Int'l symposium in Washington to discuss contribution of Hizmet to world peace

An international symposium under the name “The Hizmet Movement and PeaceBuilding” will be held on Oct. 25-26 in Washington, preceded by the RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards Ceremony, taking place on Thursday.

In attendance at the symposium organized by Georgetown University, American University, Mount St. Mary's University and the Rumi Forum will be numerous academics and scientists from more than 20 countries on six continents, some of whom will deliver speeches on various topics covering as a whole the impact of the Hizmet movement on society and its contributions to it.

The symposium will address the peacebuilding efforts and impact of Hizmet institutions worldwide. Peacebuilding, broadly defined, includes activities such as education, interfaith and intra-faith dialogue, advocacy, conflict resolution, and peace education which can create trust and cooperation over ethnic, religious and other divisions.

The Hizmet movement has established hundreds of educational and communal organizations and institutions in over 140 countries, most of which suffer from internal conflicts and communal divisions, such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, Sudan and Tajikistan. These organizations and institutions engage in various peacebuilding initiatives that foster inclusiveness, build capacity, and create shared spaces. The symposium will assess the societal impact of these initiatives under thematic and regional categories.

The symposium seeks to engage the societal impact of the Hizmet movement and invites contributions from across the social sciences, humanities and fields of professional and community practice that critically explore the intersection of the movement and peacebuilding.

Presentations will be in the two broad topic areas of regional and thematic focus. Regional topics aims to cover peacebuilding initiatives of Hizmet organizations and institutions in different parts of the world such as Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Australasia, and comparison of such initiatives across regions. Presentations with a thematic focus will be on the Hizmet movement's approach to peacebuilding as it compares and contrasts with other secular and faith-based, ethnic and non-ethnic, global and regional, and governmental and nongovernmental initiatives around the world.

The Hizmet movement is a faith-based movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, well known for his teachings promoting mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures. Now residing in the US, he has pioneered educational activities in a number of countries, along with efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the world. He has written nearly 70 books in Turkish, some of which have been translated into other languages.

Published in Today's Zaman, 24 October 2013, Thursday