A Catholic Priest’s Letter to Fethullah Gülen

Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith
Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith


Date posted: October 25, 2012

In Niğde, we visited the schools of the Sungurbey Education Foundation, established by a private businessman-donor, Celal Afşar, whom we were privileged to have as our host. He is also a close colleague of Fethullah Gülen and good friend of Fr. Alexei Smith. Mr. Afşar asked Fr. Alexei to write a letter to Mr. Gülen, describing our group and the nature of our trip, which Mr. Afşar will deliver personally to him when he visits him next week in the USA.  Here are excerpts from the letter:

My Dear and Respected Dr. Fethullah Gülen,

Permit me first to extend my condolences upon the death of your brother. May his memory be eternal.

Second, allow me to introduce myself.  I am a Catholic Priest in Los Angeles, CA, serving not only as a parish priest but also as Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer of Archdiocese, which means that I direct the Catholic Church’s relations with all other faiths in our city.  Some ten years ago I had the great privilege of introducing members of the Hizmet Movement to the Interfaith Community in our area.

Since then I have actively supported and participated in activities of the Pacifica Institute in Los Angeles, attending their luncheon programs and Anatolian Festivals as well as speaking at their Friendship Dinners, not only in Los Angeles, but also in Reno and Honolulu.

I have traveled to Turkey twice before with the Pacifica Institute and am currently in Niğde with them again,m visiting my friend Celal Afşar, and it is at his suggestion that I write you today.

I want to share with you the glad tidings that twelve of us Catholic Priests, in partnership with Pacifica Institute, have come to Turkey — some for the first time — to experience the rich Christian past and present here, as well as to learn about the Hizmet Movement, its schools and members, and its approach to interfaith dialogue. Some of these priests have had very limited experience with Muslims, and all of us have, of course, been exposed to the very negative stereotypical image of your faith that is all-too-often presented in our media. But now, having been exposed to the very positive image of Islam that the Hizmet movement presents, these priests are discovering much that is deeply meaningful to them in their own lives and ministries.  This visit brings us all a new understanding and our attitudes are being transformed.  All thanks to the members of the Hizmet Movement here and in Los Angeles, whom I commend highly.

It is my firm belief that Catholics and Muslims together have a great deal to offer the world with our shared moral values and concerns for social justice, as well as our dedication to quality education available to all without exception. This has been abundantly manifested in the schools we are visiting during our stay here in Turkey.

We are brothers and sisters in the One Creator, and as such have a responsibility to work together for the greater good of all humankind.

I assure you of my prayers for you, and I ask yours for us.  I further assure you that I — and I believe many of those who are journeying here together — will continue to partner with and support the Hizmet Movement in its endeavors for Interreligious Dialogue and acceptance of others created in the image and likeness of the One God.

Peace be upon you.

Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith
Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer
Archdiocese of Los Angeles

fr.-alexei-smith

Source: http://prieststurkey.wordpress.com/


Related News

Gulen’s new book: “Muslims’ Responsibility in Countering Violence”

The extracts in this booklet have been selected according to the current volume’s theme from among Gülen’s books already published in Turkish. Some of them have been translated into English before but most of the extracts have been translated into English and arranged into different chapters in the present volume. Some of the texts are revised and altered by Fethullah Gülen himself.

Indian scholar: Fethullah Gülen a great blessing for Turkey, World

7 June 2012 / OSMAN ÜNALAN, NEW DELHI Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, an Islamic scholar in India, has praised the Hizmet movement (aka Gulen movement) and its activities for helping Turkey get rid of negative and biased views about Islam and transforming it into a much-admired center for more self-aware Muslims. Speaking at a symposium titled […]

Ministry allegedly profiled students of dershanes close to Hizmet

The petitions filed with the Ministry of Education and provincial educational branches in May 2012 by parents have revealed that the Education Ministry profiled students of dershanes — private institutes that offer examination prep classes — and schools close to the Hizmet movement.

Fethullah Gulen among TIME’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People” for 2013

April 18, 2013 / HizmetNews, NEW YORK Mr. Fethullah Gulen has been named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. TIMEr ecognized Gulen for “preaching a message of tolerance that has won him admirers around the world.” The 2013 TIME 100 includes other noted world leaders such as […]

Turkey Coup Attempt: Who is Fethullah Gülen, The Cleric Being Accused Of Orchestrating The Turmoil?

In an address to his supporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport early on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Fethullah Gülen — a cleric living in a self-imposed exile in the United States — of orchestrating the coup attempt against his government. Here’s what you need to know about Gülen, who has denied being involved in the […]

White House praises Rumi Forum

21 November 2011, Monday / ALİ H. ASLAN, WASHINGTON The White House, on its official website, commended the Washington-based Rumi Forum, an international organization promoting interfaith dialogue and peace, for its work in fostering “inter-religious and intercultural understanding” in a “consistent” manner since its establishment in 1999. The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood […]

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Bridge-building in ‘enemy country’ – Story of a Turkish asylum seeker in Greece

An interview at a party-state

Turkey’s Post-Coup Purge and Erdogan’s Private Army

Coup and Countercoup in Turkey

Gülen conference in London

Imam Sytari praises Gulen as a global thinker

Hizmet movement and Kurdish question in Turkey

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News