First Documentary on the Hizmet Movement


Date posted: June 12, 2014

By Tasmin Mahfuz

At the SVA theatre in New York City, the Peace Islands Institute sponsored an exclusive screening of the award-winning documentary, “Love is a Verb.”

Director Terry Spencer Hesser started the film three years ago when she was working on a travel series for PBS.

The film takes viewers on a journey to the roots of the Hizmet movement, inspired by the teachings of renown scholar Mr. Fethullah Gulen and with an influence in over 160 countries worldwide.

Terry, Hakan and their team of five travel to Belgium, Turkey, Bosnia, Iraq and Somalia, telling the stories of volunteers who sacrificed their own will to dedicate their time to serve in schools, hospitals, and humanitarian aid organizations.

Producer Hakan Berberoglu of Chicago’s Niagra Foundation tells us about the obstacles they faced while filming.

“Each culture and each set-up is very different because the Gulen movement is serving throughout the world. So that was one of the difficulties. So filming the Gulen movement in Belgium is very different than filming the Gulen movement in Somalia,” he said.

3000 people donated to the project, enabling a $350,000 fund to produce the film.

More than 250 special guests from the tri-state area joined the producers to celebrate the premiere of the documentary.

The documentary is the first of its kind and received the Best Documentary Award at Maryland International Film Festival. Actress Ashley Judd lent her voice and through Terry’s eyes, we meet a society we may have never heard about.

“The people are actually sort of subtle gentle revolutionaries,” Terry explained.

And now, many feel inspired to give back in the best way they can.

Source: Ebrunews.com , June 11, 2014

Tags: | | |


Related News

Int’l language festival students given high-level welcome in Australia

Some 60 students from 19 countries who came to Australia as part of the 13th International Language and Culture Festival have received an enthusiastic welcome by senior Australian officials.

Gülen movement’s silent majority

After all, it is not difficult to understand that the reasons pushing so many people so far from home have been a love of service and a love of their own country. During the course of my travels, I also had the chance to meet a few of the teachers dedicated to their service and to teaching in these schools. Most of them had sacrificed some of their own opportunities so that they could simply contribute to the schools at which they are working.

President Gül dismisses calls to help tackle political turmoil

During a press conference held on Monday, the GYV, whose honorary chairman is Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, stated that a hate crime is being carried out against the Hizmet movement in Turkey and called on President Gül to take the initiative to investigate the executive branch’s recent attempts to render the judiciary dysfunctional.

Expert’s opinion: Turkey’s Demanding Extradition Of Fethullah Gülen Is Frivolous Grandstanding

Although ordinarily I respect his cool-headedness and self-control, in hindsight I wish President Obama had been equally blunt in responding to President Erdoğan’s demands that the US extradite Fethullah Gülen. All of his demands, beginning in 2014 and vigorously renewed in the wake of the July 15 attempted coup, have been completely illegitimate and unfair.

Kimse Yok Mu conducts cataract surgeries in Nepal

Kimse Yok Mu, an international charity organization operating in 113 countries of the world, helped 68 Nepalese people who cannot see due to cataract in their eyes.

Almost 1,000 officers removed from post in İzmir, Ankara

Around 700 police officers, including four deputy chiefs and 70 high-ranking officials, were removed from their posts at the İzmir Police Department and reassigned to different positions on Thursday morning and removals continued later in the afternoon with 207 more officers

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

PakTurk schools organise Pakistan’s largest mathematics Olympiad

Feud between Turkey’s Erdogan and influential cleric goes public

Erdogan on a mission to seek allies more than trading partners

Fethullah Gülen’s Message of Condolences for the El Paso and Dayton Attacks

Turkish schools students visit Thai education minister

Hate speech in politics and media

The Turkey I no longer know

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News