White House hosts first-ever Eid al-Adha celebration, Rumi Forum contributes

Emre Çelik speaks at the White House during an interfaith gathering for the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Emre Çelik speaks at the White House during an interfaith gathering for the Eid al-Adha holiday.


Date posted: October 15, 2014

The White House hosted an event to celebrate Eid al-Adha on Tuesday for the first time ever with the sponsorship of the Rumi Forum, an international organization established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to foster intercultural dialogue.

The White House traditionally hosts an iftar (fast-breaking) dinner every year for representatives of Muslim communities in the United States, but Tuesday’s event was the first time that they have hosted a celebratory event for Eid al-Adha, upon the suggestion of Rumi Forum. The opening speech of the event was made by White House Public Relations Office Deputy Director Ashley Allison and Rumi Forum President Emre Çelik.

The forum, of which Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is the honorary chairman, provided food for the event.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Çelik said Rumi Forum came up with the idea to host a celebratory event for Eid al-Adha with the attendance of representatives from different religions. The event was attended by about 60 people from various interfaith organizations in Washington, including representatives from Christian and Jewish organizations in the US, as well as Muslims.

At the event, different faith groups’ representatives delivered speeches emphasizing the importance of interfaith dialogue. The evening ended with a closing speech by Special Assistant to the US President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Melissa Roger.

According to its website, Rumi Forum was founded in 1999 “with the mission to foster intercultural dialogue, stimulate thinking and exchange of opinions on supporting and fostering democracy and peace and to provide a common platform for education and information exchange.”

The principal goal of the Rumi Forum is explained on its website as promoting peace in the world and contributing to the peaceful coexistence of adherents of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities and races.

Source: Today's Zaman , October 15, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

In Houston, a celebration: Silk road festival

“Yes, I am very pleased,” Annise Parker, mayor of Houston, told me. “The community of Turks, here in particular, are very outward, extroverted and curious in a sense of cultural understanding. I wish the others, too, would be like them. They contribute a lot to our prosperity and future and teach us a lot about where they come from, Turkey.”

Canada’s Green Party leader on human rights violations in Turkey: I am entirely horrified

Canada’s Green Party leader and lawmaker Elizabeth May said during a panel discussion held at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa on widespread human rights violations in Turkey that “I am entirely horrified by the behaviour of the Turkish government. We need to be more speaking out loud.”

PBS airs story on Gulen Movement

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly featured a story on the Gülen movement on Friday, quoting well-respected American observers, as well as the movement’s members and admirers. The 10-minute-long story by PBS correspondent Luck Severson gave information on the movement, which is a group of volunteers engaged in interfaith and intercultural dialogue […]

Hizmet Movement NGOs from 80 nations share intercultural experiences at GYV meeting

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL Representatives of Turkish-run nongovernmental organizations from 80 countries, established by people inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s teachings, have shared their experiences of intercultural and interfaith dialogue during a three-day meeting organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV). İstanbul hosted the “Second* International Experience Sharing Conference of Coexistence,” attended by […]

Mothers meet in İstanbul to mark Mother’s Day, see their children

A mother, Vera Stamova from Moldova, expressed similar feelings. “My two children study in Turkey. My younger daughter studied in Turkish schools [in Moldova]. She received a quality education. I love Turkey and I have great confidence in Turkish people. If I had another child, I would also send her to Turkey. I miss them a lot, but they are very lucky and are taken good care of here,” she said.

Grondahl: Turkish community strong in wake of threats from back home

After a three-year hiatus, forced underground by fear of political retaliation from the repressive autocratic Erdogan regime in Turkey, members of the local Turkish community are re-emerging.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Kazakh students win medals at international science fair

Rumi Fellowship Program 2016

Champion of Turkish schools in Australia dies at 43

Aid organization head blasts terror probe

Erdoğan gov’t threatened to ‘wipe TUSKON off market map,’ says chairman

Pak-Turk schools replace Turkish principals with Pakistanis

Egyptian professor impressed with Fethullah Gulen

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News