Hospitality conference draws strong participation in Bangkok
Date posted: May 5, 2014
BANGKOK
A two-day conference on hospitality in Anatolian and Asian cultures recently held in Bangkok saw lively engagement by 200 participants including scholars, community and religious leaders, NGO representatives, students, journalists and artists from 20 countries.
A resolution issued at the end of the conference stressed that in a context of worldwide suffering caused by conflicts rooted in ignorance, xenophobia, disunity, greed and poverty, the participants had sought to present the theme of hospitality as a universal cultural value that encourages openness to everyone.
Speaking at the conference, Professor Sophia Pandya from California University said that Anatolians provide the best example of hospitality toward all comers irrespective of race, religion or language. Pandya added that the Hizmet movement, which originated in Anatolia and is inspired by well-respected Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, tries to find solutions to many problems in the world with a similar approach.
Ministerial bureaucrats being purged over their alleged affiliations with Hizmet
Radikal said the only criteria in these purges is the “parallel state,” a term the government uses to define those bureaucrats known to favor the Hizmet movement, which is a grassroots movement based on voluntary participation to spread interfaith dialogue and tolerance with a particular emphasis on education.
Turkish schools issue [in Pakistan] still to be resolved
The official demand has now apparently been watered down to transfer ownership/administration of these educational institutions to the official Maarif Foundation tasked by the Turkish government to encourage foreign governments to seize other Turkish educational foundations operating in those countries, possibly targeting enterprises run by individuals close to US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen.
EP kills parallel state lies
Nobody believes that the mass culling and reassignment of up to 10,000 public officials (most from the police department and the judiciary and many of whom are mid-level and senior personnel) so far by embattled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has anything to do with what the government purports is a fight against a “parallel structure,” a veiled reference to members of the Hizmet movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Turkish aid organizations rushes aid to Philippines
Turkish humanitarian aid organizations have sent rescue teams to the Philippines. “A 10-member rescue team of ours has already reached the Philippines,” Yusuf Yıldırım, who is in charge of foreign aid at Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?), has told Today’s Zaman. The humanitarian aid organization will also distribute 6,500 food packages to the victims.
Taliban Shuts Down Turkish Schools in Afghanistan
Kate Clark Taleban shuts more Afghan schools BBC reported that Taleban shut down schools opened by Gulen Movement in Afghanistan. Schools were providing contemperary education for free. Girls and women are hard hit by the Taleban’s stance on education. Below is the story by BBC. Six schools run by a Turkish Islamic group have been […]
The Gülen movement: advocators of interfaith activities in Turkey
To cover up the [corruption] investigations, the newspapers close to the government use many derogatory labels for the movement, such as “promoters of light or moderate Islam,” “the protestantization of Islam,” “collaborators and allies of foreign intelligence agencies,” and “Christian missionaries under an Islamic guise.”
Latest News
Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away
Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice
Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say
Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?
Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case
A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook
Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?
Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis
In Case You Missed It
Gülen movement’s silent majority
Fethullah Gülen versus Ayatollah Khomeini?
America’s Public Radio International maps out Turkish gov’t persecution of Gülen movement
US voices concern about press freedom over Karaca’s arrest
US State Department ‘Can’t Imagine’ Accepting Erdogan Offer to Trade Hostage Pastor for Gulen
Kimse Yok Mu: A charity with a difference
Informant on Gülen movement members says he fabricated testimony to avoid jail time