US conference discusses Gülen movement contributions to peace

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.


Date posted: November 3, 2009

Officials from the US Department of State, a retired ambassador, academics and others gathered at the University of Maryland, College Park campus, on Thursday to participate in a Rumi Forum Maryland conference on the Gülen (Hizmet) movement’s contributions to world peace.

The “Preventing Violence and Achieving World Peace: The Contributions of the Gulen Movement Conference” was held on Oct. 29, co-sponsored by the Rumi Club, the Rumi Forum Maryland and other organizations at the University of Maryland, College Park. Several distinguished speakers, including a former ambassador, a US State Department official and academics, talked about the contributions of the Gülen movement to world peace.

The conference opened with a keynote speech by Dr. Ori Z. Soltes from Georgetown University, titled, “Socrates, Violence, Education, the Gulen Movement and Peace.” Dr. Soltes noted that like Fethullah Gülen, Socrates emphasized the importance of ethics and the process of dialogue for bringing morality into all facets of life.

Gülen emphasizes that education is the ultimate means through which we can deduce the divine will and thus improve the world. He noted that unlike Socrates, the Gülen movement has been able to put Gülen’s ideas into action through its varied educational programs, media, and cable and Internet programming.

The conference featured two panels, one titled “Preventing Violence & Achieving World Peace” and the other, “The Contributions of the Gulen Movement to World Peace.” Dr. John Davies from the University of Maryland, College Park, opened the first panel discussion by sharing findings from a comprehensive research program that has identified societal factors which strongly correlate with the likelihood or absence of violence and wars within and among nations. Peter Kovach, from the US Department of State, said the Rumi Forum in Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles-based Pacifica Institute are some of the most effective peace organizations that build bridges between people from diverse backgrounds. David Newton, former US ambassador to Iraq and currently with the Middle East Institute, shared his experience with Radio Free Iraq and stated that the media is an empty vessel, and it can be filled with tolerance or intolerance and incites violence or peace.

The second panel shifted focus to a more complete understanding of how the Gülen movement conceptualizes peace and ways to achieve it. Dr. William Taft Stuart of the University of Maryland, College Park, discussed the social capital that the Gülen movement brings to peace building, including its educational activities, forum activities and media outlets, especially the Zaman newspaper. Dr. Pim Valkenberg from Loyola University Maryland was the final speaker. He stated that Gülen’s notion of peace is based on an analysis of three roots of violence — ignorance, disunity and poverty — and that his eponymous movement’s activities address these through its schools, dialogue groups and charitable organizations, such as Kimse Yok Mu. According to Gülen, for a Muslim, peace cannot be separated from religion because a Muslim desires in his or her daily life to be at peace with all of creation.

Source: Today’s Zaman, 31 October 2009, http://www.todayszaman.com/news-191562-us-conference-discusses-gulen-movement-contributions-to-peace.html

 


Related News

Gulen sees rise of ‘totalitarianism’ under Erdogan’s rule

Turkey’s leaders are taking the country on a path towards totalitarianism, US-based preacher and arch-enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Fethullah Gulen, wrote in an article published Tuesday.

Civil Rights, the Hizmet Movement, and the Liberative Power of Education

Hizmet stands in contrast to other contemporary so-called “Islamist” movements which are primarily political in nature, seeking to pursue a reformist agenda by overtly “Islamizing” the governmental and legal structures of existing Muslim majority nation-states.

IFLC’s ‘colors of the world’ takes stage in Brazil

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.

Gülen’s lawyer appeals arrest warrant

Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has appealed the decision of the İstanbul 1st Penal Court of Peace to issue an arrest warrant for Gülen, citing illegality.

Istanbul police display hundreds of books among evidence of ‘terror’

Police seized Gülen’s 1,500 books; 24 CDs featuring Gülen’s speeches; TL 435,200 ($148,000) along with $99,200 and 700 euros; several laptops; two guns and some digital data, during operations targeting the alleged terrorist network of the movement.

Turkish group among first to send aid to ‘Yolanda’ victims

Unknown to many Filipinos, a Turkish aid organization was among the first to respond to the devastation caused by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) in Eastern Visayas last year. Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) was one of the first international groups to send relief teams to Tacloban City, ground zero for the most powerful storm ever to hit land.

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

Ban Ki-moon (UN Secretary General) sent a message to IFLC

Lawyer of arrested officers detained for Gülen movement propaganda

Hrant Topakiyan’s feelings about the Journalists and Writers Foundation

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to refugee families in Afghanistan

Police, gov’t inspectors raid Gülen-inspired private, prep schools in Gaziantep

When The Last Barricade Falls: Remembering Unlawful Takeover Of Turkey’s Largest Daily – Zaman

Gülen’s lawyer asks MİT whether it wiretapped client’s phone

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News