Dialogue and Friendship Dinner in Portland, Oregon


Date posted: November 20, 2013

On November 13th, 2013, Pacifica Institute’s Portland chapter held its 5th Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner having the author-journalist Mustafa Akyol, accompanied by his wife Ryada Akyol, as its keynote speaker. The dinner was attended by Turkish and American academics and businessmen.

I.U., a Pacifica Institute volunteer, kicked off the night with his opening address. Next were testimonials by Michael Marshman and Lisa Naito, who had been on a Turkey trip organized by Pacifica Institute. Marshman said Turkey is the most beautiful country he has ever been to and recommended that every able person go there. Sufi music was performed along as the attendees enjoyed a warm and friendly conversation.

In his keynote speech centered on his book “Islam without Extremes,” Mustafa Akyol pointed out the fact that Islam is misrepresented. Akyol further argued we need to make a clear distinction between culture and religion when defining the reasons behind particular practices. He instanced his personal experiences to clarify his point.

Published [in Turkish] on Zaman Amerika, November 14, 2013.

Source: HizmetMovement.Com , November 19, 2013

Tags: | | |


Related News

UN 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Peace Islands Institute, the Journalists and Writers Foundation, Global Businesswomen Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace held a panel discussion titled “Economic Empowerment of Women to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals” during the UN CSW 59th Commission on the Status of Women.

US avoids commenting on Gülen’s extradition

US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday that the US will not comment on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s expectation for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen to be extradited from the US, where he now lives.

Pro-gov’t daily claims White House held special session on Gülen

Pro-government Turkish daily Takvim claimed in a Friday report that the White House held a special session on Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who is based in the US, in September 2014.

We the pious did not feel for the suffering of the Kurds

There’s even a television channel named “Dunya TV” founded by Fethullah Gulen’s followers and it broadcasts in Kurdish. An attorney in our Abant Meeting said he’s had some suspicions about our sincerity but he said the atmosphere in the meeting has persuaded him.

The Gülen Movement in the public sphere

The Abant Platform is a good example of a religiously inspired social capital formation in a society with ideological, ethnic and religious fault lines. This platform departs from a belief that religion, and particularly Islam, can be a positive factor in social, political and economic life. The Gülen movement has been quite successful in utilizing its cultural and human capital in order to empower the civil society and expand the democratic space available for the formally excluded periphery vis-à-vis the centre.

Turkish Cultural Center Brooklyn Honors Borough’s Elected Officials

The Turkish Culture Center of Brooklyn feted a bevy of Brooklyn elected officials tonight as part of their eighth Annual Friendship Dinner & Award ceremony celebrating cultural diversity with the theme of the evening being “Hate Crime.”

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Kaçmaz family deportation case: Lahore High Court seeks record of Civil Aviation Authority

Main opposition brings plans to sink Bank Asya to Parliament

Police pressure businessmen who sued Erdoğan over Hizmet remarks

President Obama sends message to Gulen-inspired International Cultural Festival

Pro-Erdogan columnist calls California ice-cream seller, “Dogs of Jews, terrorists!”

Turkey’s Erdoğan Regime Extends Post-Coup Witch Hunt Targeting Gülen Followers Abroad

Independent deputy says there may be an attempt to pin political murders on Gülen movement

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News