Funeral prayer held for Turkish volunteer Zengindemir in Oklahoma City

Murat Zengindemir, the 34-year-old director of Raindrop Turkish House in Oklahoma City who drowned on Thursday, was buried on July 28 after a funeral prayer service at the An-Nasr Mosque.

Turkic Cultural Exchange and Community Dialogue

Niagara Intern Staff

Nearly seventy-five legislators and staff attended the annual Turkic cultural reception at the State Capitol, hosted by Niagara Foundation. The event awarded attendees and guests with the chance to dialogue with lawmakers over a buffet of Turkish food and coffee on topics of interfaith, multiculturalism and global acceptance.

Samples of Kimse Yok Mu Ramadan Aid Activities Worldwide (2)

Kimse Yok Mu (KYM), set to reach out to 103 countries as a part of its Ramadan campaign, continues to deliver aid worldwide.

Ufuk Dialogue Foundation brings together Nigerians over iftar

The annually held Dialogue and Peace Iftar Dinner by Ufuk (Horizon) Dialogue Foundation took place in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. The event saw high attendance of guests including senators, bureaucrats, academics, businesspeople, religious figures, journalists and ambassadors.

Mali education minister lauds teachers in nation's Turkish schools

Mali's Minister of Higher Education and Research Messaoud Ould Mohamed Lahbib has said that the sacrifice being made by teachers who work at Turkish schools in his country is worthy of high praise, adding that he believes no other nation would be willing to make such a great contribution to Mali.

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to tin houses of South Africa

Kimse Yok Mu recently distributed the Ramadan aid donated by Turkish people in tin house neighborhoods of South Africa.

An iftar dinner by KYM for Thai Muslims

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM), which extends its helping hands to all over the world, held yet another iftar dinner for Muslims in Thailand.

Ramadan Aid for Ugandan Police Department

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation, which has launched an aid campaign for the Ugandans in need as of Ramadan month, extended its hands to the country’s police department as well.

Tolerance and Dialogue in Fethullah Gülen’s Writings (3)

Yetkin Yildirim* and Madeline Maxwell**

(Cont’d from part 2)

Gülen’s Vision for the Future

Gülen’s purpose for discussing tolerance and dialogue is the achievement of a more peaceful coexistence among the diverse communities and religions of the world. It is this vision of peace that underlies his writings. Gülen believes that striving for peace in the world through tolerance and dialogue is essentially God’s work: “Muslims will lose nothing by employing dialogue, love and tolerance. Muslims continuously seek the approval of God; this is the greatest gain of all” (Gülen, 2004, p. 52). Doing God’s work is what fuels Gülen’s commitment to peace, and he maintains a hopeful and positive perspective on the future of the world:

Malian Medical Students: Ramadan feels different this year

We were at an iftar dinner at the cafeteria of a medical school in Mali’s capital city, Bamako. A total of 600 male and female students from villages are staying at the school dormitory. The number of the well-off among them is pretty low. The iftar event marking Ramadan let everyone cheer up.

Iftar at Afghan-Turkish Schools

Turkish schools in Afghanistan brought Afghan people and Turkish people together with an iftar dinner that they organized. The Turkish ambassador to Kabul, Aydin Nurhan and the coordinator of the Cooperation and Coordination Agency of Turkey (TIKA), Bekir Demir also attended the iftar dinner.

Journalists and Writers Foundation gathers all colors of Turkey at iftar

The traditional iftar dinner held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), this year held at the Congresium International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Ankara on Wednesday night under the theme “Living Together,” saw many distinguished figures, including spiritual leaders, politicians, artists, businessmen and journalists, call for living together in peace despite differences.

A Forum On Africa in Turkey (II)

Hajiya Bilkisu

The third session of the Abant Platform dialogue was on Education in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities.

Sag: Fethullah Gulen’s service is admirable

Turkish Syriac Catholic Deputy Patriarch Chorepiscopus Yusuf Sag, remarked on Fethullah Gulen and his contributions to interfaith dialogue, in a recent interview with the Turkish daily Bugun:

“I can’t deny the efforts Fethullah Gulen has put in interfaith dialogue. Fethullah Gulen’s service –whom I know- in this regard is admirable and immeasurable. He has never been a political instrument but always served friendly coexistence.”

KYM Volunteers lend a hand to Kosovo

Kimse Yok Mu, concerned with the needy abroad as much as it is with those at home, delivered $10,000 worth of aid to those in need in Kosovo. Kosovan volunteers, in return, hosted their Turkish friends at a friendship iftar dinner.

Circumcision party gifts will build dorm and water wells in Tanzania

Atilla Halit Ün, a businessman in Adana, Turkey, donated $30,000 value gifts, which were presented at his son’s circumcision party, to the construction of a dormitory and water wells in Tanzania.

The Other Side of the Ocean – What Happened in Pennsylvania?

During the time when the Gezi events were at their peak, a certain group in the United States planned to carry out a demonstration in the area where Fethullah Gulen is currently residing by organizing over the Internet, similar to the way they had in Turkey.

Health Improvement Initiatives in Africa and Kimse Yok Mu

While the fight against the long-persisting health problems continues, the African continent has eventually witnessed a change for the better. In this regard, the eight Millennium Development Goals established by UN in 2000 consist of three relevant chapters, namely, reducing child mortality rates, improving maternal health and combatting epidemics including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.

Gülen’s Inclusive Perspective as a Catalyst for Global Peace

The basic values that mark the twenty-first century are modernism, pluralism, individualism, and religion. Some claim that modernity embraces individual and social life as a whole, and that it has created new forms of religious, cultural, and political pluralism. There is no doubt that the world today is in need of dialogue between cultures and civilizations more than at any other time; this is of the utmost urgency.

Tevere Institute organized an Iftar Dinner for Diplomats in Vatican

Tevere Institute in Rome gave an Iftar Dinner to diplomats who work in the Vatican. The Ambassadors from Israel, Australia, Macedonia, Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Turkey attended the dinner. Some English, Russian and American diplomats were also present at the dinner.

Hizmet Movement through the Eyes of an Indian

Kashif Ihsan Khan*

On 21 June I returned to Delhi from Turkey, after spending three weeks in some 6 cities including Konya, Bursa, Ankara and Istanbul. It was my second trip to Turkey. The first was confined to Istanbul as it was aimed at having a deep insight into the functioning of Islamic banks in Istanbul for my doctoral thesis. During the second visit to Turkey, I visited major sites in Istanbul and other cities, including the magnificent edifices of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Suleymaniya Mosque, grave of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Ulu Jami in Bursa, etc. I also visited schools sponsored by Hizmet and Fatih University in the western suburbs of Istanbul, an English-language university supported by Hizmet.

KYM volunteer doctors distribute Ramadan aid in Kenya

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation coming to the rescue of sufferers in need regardless of faith, language and ethnicity continues to put a smile on the world’s Muslim faces with its iftar and suhoor events in Ramadan, the month of cooperation and solidarity. One of the countries the foundation has been active is an Eastern African country, Kenya where KYM volunteers have been distributing iftar (fastbreaking dinner) and suhoor (pre-dawn meal before fasting) aid at a centrally located mosque in a Muslim Populated, tin house neighborhood in the capital Nairobi.

Only the people of the land can create a spring, Yeşil says

Mustafa Yeşil, the chairman of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), said that if there is going to be a springtime and a fresh beginning soon in the region, it will only be accomplished at the hands of the people of this land, while speaking at an iftar dinner -- a special meal held to observe breaking the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan -- hosted in the southeastern province of Van for journalists and other guests by the East Anatolian Civil Society Association (DASİDER) under the theme of “living together and tolerance.”

Samples of Kimse Yok Mu Ramadan Aid Activities Worldwide

Kimse Yok Mu, set to reach out to 103 countries as a part of its Ramadan campaign, has launched the food aid deliveries.

Turkish charitable organizations to open hospital in Ethiopia

A hospital established by the Marmara Health Federation (MASFED) and the Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) in Ethiopia is scheduled to open and begin serving the public in the coming months.

Intellectual Tolerance and Inquiry into “Intellect vs Revelation” at the Abant Forum

Graham E. Fuller

One of the Gülen movement’s greatest accomplishments—and a demon­stration of its search for greater universalism—has come through a remark­able process of intellectual outreach, a series of annual roundtables called the Abant Forum. These roundtables have brought together Turks of diverse intellectual backgrounds—Muslims, secularists, traditionalists, modernists, atheists, Christians, leftists, and conservatives—to hammer out some common positions on key contemporary societal issues. The product of these forums, which have continued annually, has been remarkable and is of particular relevance to intellectual debates rag­ing across the Muslim world.

Tolerance and Dialogue in Fethullah Gülen’s Writings (2)

Yetkin Yildirim* and Madeline Maxwell**

Fethullah Gülen’s Writings on Tolerance and Dialogue

(Cont’d from part 1)

Tolerance, Dialogue and Coexistence

There is a reason why Fethullah Gülen dedicates so much of his writings on tolerance and dialogue to citing their precedence in Islam and history.

Protest against Gülen

Tarik Toros, Bugün

...I want to also mention a question raised by readers.

Zephyrs from the Presence, the latest book by Ahmet Kurucan…

Engin Sezen

The book, Huzurdan Esintiler (Zephyrs from the Presence), published by Işık (Light) Publications in 2012, is a total of 216 pages. The author collected the articles he had previously written for Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper, and his new articles in this book. The shared subject of these articles written in various occasions is Fethullah Gulen. In this article of both presentation and criticism I will attempt to underline these two matters: Firstly, how does Kurucan describe the conversational environment with Gulen, and secondly, how exactly does the author illustrate Gulen’s portrait?

An opposition out of Gulen Community?

Mehmet Barlas

I recently got a phone call from the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent Daria Aslamova saying she would like to meet with me. So I invited her to my house.

Faith Compatible with Science

Taha Akyol

Fethullah Gulen’s book incorporates the concept of “faith” into those of “service, affection, compassion” and such.

Being the conscience of a nation

Fethullah Gulen’s brother Hasbi Gulen, who passed away last October, wanted to visit his older brother in America in late 2000. He shares his intention with a friend before applying for a visa.

Supporters of Saylorsburg Muslim cleric say protesters have got it all wrong

Protesters planning a trip to Saylorsburg on Saturday are bringing an internal Turkish issue to the American streets, a representative from an organization connected with Fethullah Gülen said Thursday.

Prominent figures gather together at GYV iftar dinner

Distinguished spiritual leaders in Turkey, politicians, artists, diplomats, businesspeople and journalists came together for an iftar at İstanbul's Four Seasons Hotel on Thursday night for an event held by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV).

Man campaigning for anti-Gülen protest in US turns out to be TKP member

A man who has been campaigning for a protest in front of the house Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, now residing in the US, is a member of the far-left Turkish Communist Party (TKP), the Bugün daily reported on Thursday.

A Forum On Africa (I)

Hajiya Bilkisu

Istanbul was peaceful when we arrived to attend the 29th Abant International forum titled: "Africa: Between Experience and Inspiration". The event which brought together about 160 participants held between June 28-30, 2013 at a serene and scenic mountain resort of Abant Buyuk Hotel in Bolu, Turkey.

Turkish businessmen have first iftar with Syrian refugees in Hatay

A group of Turkish businessman traveled to Kilis province on Wednesday to join an iftar dinner with Syrian refugees, according to media reports.

Tolerance and Dialogue in Fethullah Gülen’s Writings (1)

Yetkin Yildirim* and Madeline Maxwell**

Fethullah Gülen’s Writings on Tolerance and Dialogue

…Gülen defines tolerance as the following: “Tolerance does not mean being influenced by others and joining them; it means accepting others as they are and knowing how to get along with them (Gülen, 2004, p. 42).” He sees tolerance as a method to achieve coexistence with others. Tolerance is being able to live with others while maintaining your identity.

Portrait of Fethullah Gulen: A Modern Turkish-Islamic Reformist

Bekim Agai, Ph.D.*

Fethullah Gülen, founder of a worldwide educational movement, regards morality and education as the engine for a contemporary Islam that is compatible with laicism.

Many are on the lookout today for "reformist thought" in the Islamic world. The question here is what qualities an Islamic reformist is expected to demonstrate and what exactly makes for "Islamic reformist thinking."

Education in Mother Tongue: Eventual Solution to the Problem

Mümtaz’er Türköne

Fethullah Gulen's interview to Arbil based Rudaw newspaper will be a turning point in the solution of the Kurdish Issue. Hodjaefendi puts a fundamental principle like a compass in front of us that should be followed by all.

Gülen: Democracy dealt yet another blow in Egypt

Well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said democracy was once again dealt a blow in Egypt as he commented on the ouster of Mohammed Morsi in a military coup last week.

Why a Military Coup in Egypt and a Democracy in Turkey?

Yusuf İnan

The military carried out a coup in Egypt and shocked everyone in Turkey. “Tahrir square brought about a coup, not a democracy,” they said. Whereas in Turkey, a diplomatic warning was sent to the AK Party Government and Tayyip Erdoğan but the same result was not achieved...

But why?

Journalists and Writers Foundation at UN ECOSOC annual meeting

Journalists and Writers Foundation attended UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) annual meeting, in attendance of which were ambassadors, ministers or other senior officials of UN member countries, in Geneva. In his speech at the meeting, JWF’s Abant Platform Secretary General Huseyin Hurmali detailed on the contributions of the educational institutions inspired by JWF Honorary President Fethullah Gulen to sustainable development, promoting education, pluralism and peace building.

Gursel Tekin: Gulen’s remarks on the third bridge are valuable

Republican People’s Party Deputy Chairman Gursel Tekin gave the daily Zaman noteworthy statements on Turkey’s heated agenda. Speaking of the controversies over naming the third bridge as “Yavuz Sultan Selim”, Tekin expressed his support for Fethullah Gulen’s remarks, saying, “Let’s not sacrifice all the bridges to build one. To me, we should not ruin the order when an atmosphere of breaking bread among Sunnis- Alevis and all pervades.” “These words are certainly right and valuable. We definitely shouldn’t destroy thousands bridges of brotherhood built to date for the sake of one,” Tekin said. Arguing that when unsolved troubles persist, another one shouldn’t arise in the form of a controversy over a bridge’s name, Tekin further said, “We shouldn’t let this disturb out thousands of Alevi fellows.”

Archbishop Makgoba: Turkey's religious tolerance answer to extremism

Turkey has an important message for religious fundamentalist as it is an exemplary country showing the world that people of different faiths can live with one another, Thabo Cecil Makgoba, South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, says.

An analysis of Gülen’s Humanism

Heon J. Kim

Gülen’s perception of humanism is at the heart of his thought, so much so that it serves as the reason for the existence and activities of the Gülen movement. My attempt here is to lay bare some constructional and distinctive characteristics of Gülen’s humanism.

“We will celebrate a new world”

Abdülhamit Bilici

They built our hopes up with their peace and fellowship messages at a time when our morale was shattered by the sudden outbreak of a snowballing tension, when the world media was airing pessimistic images of our country 24/7, and when we were longing for even the slightest good news.

Before the Lights are Out…

M. Nedim Hazar

You know how the poet that says, “Bleeding a thin line, my chest/Watched in wonder, amazed!” This was the exact situation I found myself in. It was a sorrowful moment, one that weighs you down, when the tears that have welled up in your eyes push themselves down your cheeks… It was as full of hope as it was baffling. And that was precisely our consolation, indeed it was.

Kimse Yok Mu to provide 288,000 food packages, iftar meals to over 1 mln in Ramadan

The Kimse Yok Mu charity will hand out 288,300 food packages to people in need as well as host iftars (dinners to break the daily fast) serving 1,168,000 people throughout Turkey and 103 other countries during the holy month of Ramadan.

Final Declaration of 29th Abant Platform Forum “Africa: Between Experience and Inspiration”

- We, the participants of the 29th Abant Platform Forum on “Africa: Between Experience and Inspiration”, held at Abant/Turkey on 28-30 June 2013, hereby, welcome the initiative of Journalists and Writers Foundation/Abant Platform, for a long and lasting partnership, based on mutual respect, goodwill, compassion and understanding between the Peoples of Africa and the People of Turkey.

Minister Çelik supports Gülen’s call for Alevi-Sunni brotherhood

Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik has supported the call “Let the mosque and the cemevi be side by side,” by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Sufi influences in Gülen’s early life

Mustafa Gökçek

Fethullah Gülen is primarily a scholar, who, while far from establishing a Sufi order, aims to revive and combine the activism of Prophet Muhammad and his companions, the asceticism of the first generation Sufis, and the Sufi terminological knowledge and consciousness of the later Sufi scholars. At a time when the gap between Sufis and their major critique salafis increase, Gülen’s main goal is to reestablish Sufism on the basis of Quran and Sunna. Gülen’s most significant contribution to the Sufi literature is his emphasis on religious activism. In Gülen’s Sufi approach the passivism, asceticism and exclusive focus on inner world under the guidance of the sheikh in many of the early Sufi works are replaced with purification of the self through continuous struggle and action within the community under the direct guidance of Quran and Sunna. This approach offers a new equilibrium within the Muslim world and promotes a peaceful and tolerant understanding of Islam coexisting peacefully with the non-Islamic communities.

Supporters and Critics of the Gülen Movement

In their article “A Contextual Analysis of the Supporters and Critics of the Gülen/Hizmet Movement” (*), authors Loye Ashton and Tamer Balci make an analysis of the Supporters and Critics of the Gulen/Hizmet Movement.

Mandela and Gülen

İbrahim Özdemir*

(This story was written during the darkest days of the so-called Feb. 28 process and was published in the Zaman daily on Dec. 21, 1999. Today the whole world is focused on Nelson Mandela who has been in hospital for the last few days. I think it is time to rethink the message given by two great leaders of our time, Mandela and Fethullah Gülen, a decade ago at the Parliament of the World's Religions. We join in the prayers for Mandela and wish these two great leaders health and peace.)

Africa pledges further cooperation with Turkey based on mutual respect

At the three-day meeting of the Abant Platform from June 28-30 to discuss Africa, participants from both Africa and Turkey agreed to intensify cooperation based on their mutual respect, goodwill and understanding.