‘Hizmet is a social movement worldwide, that has a heart, and it’s always from the heart.’


Date posted: April 11, 2015

Dr. Gilbert Friend Jones is the Senior Minister at the First Congregational Church of Chrystal Lake, IL. He serves as a board member of North American Interfaith Network. He finished Master of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and his Doctorate of Ministry in Religion at Howard University School of Divinity, Washington.

“In a way, I think that’s the gift of Fethullah Gulen… is that we are now living in a world house–like it or not we’re in a world house—and so how can we learn to love and respect and understand and cooperate with each other? “

“I often think about it as Turkish Islam but maybe it’s Hizmet… it is a kind of hospitality. There’s a great… maybe growing out of the Abrahamic traditions of that tent, Abraham’s tent that’s open on all the sides to all the peoples of the world… it seems to me that the Gulen Movement practices that.”

“Hizmet works around the world to overcome poverty, and they do it in a very unique way, I think. In some ways, in a model way that could be emulated by others.”

“I guess Hizmet is a social movement, worldwide, with resources, that has a heart, and it’s the heart… And that’s Turkish isn’t it? That’s so Turkish. It’s always from the heart. It’s always from the heart.”

*Produced by Spectra Media exclusively for Irmak TV, Atlas of Thoughts (Fikir Atlasi) connects the scholars, politicians, jurists, religious figures, journalists, and academics reflecting on Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen and the Hizmet Movement with the audience. Each episode features a person from a different segment of the society with diverse experiences regarding the Hizmet activities and its volunteers. If you are interested to hear about the Hizmet and Mr. Gulen from these people’s perspectives, do not miss this show!

Source: Spectra Media , May 7, 2014

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