Conference endorses Gülen’s ideas as guides for Nigerian education system

Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria Rıfat Köksal
Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria Rıfat Köksal


Date posted: November 19, 2011

18 November 2011, Friday / KERİM BALCI, ABUJA

An international conference organized by the Ufuk Dialogue Foundation and The Fountain magazine under the auspices of the Nigerian federal ministry of education and six Nigerian universities endorsed Fethullah Gülen’s ideas on a culture of coexistence and mutual understanding as among guiding principles of the Nigerian education system.

The first day of the conference titled “Establishing a culture of coexistence and mutual understanding: Exploring Fethullah Gülen’s thought and action” on Friday attracted to the conference hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, more than 300 statesmen and intellectuals including Nigerian Federal Minister of Education Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai and Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria Ali Rıfat Köksal. Professor Kyari Muhammad, a member of the local organizing committee read a special message from Gülen.

In his message Gülen thanked the Nigerian authorities for having welcomed Turkish schools and teachers to their country, which “has a crucial role in Africa with its great population and strategic geographic position, [and is] a country that has enormous potential to be an exemplary land with its rich ethnic, cultural and religious mosaic.” Gülen also reiterated his belief in the goodness and beauty in the essence of humanity and that “one day we will attain that high level of humanity this essence calls us to.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference Köksal suggested that in order to overcome the uncertainties created after the Cold War era, we need to move beyond simple tolerance and attain a new definition of mutual understanding and coexistence. “This conference will do this in the Nigerian context,” said Köksal. He compared Nigeria to Turkey by means of its ethnic pluralism and suggested that these multiplicities should be seen as richness and not sources of problems. Referring to Turkish schools opened in Nigeria, Köksal underlined that these schools would build bridges not only between Nigeria and Turkey, but between all 120 countries in which they operate.

The first day of the conference featured three sessions where academics discussed the religious and modern backgrounds of Gülen’s thoughts. The director of Centre for Regional Integration and Development in Abuja, Hamidu Bobboyi, brought an overview of the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Central Bilad al-Sudan, which is known as Nigeria today, so as to sketch the historical background of culture of coexistence under the Ottomans. Associate Professor Sakah Saidu Mahmud from Kwara State University presented a paper on the lessons of Gülen’s thought for managing communal conflicts in Nigeria.

The conference will continue Saturday with names like Professor Maimul Ahsan Khan of the University of Dhaka, Professor Azmuddin Ibrahim of Universiti Selangor, Professor Gjergj Sinani of the University of Tirana, featuring among others. The conference will be broadcast online through the official websites of the conference, www.nigeriaconference2011.org and www.cultureofcoexistence.org.

Source: Today’s Zaman http://www.todayszaman.com/news-263267-conference-endorses-gulens-ideas-as-guides-for-nigerian-education-system.html


Related News

Abuja hosts 2016 Int’l Festival of Language and Culture

The International Festival of Language and Culture is a pioneer in the exaltation of cultural and linguistic exchange as an engine for creating and building cross-border ties of friendship.

Light Academy schools groom global citizens

Light Academy started as 8-4-4 system in 1998, in a small compound on Ngong Road in Nairobi, with eight students. The IGCSE system was introduced in 2001. It has now grown to accommodate 1,600 students in eight campuses, one in Malindi, two in Mombasa and five in Nairobi.

Reflections on Hizmet Movement at conference in Taiwan

The Formosa Institute held an international conference on “The Hizmet Movement and the thought and teachings of Fethullah Gulen: contributions to multiculturalism and global peace” at National Taiwan University (NTU) this weekend. The conference aimed to explore the impact of the Hizmet movement on education, dialogue and peace, with a focus on transcending traditional boundaries […]

The Gülen Movement: Paradigms, Projects and Aspirations

Gülen movement could be compared with Gandhi and his movement of nonviolent resistance. Of course, the context of both figures is very different. However, the scope of their influence is not dissimilar. What both have shared is the capacity to bring hope and to enable others to find hope.

Turkish humanitarian NGO has cured 30,000 cataract sufferers

Kimse Yok Mu, a Turkish NGO delivering humanitarian aid around the world, has so far cured 30,180 people suffering from cataracts in Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and Niger as of September 2014. Kimse Yok Mu’s cataract campaign seeks to eventually cure hundreds of thousands in the area.

African Union Commission chair supports creation of more Turkish schools

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, said on Tuesday during a visit to Johannesburg that volunteers working for the faith-based Gülen movement — inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen — should continue to build schools and other institutions in Africa.

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

The businessman who sits on his cell phone to avoid wiretapping

South Korean Superintendents of Education meet with Rainbow International Schools officials

FM Davutoğlu annuls decree ordering Turkish embassies to support Gülen Movement: Reports

PII Awards Law Enforcement in New Jersey

Erdoğan confesses anti-Gülen witch-hunt has gone off track

Turkish-Arab forum focuses on gov’t oppression on Hizmet

Fethullah Gulen talking about Turkey’s failed coup: Responses to Philadelphia World Affairs Council

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News