“Peaceful Coexistence” – Workshop Organized Jointly by KADIP and Korean Religious Leaders

“Peaceful Coexistence” – Workshop Organized Jointly by KADIP and Korean Religious Leaders
“Peaceful Coexistence” – Workshop Organized Jointly by KADIP and Korean Religious Leaders


Date posted: August 30, 2013

Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADIP), whose vision is to set up bridges between different cultures and faiths, welcomed religious leaders from Korea in Istanbul.

KADIP and Korean Conference on Religion and Peace (KCPR; an institution that brings together representatives of 7 different faiths) jointly organized a workshop entitled “Turkey-Korea: Peaceful Coexistence” which took place at the headquarters of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) in Kuzguncuk/Istanbul.

The largest participation to the workshop was by academicians from the area of history of religions, but was not restricted to it; indeed, the event attracted attention of representatives of diverse social strata. GYV President Mustafa Yeşil delivered the opening speech of the program which concentrated on such issues as experiences of coexistence, culture and religion in social life, the richness of diversity and universal values.

Yeşil: Our Biggest Problem is Poor Moral Values

Broaching the subject of universal human values in his opening speech GYV President Yeşil said: “There exist three main sources of universal human values emphasized also by esteemed Fethullah Gülen. There are values that are derived from religions, values derived from traditions and values derived from scientific studies. One of the reasons why the problems of today cannot be resolved is poor moral values. I hope that in today’s world believers will contribute to the resolution of social problems through addressing the subject of values”.

No Opposite but Neighbor Religions in Korea

KCRP President Kim Hee Joong expressed his opinion that differences and diversity mean beauty and richness; “It is flowers of various colors and diverse plants that make a garden beautiful,” he explained. “In Korea there are more than 50 religions, more than 600 religious orders and communities. And the secret to our peaceful coexistence is mutual respect. In Korea a religion different from yours is not referred to as an ‘opposite religion’, but as a ‘neighbor religion’,” he said, emphasizing that the mission and tasks of religious leaders and intellectuals are of great importance. “The human values that esteemed Mr Gülen talks about must be well understood and respected,” he added.

During the experience-sharing section journalist Hrant Topakian shared his ideas on the necessity for such values as dialogue, understanding and mutual respect, and clarified his position by providing examples of family arguments he had been through. He confessed that what he saw within the Gülen community when first introduced to it was room for the application of both feeling and thought – something he had longed for during many years. Topakian said that the problematic period Turkey is going through has harmed not only minorities, but Muslim groups, too; “Attempts of the past 15 years at establishing dialogue have provided the ground for people from different nations and religions to understand and respect each other,” he added.

KCRP Secretary-General Dr. Byun Jin Heung, talking about the process of establishing interfaith dialogue in Korea, noted that activities aiming at reaching this goal began after 1965 and were institutionalized after 1986. He explained that the current institution brings together representatives of Buddhist, Protestant, Catolic and local faiths, and realizes activities that help one understand other religions. Mr Heung put an emphasis on ensuring “dialogue in the process of resolving social problems of religious basis” as, according to him, it is the foremost function of the organization.

Opinion and experince sharing was followed by an exchange of gifts; the end of the event was marked by all the participants from both KADIP and KCPR posing for a collective photograph.

Source: Intercultural Dialogue Platform , August 28, 2013


Related News

‘We won’t stop the witch-hunt’ AKP parliamentary group deputy chair says

Speaking to reporters in Parliament on Saturday, AKP deputy Bulent Turan was responding to criticism from opposition parties accusing the AKP government of enforcing decrees during the ongoing state of emergency merely to silence dissident voices. “We won’t stop hunting [dissidents] merely because of criticism that there is witch-hunt [against dissidents],” Turan said.

Another woman faces detention just after giving birth: opposition deputy

Turkish police are waiting at Balıkesir Sevgi Hospital to detain M.A., who just gave birth by cesarean section, over alleged links to Turkey’s Gülen group, an opposition deputy tweeted on Saturday.

Obama is the real turkey in this scenario

Erdogan also made a statement, calling the president of the United States “Barack,” before launching into one of his usual self-serving rants. Typical of a violent Islamist appropriating the moral high ground, the Turkish president agreed that fighting terrorism is of utmost importance. But the “terrorists” to whom he mainly referred were Gulen and the Kurds.

Ruling party stacks judiciary with “his” men

Trying to size up the Supreme Court of Appeals, which would have the final say in Doğan’s case, Erdoğan allegedly asks Ergin, “What is the situation after the latest law we passed [on the Supreme Court of Appeals]? Did we set up our own game there?”

Turkmen Alevite Association and Kimse Yok Mu distribute aid to 1840 families in Ramadan

Özdemir Özdemir, president of Turkmen Alevite Association, thanked Kimse Yok Mu and expressed that Ramadan is an important time for Alevite-Sunni brotherhood. Two organizations worked together, showing a good example of solidarity and brotherhood. The Alevite association identified 1840 needy families in Ankara and distributed food packages, which were supported by Kimse Yok Mu.

Questions on a Coup – Did Erdogan engineer it himself?

Now that Erdogan has cleared away all of his rivals from within, he has aggressively demanded that the U.S. extradite his only remaining serious rival – Fethullah Gulen. It would be unconscionable and immoral for the U.S. to comply with the wishes of a power hungry and merciless dictator. When the smoke has finally cleared we may discover that Erdogan himself has engineered the coup as an excuse for a final crackdown on the opposition and to solidify his autocratic rule.

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

Turkish school opens in northern Iraq, more schools in demand

Gülen’s lawyer denies Turkish schools working against host nations

Raindrop Turkish House Featured in New York Times

Foreign Policy Magazine Interviewed Fethullah Gulen

Acclaimed Russian academic praises Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen

Turkish PM Erdoğan’s chain of mistakes

PM Sipilä and FM Soini of Finland: Turkey needs to return to a path that respects human rights

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News