times by Larry B. Stammer on August 3rd, 2009. For the full article, please visit: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/03/local/me-beliefs3

Symposium on Gülen and Erasmus published in book

The papers presented at the last year's "Erasmus and Gülen: Inspiration for Peace and Dialogue" symposium in Amsterdam, have been compiled into a book. The symposium was organized by the Dialoog Academie and Huis van Erasmus.

Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt says in his introductory article for the book that the symposium showed how close the stance of Fethullah Gülen, an Islamic scholar, and Desiderius Erasmus is despite clear differences in their thinking.

There are 500 years between these distinguished thinkers. During these years the world has changed drastically. Deep analyses handled in the symposium and included in this book are very valuable in every respect. Papers in this book show that education, instrumental in forming tolerance and similar values and whose sources are peace and respect, is required in every place and in every time period," van Agt noted, underlining similarities between a Christian humanist thinker such as Erasmus and an Islamic scholar such as Gülen, adding that the values they share, including peace and tolerance, will enlighten the road of today's societies, which face serious problems.

For more information about this symposium, please visit: http://www.huisvanerasmus.nl/algemeen/40/sub/41/Poster.html

Academics Discussing Gülen Movement in Cairo, October 19-21

Leading academics from various countries will discuss the role of movements in the Muslim world and the experiences of the Gülen movement at Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The conference, jointly held by Cairo University's economic and political science faculty, Academic Studies and the Internet Foundation from Turkey, and Hira magazine, will start Oct. 19 and last for three days. It will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.arabturkdialog.com.

Professor Nadia Mustafa, the chairman of the program for civilization studies and dialogue of cultures at Cairo University's faculty of economics and political science, said the influence of the conference will be felt both in Egypt and throughout the Arab world. Noting that they have previously hosted many conferences but none like this one, which has already created much enthusiasm and interest, Mustafa indicated that they decided to organize the event in order to get to know the Gülen movement better.

Noting that organizing the meeting at the Arab League is the best example of rapprochement between Turkey and Arab countries, Nil Yayınları and Hira magazine's Middle East chief Şükrü Şahin said this is the first time the Arab League is hosting a conference of this nature.

Professor Bayyumi, who serves on the conference's organizing committee, said the Arab world's attention towards Turkey and the interest in the Gülen movement had paved the way for the organization of this kind of conference. Underlining that the conference will focus on the Gülen movement's Islamic background and global effects, Bayyumi said they will search for answers to questions such as "Why has the Gülen movement been more successful in positive dialogue than other Islamic movements?"

The Gülen movement was previously debated at the Kremlin, the European Parliament and the House of Lords as well as by internationally recognized academics in many countries including Australia, Iraq, Yemen and Pakistan. The Arabic translation of books written by Fethullah Gülen, who has become increasingly well known and observed with greater interest in the Arab world, is in high demand.

For more information about this conference, please visit: http://arabturkdialog.com/en/

Toward Tomorrow

For centuries now the Islamic world has squirmed in the vicious grasp of error and has remained unable to turn for succor in any way to its own spirit and essence. Whenever it has broken free and succeeded in taking two steps forward, it has immediately taken several steps back and lost itself in the byways. Such whimsical wandering or deliberate deviation, in which there is more harm than good and in which the harmful sweeps away the beneficial, hinders society's efforts to seek and find itself within itself and deeply disturbs the work done and the people who do it. We have seen everything in this wide world deteriorate beyond recovery and the wheels of the states and nations turn against their own selves.

Therefore we believe in the necessity to investigate the Islamic world with its understanding of faith, its own acceptance and interpretation of Islam, its consciousness of the Divine, its zeal and yearning, its reason, logic, mode and system of thinking, its style of expressing and communicating itself, and its own institutions, which will make humanity acquire these attributes and skills. In this way we may direct our world to a thorough renewal in all its aspects and elements.

The fundamentals of our spiritual life are religious thought and imagination. Not only have we sustained our life with these, but we have also taken action by relying on them. If we were to be parted from them, we would find ourselves a thousand years back. Religion is not only an assemblage of rituals and worship, its goals include giving meaning to humanity and the universe, becoming open to human nature in its essence and spirit, realizing the desires which go beyond this world, and responding to the intimations of eternity in human conscience. Religion embraces the whole of individual and collective life; it intervenes in everything we have of mind, heart, and soul; it gives its tincture to all our acts according to our intentions, and imbues everything with its color.

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Those who perceive religion as being contradictory to science and reason are the afflicted; they are unaware of the spirit of both religion and reason. Moreover, it is absolutely fraudulent to hold religion responsible for clashes between different sections of society. Conflicts between peoples and groups of people arise from ignorance, from ambition for personal advantage and profit, or from the vested interests of particular groups, parties, or classes. Religion neither approves nor condones such qualities and ambitions. In fact, there are conflicts and clashes between some religious individuals, but this is because, even though they have the same spirit, they do not hold the same degree of belief, they cannot preserve sincerity; sometimes they cannot overcome their feelings and are defeated by them. Otherwise, virtue with faith cannot approve of nor lead to such calamities. Indeed, the only way to avoid falling into such misfortunes is to establish religion with all its institutions within our daily life so that it becomes the life-blood of society as a whole.

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We are not in need of this or that particular quality or ability, but rather the whole comprehensive mind. Just as the brain has connections and interactions with all the parts and cells of a body, from the nearest to the farthest, from the smallest to the biggest, by means of nerve fibers, so too will such a cadre of minds be connected, communicating and interacting with the atoms, molecules and particles of the nation-body. So will it reach all the units and organs that constitute society. So will its hand be in and over the vital institutions. So will it convey gently, to everyone in all walks of life, certain things from the soul and reality, which come from the past and gain more depth with the present and stretch into the future.

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In this matter, effort and dynamism will be our banner, and consciousness of faith and truth will be our source of strength. Those who have made us wander from door to door and who have expected remedies or solutions from faithlessness and immorality have always been wrong. We have always acquired honor and remained honorable as long as we have held fast to and surrendered to God whole-heartedly, and as long as we have preferred our nation, people and land, in whose bosom we have thrived, to anything in the world. I assume it is not necessary to explain the alternative…

This is an excerpt from an article by M. Fethullah Gulen. To read the full article, please visit: http://en.fgulen.com/the-statue-of-our-souls/1958-toward-tomorrow

Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival in Houston

The third annual Turkic Cultures and Children’s Festival will be held on November 7th  and 8th at Hermann Square, in front of Houston’s City Hall (900 Smith St, Houston TX 77002 ) to celebrate the rich heritage of many different Turkic nations including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The festival promises an authentic weekend for the whole family members pleasing the eye, ear and tongues of all participants.

KIDS can enjoy all sorts of activities from the shadow theater, clowns, storytelling, face painting and games to Turkish cotton candy, special Turkish waffle treats, ice cream, Turkish delights, and more.

ADULTS can enjoy amazing views of traditional Ottoman and Kyrgyz Tents, live memorable performances of Turkic folk dances, authentic Turkic music, Turkish rock music, and the Ottoman Military Band, the artistic demonstrations of water marbling, calligraphy, illuminations, and ceramic art, shopping  for hand-made ceramics and pottery, oriental rugs, throws, bags, decorative pillows, traditional jewelry, and handcrafts.

AND EVERYBODY can enjoy the aromas and tastes of rich Ottoman Turkish cuisine, sample gourmet food from restaurant and grocery stands, including kabobs, doner sandwiches, vegetable and meat dishes, desserts, baklava, Turkish delight, apricots, hazelnuts, and figs and can taste some popular Turkish culinary delights, have a slice of our unique ice cream or sip a cup of Turkish coffee.

Last year, the festival drew over 16,000 Houstonians. A 35 years old mom said “I wouldn’t get to see, watch and taste this much all in one day even if I visited Turkey. It was so educational, entertaining and tasteful for me, my husband, and for my kids.” This year Raindrop Turkish House is expecting that the festival will attract over 20,000 visitors and guests.

For more information about this festival, please visit http://www.turkicfest.org

Turkey Leading Tolerance in Education

Last week, İstanbul has hosted some of the most significant figures involved in promoting tolerance and dialogue in education. Their meeting in İstanbul, a city comprising a mosaic of various cultures and religions, was noteworthy in this sense.

The Pedagogical Club of European Capitals gathered high-profile officials from educational institutions from 25 Asian and European countries in a conference entitled "Tolerance and Dialogue in Education" on Sept. 27-28 in İstanbul. Positive messages regarding tolerance in education were made throughout the conference. The delegates were provided with a comprehensive tour of İstanbul both before and after the conference leaving them with a lasting impression of the city.

The Dialogue Eurasia Platform (DEP) together with the İstanbul Municipal Education Administration and the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency launched the conference in İstanbul on Monday under the title of "Tolerance and Dialogue in Education" and concluded on Sept. 29 with policy recommendations for various institutions and governments from the participating countries. Speaking at the conference's opening ceremony, head of İstanbul Education Department Muammer Yıldız stressed the importance of education and communication.

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Speaking at the conference, head of the Pedagogical Club of European Capitals, Boris Zhebrovski, said Turkey is a country leading in tolerance in education. "There are three key words in accomplishing major works: education, tolerance and understanding," Zhebrovski argued.

Pointing out the global threats in today's world, DEP co-Chair Harun Tokak said: "Global issues threaten us. There are dangers to our children like drugs, gambling, terror and war. These all alarm us. It is our responsibility to hold similar conferences." Adding to his points about global threats, he claimed that poverty is also one of the biggest problems the world is facing today. "Only education can help tackle these problems," Tokak said.

Co-chair of the DEP and honorary chair of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oriental Studies, Rostislav Rybakov delivered important messages to institute tolerance and dialogue in education thus paving the way for peace in the world. "The spiritual crisis is far more important than the deep economic recession, today," Rybakov stated, noting the tremendous danger children face with respect to problems associated with spirituality. "Only after tackling the spiritual crisis can mankind address the problems of the economic crisis," Rybakov said.

It was decided to send the outcomes of the conference and final policy recommendations released on Sept. 29 to the education ministries of participating countries, UNESCO and the UN.

To read the full article, please visit: http://en.fgulen.com/press-room/news/3465-zhebrovski-turkey-a-leader-in-tolerance-in-education

Turkish Days in New York

The “Turkish Days in New York” festival showcased the Anatolian Civilizations, Turkic & Balkan cultures and traditions, and modern Turkey to all New Yorkers last week. The festivities started on Sunday, September 27th and continued through Sunday, October 4th 2009. The festival was organized by the Turkish Cultural Center New York and supported by TABID, the Turkish-American Business Improvement & Development Council.

During the festival, New Yorkers experienced an unforgettable week of Turkish hospitality as they walked through custom-designed world famous Grand Bazaar booths and an Istanbul panorama; danced to the rhythms of the Ottoman Janissary Band; experienced the devotion of Whirling Dervishes; enjoyed the finest Turkic and Balkan Folklore performances; watched three contemporary Turkish movies; explored Turkish arts and crafts; and taste the famous Turkish & Balkan cuisines.

The Turkish Festival has become a tradition which is celebrated by Turkish-Americans, Turkic & Balkan nations together with American friends and families. Last year, more than 25,000 people-- most of whom were non-Turkish--- visited the Festival at the Central Park in Manhattan. New Yorkers tasted and enjoyed its famous Turkish cuisine. This year, the festival showcased again the best Turkish and Balkan cuisines to New Yorkers.

For more information about this great event, visit http://www.turkishdaysinny.org/ 

Gülen Movement Schools Praised by the President of Turkey

President Gül has said he has personally observed the success of Turkish schools established around the world, underlining that those schools have been helping to build fraternal ties between Turkey and the countries in which they have been established.

Gül's remarks came on Saturday during a visit to the Nakhchivan Private Turkish High School on the sidelines of a summit of the Turkic-speaking countries held in the autonomous Azerbaijani republic of Nakhchivan.

Expressing excitement over visiting the Turkish high school, Gül said: "Now I have learned from presentations made here that this is the first Turkish school opened in this region. I know from the visits that I've paid of how these Turkish schools have spread from Central Asia to the Balkans and to Africa. I personally visit these schools and see how successful they are." Turkish schools have been established in more than 80 countries.

"I know how they teach the Turkish language, how they spread Turkish culture and how they make a contribution to the building of fraternal ties between Turkey and the countries in which they provide education. In this regard, I highly appreciate [these schools]," Gül said, while voicing his satisfaction over the fact that the schools are being supported by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the same way they were supported by the late President Haydar Aliyev.

Gülen Conference in Los Angeles - December 2009

The Gulen Movement, inspired by the Turkish Islamic thinker Fethullah Gulen, will be the subject of a conference exploring ways to find peace and tolerance between religions and societies.

The event is called The International Conference on East and West Encounters: The Gulen Movement and it will be held at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, Dec. 4-6, 2009. It is part of a series of such discussions organized by the Pacifica Institute that look at clash of civilizations and other global challenges.

Voted The World’s Top Living Public Intellectual in 2008 by Foreign Policy Magazine, Gulen is the inspiration of this social movement, also known as Hizmet (meaning “service” in Turkish) which aims at promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogue around the world.

In his sermons, Gulen addressed subjects that ranged from peace and social justice to philosophical naturalism. His dialogue stood out for its sensitivity, knowledge, logic, proper referencing and eloquence and attracted the attention of academics as well as ordinary people. Gulen himself describes his appeal  as “a gathering around high human values by means of education and dialogue.”

Gulen’s appeal eventually spread to people from different backgrounds, including non-Muslims who share his humanistic message. He used his growing influence to urge younger generations to adopt intellectual knowledge with a spirituality based in the faith tradition, and to serve fellow humans.

Today this social phenomenon has become a civic movement with pietistic roots. Students, teachers, academics, business owners and other volunteers participate in different ways helping to set up tutoring centers, schools, colleges, hospitals, a major relief organization, publishing houses and media institutions in Turkey and in more than one hundred countries.

The conference is organized by Pacifica Institute, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles and it is sponsored by the Office of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, the International Education Center at Santa Monica College, the Department of Religious Studies at Humboldt State University and the Department of Religious Studies at Whittier College.

Previous conferences on the Gulen Movement were held at Georgetown University (2008), The House of Lords and The London School of Economics (2007), the University of Oklahoma (2006) and Rice University (2005).

For more information contact Pacifica Institute by phone at 310-208-7290 or email at contact@gulenconference.net , or visit the official conference web site http://www.gulenconference.net. 

Dialogue and Tolerance in Education

"What we are doing here is for the better future of our people, to tackle global threats and institute global peace," said Rostislav Rybakov, head of the Institute of Oriental Studies, during a conference held in İstanbul on Monday, Septermber 28th, to discuss tolerance and dialogue in education.

The primary purpose of the conference entitled "Tolerance and Dialogue in Education" is to bring Europeans and Asians together and propose grounds for discussion. Its organizers also aimed to launch the unofficial opening of the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture celebrations in terms of education. Invitations sent to 42 countries and representatives from 25 countries joined the conference, which plans to bring related educational and dialogue organizations together to deal with tolerance and dialogue in education.

The opening ceremony of the conference started with a presentation on the importance of intercultural and interfaith dialogue and Dialogue Eurasia Platform's contribution to this.

The presentation stressed the importance of dialogue and tolerance, and people were called on to respect diversity and differences while stressing the significant role of peace and love. "The Dialogue Eurasia Platform is blind to differences, race and diversity and does not recognize any conflicts," it said.

Head of the İstanbul Education Department Muammer Yıldız, head of Pedagogical Club of European Capitals Boris Jebrovski, co-chair of the Dialogue Eurasia Platform and honorary chair of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oriental Studies, Rostislav Rybakov, prominent scholar and dialogue activist Nevzat Yalçıntaş, head of the Journalists' and Writers' Union Mustafa Yeşil, Deputy Governor for Educational Affairs Harun Kaya and head of the Turkish Parliament Education Commission Mehmet Sağlam were among the participants of the conference.

To read the full article, please visit: http://en.fgulen.com/press-room/news/3459-istanbul-hosts-dialogue-leaders-to-discuss-tolerance-in-education

Living for Others

Gülen attaches importance to this principle of "living for others" (yaşatma ideali) such that he interprets it as a basic dynamic that would make a nation awaken. Every society must make sacrifices. Sacrifice is beyond and above worldly gain, and thus its definition exceeds that of mere altruism. On the contrary, it is more akin to idealistic heroism. Such altruism constitutes the character of people who are uninterested in personal or worldly gain, and who are committed to God's favor. Gülen describes these types of people as "architects of soul" and as "physicians of thought." These are people who are able to instill in the society a consciousness of responsibility and concern for others. Without physicians of soul, it is not possible to preserve the established values that pertain to the Islamic civilization and that have formed its historical identity. If such preservation is not possible, any hope of instigating a renaissance and revival of this civilization and identity will be lost. Such people are an important dynamic, according to Gülen:

Today, what we need are brave people who selflessly work in the service of God and who wave aside personal benefits and egoism... who writhe with people's miseries... who have a torch of knowledge in their hands, and who fight the ignorance and rudeness that ignites tinder everywhere... who, with eminent belief and determination, come to the rescue of those stranded... like stallions, hold on their course without repelling and without griming... those who ramp with pleasure of living for others while forgetting the desire of living.^[2]

I believe that all humanity will be pleased, and that the centuries-long miseries of suffering people, will come to an end, and that the world will once again will come to an axis of thanks in regard to the ideals that related his salvation with rescuing others. Such people can trample on their future and prosperity in the name of others' happiness; they can circulate in the veins of others like blood; they can splash over yearning and thirsts and breathe life everywhere. They then can bind their actions to the responsibility that is idealized in the depths of their inner selves. With compassion that transcends personal responsibility, and through kindness that could encompass all humanity, they will try to bring for us the spirit and significance that we have lost; they will remind us of our human significance. Meanwhile, they will constitute a model for perplexed souls who have lived without ideals for such a long time.^[3]

Our society needs only heroes of ideals: those who can reach out to help first our nation, and then all humanity, with the feeling of compassion; and every time they raise their hand to God, they pray for others. As such a great requirement could not be met by others, it falls upon us who start from ourselves to articulate it.

We consider living for ourselves as egoism, and we have found such a consideration revolting. It has been our passion to live for others and to prepare them for eternal happiness. Even if it were possible to return to life, even if we were free to choose the alternatives of this new life, we would certainly choose to "live for others" again, we would certainly dedicate ourselves to humanity, and we would prepare humankind for resurrection. We would not mind any misprision... We would not be deterred by cries of reaction... We would not quarrel with anybody who has accused us with false and malicious accusations... We would smile while weeping inside.^[4]

The ideal people burn like candles despite themselves, and they illuminate others...^[5]

A true friend who is a mature person is the one who can utter "after you," even while exiting from Hell and entering Paradise.

What we are always stressing is that it is those who live their lives in sincerity, loyalty, and altruism at the expense of their own selves in order to make others live who are the true inheritors of the historical dynamics to whom we can entrust our souls. They do not ever desire that the masses follow them. Yet their existence is such a powerful, inevitable invitation that all run to them, wherever they are, as if these devout people were a centre of attraction.^[6]

Individual projects of enlightenment that are not planned to aid the community are doomed to fruitlessness. Moreover, it is not possible to revive values that have been destroyed in the hearts of the individual in society, nor in the conscience, nor in the will power. Just as plans and projects for individual salvation that are independent of the salvation of others are nothing more than an illusion, so, too, the thought of achieving success as a whole by paralyzing the individual awakening is a fantasy.

Living for others is the most important factor that determines the behavior of such heroes. Their greatest worry is their quest for eligibility for such missions, whereas their most prevalent characteristic is that their utmost ambition is their search for God's consent. When striving to enlighten others, they feel no pain nor do they undergo any shock caused by the delight of enlightening others. The achievements that such people accomplish are regarded as revelations of His holy aid, and such people bow in modesty, nullifying themselves again and again, every day. In addition to all this, they tremble at the idea that their emotions are bound to interfere with the works that they have caused to come into existence, and groan; "You are all I need."^[7]

Expecting nothing in return is the rose of our land. Altruism is the lotus of our gardens. It is our lot to attain but not to enjoy. We forget living for ourselves while burning with the desire of living for others. It is our people who know how to be in the front while serving, and how to stay behind in compensation. The world has discovered from us to love unconditionally.^[8]

Perfect believers do not stick only to their personal development or perfection; they are determined almost like prophets to open themselves up for everyone and to embrace each and every person. They devote their lives to the happiness of others both in this world as well as in the hereafter, at the expense of neglecting themselves. They live like the Companions of the Prophet; they walk in a direction opposite to where their carnal selves urge, and they spread light all around, for they have that potential to illuminate in their essence like a candle. They are always on alert for darkness, and they struggle to keep it at bay... As they burn all the time, they are hurt inside; nevertheless, neither constant burning nor extermination can restrain them from enlightening others.^[9]

We are not in need of local or foreign grants, favors or ideologies. We need the physicians of thought and spirit who can arouse in all people the consciousness of the value of responsibility, sacrifice, and suffering for others; who can produce mental and spiritual depth and sincerity in the place of promises of passing happiness; who can, with a single attempt, make us reach the point of observing the beginning and the end of creation.

Now we are waiting, looking forward to the arrival of these people, who have so much love for their responsibility and cause that, if necessary, they would even give up entering Paradise; people like this, if they have already entered, would then seek ways of leaving Paradise. Like Muhammad, the Messenger of God, who said, "If they placed the sun in my right and the moon in my left to abandon my cause, I would not until God made the truth prevail or I died in the attempt." This is the horizon of God's Messenger. Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, a scholar exuberant with the rays that emanate from God's Messenger, bent double by the pain of his cause said, "In my eyes I have neither love for Paradise nor fear for Hell, and if I saw the faith of my people secure, I would be ready now to be burned in hell-fire." Likewise, Abu Bakr opened his hands and prayed in a way that would shake the heavens, "O my Lord, make my body so great that I alone fill up Hell and thus no place may be left for anyone else."

Humanity is terribly in need of people with inner depths and sincerity now, more than anything else, for people who suffer and cry for the sins and errors of others; who look forward to forgiveness and pardon of others before their own; who, instead of entering Paradise and taking their pleasures individually there, prefer to stay in the A'raf (between the Paradise and Hell) and from there, try to take all the people to Paradise along with them; and who, even if they enter Paradise, will not be able find time to enjoy the pleasures of Paradise because of their thoughts for others, and their concern to save them from the hell-fire.^[10]

This is a snippet from an article by Dr. Enes Ergene. To read the full article, please visit http://www.fethullahgulen.org/about-fethullah-gulen/an-analysis-of-the-gulen-movement/3046-basic-dynamics-of-the-movement.html#_edn5 

The Gülen Movement, Dialogue, and Tolerance

Tolerance[1] and dialogue are among the most basic and broad dynamics of the Gülen movement. These two concepts, first developed on a small scale, have turned into a search for a culture of reconciliation on a world scale. Today, the idea of different groups peacefully living together is a philosophical issue that modern states are trying to formulate. The international relations of past empires were founded on conflict and war. Different civilizations were separated by thick walls, which were supported by political, ideological, and religious identities. Inevitably, this led to conflict. During the long Middle Ages, international relations were governed by a "law of engagement," which allowed for little space to express religious or ethnic differentiation. The domestic laws of states and empires were not exempt from this philosophy. Throughout the Middle Ages, humankind's struggle for civilization found expression in aggressive and passionate conflict. Today, with new concepts brought by globalization, the search for dialogue between civilizations and cultures has entered a new phase.

The Gülen movement is a clear example of this search, a search that has reached international proportions. Gülen strengthens this search with religious, legal, and philosophical foundations. One of the basic aims of the global education activities is to form bridges that will lead to dialogue between religions and civilizations. The long-lasting wars of the past had to do with the problem of power balance that reigned in the international relations of the day. This was probably the case for all political empires and religious formations of the past. But today, humanity is not in a position to shoulder such a conflict on the global scale. According to Gülen, Muslims today should not shape their own cultural, social, and existential identities according to destructive values which are rooted in conflict and fight; these are not aligned with the universal value system of Islam, in which peace, dialogue, and tolerance are the basic principles. Today, humanity is not in a position to bear a conflict on the global scale.

This is the principle that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, practiced in Medina. The people of Medina were composed of groups belonging to different religions and cultures. For the first time in history, the Prophet enacted a system of values that aimed to maintain a peaceful co-existence of these religious groups. What these historical documents show us is that the reciprocal rights and responsibilities of different religious and cultural identities were clearly defined and a consensus was reached. According to this, non-Muslims would be free to practice their religions, their way of life, and their way of worship. No one was to interfere with their partners in a pluralistic organization in which groups had religious, legal, and cultural autonomy. Ali, the fourth Caliph, would formulate this pluralistic freedom in a letter that he sent to the governor of Egypt, Malik b. Ashtar, as a systematic legal expression. According to Ali, people who lived in regions ruled by Muslims were divided into two main groups: one "our brothers in religion, the Muslims," and the other, "our equals in creation, the non-Muslims." They both have rights to protection. In history, there has never been a culture that has been able to place "the other" on such an ontologically humane basis and thus to exalt them. This definition of Ali's stressed the Prophet's saying: "All humans are the children of Adam, and Adam was of the earth."

The interaction of early Muslims with neighboring nations and cultures was rooted in human and moral principles. Six centuries later, a similar development occurred. The Mongols who reigned in the Damascus region in the thirteenth century had taken Muslims, Christians, and Jews who lived under their protection as slaves. A Muslim scholar, Ibn Taymiyya, went to negotiate with the Mongol commander, Kutlu Shah, for the release of the slaves. The Mongols refused to release the Christian and the Jewish slaves along with the Muslim ones. The scholar responded as follows: "The war does not reach an end until all the slaves are free. The Christians and the Jews are under our protection, we cannot accept that a single one of them should remain a slave." Kutlu Shah soon agreed to set free all the slaves. During the periods when Muslims adhered to the principles of tolerance and dialogue, they thus developed a broad and accommodating perspective that guaranteed the lifestyles and freedoms of various religious and cultural communities. The Ottoman Empire was a typical manifestation of this phenomenon.

Today, the Gülen movement advocates social pluralism, based on the principle of tolerance, on a global scale. Unlike pluralism in the past, which was limited by religious principles, today we need broader cultural and political bases on which to build. In order to produce such a culture of reconciliation, members of different civilizations have to make a positive contribution to these efforts. There needs to be a revival of such values so that shared and livable pluralism can be established on the earth. Only then will the efforts of the Gülen movement meet with the expected response on a global scale.

The Gülen Movement

In the contemporary world, Muslim communities are undergoing radical social, economic, political and intellectual change. The ideas of Fethullah Gülen – a Turkish Muslim scholar, author and education activist – initiated a social phenomenon called the Gülen movement. Originating in Turkey but becoming increasingly transnational, the Gülen movement has a universal educational and interfaith agenda that aims to promote creative and positive relations between the Muslim world and the West, and to make a constructive contribution to the dialogue of civilizations, the reconciliation of science and religion, global education initiatives, democracy, and religious plurality.

For a series of articles on the Gulen movement, please visit:

http://www.fethullahgulen.org/about-fethullah-gulen/an-analysis-of-the-gulen-movement.html

About Fethullah Gülen

Known by his simple and austere lifestyle, Fethullah Gülen, affectionately called Hodjaefendi, is a scholar of extraordinary proportions. This man for all seasons was born in Erzurum, eastern Turkey, in 1941. Upon graduation from a private divinity school in Erzurum, he obtained his license and began to preach and teach about the importance of understanding and tolerance. His social reform efforts have made him one of Turkey's most well-known and respected public figures during the 1960s.

Though simple in outward appearance, he is original in thought and action. He embraces all humanity, and is deeply averse to unbelief, injustice, and deviation. His belief and feelings are profound, and his ideas and approach to problems are both wise and rational. A living model of love, ardor, and feeling, he is extraordinarily balanced in his thoughts, acts, and treatment of matters.

Turkish intellectuals and scholars acknowledge, either tacitly or explicitly, that he is one of the most serious and important thinkers and writers, and among the wisest activists of twentieth-century Turkey or even of the Muslim world. But such accolades of his leadership of a new Islamic intellectual, social, and spiritual revival—a revival with the potential to embrace great areas of the world—do not deter him from striving to be no more than a humble servant of God and a friend to all. Desire for fame is the same as show and ostentation, a "poisonous honey" that extinguishes the heart's spiritual liveliness, is one of the golden rules he follows.

Gülen has spent his adult life voicing the cries and laments, as well as the beliefs and aspirations, of Muslims in particular and of humanity in general. He bears his own sorrows, but those of others crush him. He feels each blow delivered at humanity to be delivered first at his own heart. He feels himself so deeply and inwardly connected to creation that once he said: "Whenever I see a leaf fall from its branch in autumn, I feel as much pain as if my arm had been amputated."

For more information on Fethullah Gulen, please visit http://www.fgulen.com/