Too Good to Be True

Emre Celik / President, Rumi Forum
Emre Celik / President, Rumi Forum


Date posted: December 3, 2013

Emre Celik

When was the last time you heard that?

I’ve heard it a few times — here’s the story.

I am now in my fifth year in Washington, D.C., having immigrated from Australia. Here I have had the pleasure and responsibility of presiding over the Rumi Forum, an organization dedicated to interfaith and intercultural understanding. As part of my position I have the good fortune to travel and talk about issues relating to pluralism, social cohesion, and peaceful coexistence.

On one occasion returning from a speaking engagement in Jacksonville, Florida, I stopped over at the Philadelphia airport for a short commute to a similar engagement at Georgetown, Delaware. I was seated amongst numerous dignitaries including State Legislators and various community leaders. After initial pleasantries we started speaking about the role of the Rumi Forum, and in particular the inspiration that Fethullah Gulen plays (Gulen is our Honorary President), and the motivation behind a global movement, Hizmet). This person had been on one of our study trips to Turkey as part of our intercultural mission to better educate leaders about this important Muslim majority country and strategic U.S. (and Western) ally. He knew quite well the important role Hizmet had played through numerous NGOs both globally and in the U.S. in regards to the values of civilizational dialogue, democracy, human rights, and respect for the ‘other’.

Yet at the end of the conversation he leant over to me and said, “I like what the forum and the wider movement does, but it’s too good to be true.”

Three days later, I was in Norfolk, Virginia, to speak at our local chapter’s awards night. I sat next to one of the recipients. An important civil servant, he had worked hard and passionately on various initiatives. He hadn’t known much about our forum but had inclined to accept the award after some personal research. After we had developed a rapport, he turned to me and said, “Emre, I respect all that you do and am honored to be receiving this award but it’s too good to be true.”

In my five years in this position, I had only heard those words twice, and they were three days apart. I wasn’t at all surprised. People for various reasons can have doubt or be skeptical about individuals or groups. But at the same time, I was somewhat saddened that after close to 15 years of service to the wider American community, particularly in the wider D.C. metropolitan area, the forum had people that had known us and our mission well or had come into contact with us through various programs still fostered doubt.

I wasn’t sure if it was our Muslimness, or Turkishness or the fact that the forum is part of a global movement (only becoming recently known to the wider American population through various articles) that somehow led to such skepticism. Is it purely a post 9/11 syndrome by a small minority or simply an attitude toward all forms of ‘other’ — and we happen to be the new or current ‘other’?

Does such skepticism further ostracize the ‘other’ or does it give rise to greater motivation and encouragement for such communities, groups and organizations to be more proactive? I believe it is the former. Our passion for community service can (and never should) be dampened by a handful. We need to ask ourselves, “What can we do further to bridge the gap between communities and eradicate doubt, prejudice and misunderstanding — personally, socially and intellectually?”

We should all be proactive in dialogue, and this is not too good to be true!

Emre Celik is an Australian based in Washington, D.C.’s Rumi Forum

Follow Emre Celik on Twitter: www.twitter.com/emrecelikrumi

Source: Huffington Post , December 2, 2013


Related News

Hate speech creates new opportunities for Hizmet movement

The effects of the ruling party’s persistent hate speech against the Hizmet movement on non- Hizmet groups can be examined by dividing the groups into two categories: conservative groups and other groups.

Ergenekon’s coup-lovers owe an apology to the Hizmet movement

Since the start of the Ergenekon trials, some of the suspects and their supporters constantly, steadfastly and fiercely argued that the Ergenekon cases were based on fabricated evidence prepared by the Hizmet movement, claiming that the defendants were actually innocent. They now owe an apology to the Hizmet movement.

Renewing Islam by Service: A Christian View of Fethullah Gulen with Pim Valkenberg

Renewing Islam by Service offers a theological account of the contemporary Turkish faith-based service movement started by Fethullah Gülen, and placed against the backdrop of changes in modern Turkish society. The life and works of Gülen are analyzed against the background of developments in Turkish society, and of spiritual Islamic tendencies in the transition from the Ottoman empire to the secular republic.

Huntsville’s Peace Valley Foundation sets annual Dialogue Dinner and awards

A specialist in comparative theologies, Professor Loye Ashton, will deliver the keynote address at the 2013 Peace Valley Foundation’s Dialogue Dinner and Award Ceremony in Huntsville on Thursday, April 18, 2013. The annual dinner, sponsored by the non-profit organization dedicated to solving educational, cultural, environmental, social and humanitarian challenges, provides an opportunity for building bridges between people […]

Taiwanese scholar: Hizmet movement wins hearts with education, charity

Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) Hizmet movement (aka Gulen movement), a social movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, differentiates itself from extremist Islamic views by winning hearts with education and charity, a Taiwanese scholar said Monday. Some think that Muslims are belligerent toward those with different religious views, but Gulen believes in influencing people […]

Kimse Yok Mu extends helping hand to Kyrgyz orphans

The Kimse Yok Mu association, renowned as a global charity that manages to reach the most remote corners of the world, has inaugurated a new boarding school in Kyrgyzstan for children without parents. The new home for children, which is the result of a $2.284 million investment, was inaugurated by Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in a ceremony.

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

Horrific Torture Details Emerge In Turkey’s Capital, A Lawyer Reveals

Global Muslim networks: How far they have travelled

GYV says claims Hizmet formed political party one big lie

Why Is A Cleric In The Poconos Accused Of Fomenting Turkey’s Coup Attempt?

Profiled lawyer files criminal complaint against MİT, MGK

Will a diplomat who is ashamed of Erdoğan praise Gül?

Dozens of US Congress members attend major convention of Turkic Americans

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News