Date posted: August 30, 2014
Fethullah Gulen is a Turkish scholar, thinker, social entrepreneur and opinion leader known as founder of Gulen Movement. He stances for democracy, interfaith dialogue, peaceful coexistence, and secular education where universal values are embodied by altruistic teachers.
Tags: Fethullah Gulen | Peacebuilding |

AS a Nigerian who has experienced Turks and their culture both at home and in Turkey for over a decade of my life, I have come to see and feel Turkey as my second country. My first interaction with the Turkish society was through education in Abuja at one of their many schools nationwide before I went on to spend five years in Istanbul.

When we think of Hizmet, Jews conscious of our own history either can say, “There but for the grace of God go we,” or we can think of Rabbi Hillel: “If we are only for ourselves, what are we? And if now, when?”

Children from across the world who participated in the 14th International Festival of Language and Culture (IFLC) took the stage in Brazil’s Sao Paulo, a first in a Latin American country, the Cihan news agency reported on Tuesday.

Hizmet Movement is represented by the people that I’ve met. I see that there is a common purpose of like-minded people, in a very grass-root way, coming together, pushing for some ideals that they believe in, in the society, and I’m touched by the genuine motivation of the people that I’ve met. I am impressed with the sacrifice that individuals that believe in this contribute to this collective goal that they are trying to reach.

The film directed by Terry Spencer Hesser who has won Emmy three times informs audience about Gülen who inspired Hizmet Movement — a volunteer-based grassroots movement that works in the field of education around the world and encourages interfaith dialogue.

Insanity ripples through the country, the media and the people. If graft or corruption is the prevailing form of life spreading from the state to society, and if this form of life is supported by people, then we are hitting the bottom day by day. A prosecutor can say “We can detain 500 thousand people if necessary” and still hold his post as if he said quite an ordinary thing. Whereas in Europe mental health of such a prosecutor would be called into question and most probably examined.
