Targeted by dictator, Turkish family seeks refuge in Albany

Paul Grondahl*

Three generations of a Turkish family were stripped of their livelihoods, life savings, friends and culture in a sweeping purge by the authoritarian regime of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Sami Gul: From Turkey to Kansas City

Sami Gul is a junior at UMKC [University of Missouri - Kansas City] and is originally from Turkey. He came to UMKC in partnership with the Dialogue Institute, which has an organization here at UMKC as well as in many other countries around the world. He is also involved on campus as a part of the UMKC Intercultural Dialogue Student Association. He is getting his bachelor’s degree in political science. U-News spoke with him about his involvement with the Dialogue Institute both on and off campus as well as his interests, passions and goals for the future.

I am a teacher not a terrorist

M. E. Ünal

I’m a Mathematics teacher and decided to join other education volunteers who spread across the globe to share the message of peace and love.

'Freedom' for Turkish cleric Gulen in Pennsylvania

Sertan Sanderson

Pennsylvania's Poconos Mountains are renowned for offering ample opportunities for urbanites to enjoy the great outdoors. But tucked away on a back road in the small Poconos' hamlet of Saylorsburg, less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from Philadelphia, one septuagenarian prefers staying indoors, as a political scandal of international significance has descended onto his doorstep.

In Berlin, inside a Gulen “light-house”

Naomi Comrad

Turkey has detained thousands with alleged links to the Gulen movement – a religious network that spans the globe. Students often live in shared flats, so-called lighthouses. Naomi Conrad gained access to one of them.

A Family’s Journey from Turkey and Argentina to San Antonio

Beytullah Colak’s journey to San Antonio began in Southeast Turkey. Adiyaman is a largely Kurdish city situated in an agricultural area that has been continuously populated for more than 40,000 years. Tourists are drawn to the region to visit the giant carved stone statues at Mount Nemrut, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to legend, this is the burial site of Biblical King Nimrod.

A Ramadan Birthday Dinner

Fran Moreland Johns

Dates, rice and eggplant moussaka for birthday dinner? It works.

A recent birthday of mine happened to coincide with a long-planned Ramadan Interfaith Iftar Dinner co-hosted by Pacifica Institute and Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. Since I was minimally involved in the planning and execution of the event, and maximally involved in the birthday, it made sense to combine the two. Plus, I got a lot of mileage out of responding to questions about birthday plans with news we were expecting 225 or so friends for dinner.

Reflection on the Asia-Pacific Trip with the Hizmet Movement

Samuel D. Henry*

People undertake travel for a spectrum of reasons that range from the economic to the voyager; journeys that are spiritual, social, aesthetic, emotional or emotional, with combinations and blends, that bleed and stain from one root cause to another. My own motivations generally encompass the spectrum—the journey to SE Asia with Hizmet was no less a mix tape coming out of my own life’s work with education and culture contact and a desire to understand first hand, what others see and know. As such, it was a series of aspirations and dreams fulfilled. From the Buddhist temples of Bangkok to the ‘Killing fields’ of Phnom Pen and from the 6th grade science lab, the IB egg drop test to xxx, the trip still stirs stories, memories and juxtapositions of humanity, of perspective and consciousness . As an educator, a participant in leadership in one’s own communities and an eyewitness to history, there are three selections from my journey that bear further attention: 1) the Hizmet school in Bangkok, 2) the juxtaposition of Cambodia’ ‘Killing Fields” and reconciliation conference, and 3) the overall approach of Hizmet to building social capital through the SE Asia journey and through exposure to others.

The smear campaign against Kimse Yok Mu in 11 minutes

Kimse Yok Mu (KYM), a nonprofit humanitarian aid and development organization based in Istanbul, active in 113 countries is victimized by a media smear campaign in Turkey.

Open Letter to ‘ISNA’

Aydoğan Vatandaş

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) a Muslim umbrella group that has been described in the media as the largest Muslim organization in North America is known with its annual conventions which focus the attention of North American Muslims upon the needs of other Muslims both throughout the world and on the continent.

Importance of Strong Cultural Foundations

One recurring theme in Fethullah Gulen’s writings is the problem of cultural identity, which is how the individual relates to his cultural and civilizational heritage. Culture is seen as very important since it is an encompassing environment where each individual member of the society is affected willingly or unwillingly. Thus the issue of discovering the roots of our cultural identity and staying true to it becomes fundamental to continuation of our civilization.

The Value of Time in Fethullah Gulen’s Teachings

"By the Time! Verily! Man is in loss, Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and recommend one another to patience. [1]"

Some thoughts on Hizmet

Husnu Demir

One important informal ‘institution’ or tradition within the movement is the cay sohbets (tea discussions). These sohbets are weekly or monthly gatherings that bring people together – almost like a book club or study circle where books are read, at least some text of Fethullah Gulen’s and usually various other sources- possibly including magazines, poems or videos. These gatherings are very important as it allows people to become informed intellectually, spiritually and are where the seeds for service oriented projects planted and brainstormed. From such gatherings committees are formed and the ground work for institutions are laid.

Yes, Religion Can Still Be A Force For Good In The World

Antonia Blumberg, Yasmine Hafiz

Bringing people together over a meal to celebrate diversity

Reliable Environment: Gulen-inspired Schools

Cemil Genç

The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment was a series of studies on delayed gratification in the late 1960s and early 1970s led by psychologist Walter Mischel, then a professor at Stanford University. In these studies, a child at the age of 4 was offered a choice between one small reward (sometimes a marshmallow, but often a cookie or a pretzel, etc.) provided immediately or two small rewards if he or she waited until the tester returned (after an absence of approximately 15 minutes). In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, body mass index (BMI) and other life measures. [1]

Defending Hizmet

Angela Lee Ayaz

I have never met Fethullah Gulen. I have read his books, and watched videos of him, and talked to those who know him, and to those who simply love him. I have heard those who hate him, and those who call him a criminal, and those who think the world would be better rid of him. I can only offer what I have seen and my thoughts, and hope that you would listen with an open ear.

Hizmet Movement's stance on recent issues in Turkey

On Feb. 17, 2014, gathering in Istanbul at a meeting organized by Turkish Review and Hira magazines, Arab and Turkish intellectuals have discussed the role of the state in Muslim societies and agreed that Islamist politicians have lost their test with power, as they were transformed by the state instead of transforming the state.

Saudi scholar finds what he has been looking for in Gulen

At this week’s show, Mehtap TV’s “Tefekkur” had Nevzat Savas, Hira Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, and Prof. Muhammad Babaammi, director of Al-Manahidj Institute, Algeria.

A big day at school

We had a nice surprise last week in the form of an email from a Today’s Zaman reader who had moved to our area in the last year or so. He asked if we would care to come and visit the school where he teaches and whether I would be a judge in an English competition! Well, we don’t get an invitation like that every day, and this particular man had previously impressed us with a series of emails we exchanged several months before. We made the arrangements to join him on Friday, wondering what we’d got ourselves into this time.

Reflections On My First Trip to Türkiye

Brendan Dowd*

“What do you think of my decision to send my son to boarding school? Am I being a good father?” Wow. That’s a heavy question. Serkan, our tour guide in Izmir, translated this heartfelt question, explaining that our host, and father of four, would be sending his third son to America for his secondary schooling. I sat at the table sipping on my cool glass of the traditional yogurt drink, ayran, and could not help but feel warmed by the genuine sincerity of the question. Here was a man humble enough to ask a group of strangers whether or not they thought he was a good father. The group of Chicagoans circled around the table smiled in awe.