Keyword: Peacebuilding
First Documentary on the Hizmet Movement
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 […]
Who speaks for Islam in Turkey?
Huseyin Gulerce voiced deep concern about Erdogan’s criticism of Fethullah Gulen “as a fake prophet” at a meeting of the Religious Affairs Directorate. Gulerce asked, “Would not the stability of the country be harmed if the mosques are polarized as such?” He concluded that politics have dominated religion.
Turkish Day proclamation, celebration planned at Syracuse City Hall
The first Turkish Day in Syracuse will be celebrated at City Hall from noon to 1 p.m. today. Mayor Stephanie Miner will read a proclamation followed by the raising of the flags of the United States and Turkey. The Turkish national anthem will be played. Afterward, folk dances will be performed and Turkish cuisine will be served. Weather permitting, the festivities will be held on the front steps of City Hall, 223 E. Washington St.
GYV discusses respect for sacred values at UN panel
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) held a panel on Saturday on “Respect for Sacred Values” at the United Nations’ Geneva headquarters. Many academics and diplomats showed great interest in the panel, which was held as the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) conducted its annual meetings in Geneva.
Şimşek: Despite slander, Gülen remains silent to avoid provoking gov’t supporters
Osman Şimşek, editor of herkul.org — the website that usually publishes Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s speeches — has said that the Islamic cleric doesn’t respond to slander and insulting remarks so as not to provoke those who support the government.
Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences to Berkin’s family
Dismayed by unconstructive language adopted by government officials over social issues, Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullan Gülen offered his deep condolences to family of Berkin Elvan, the latest victim of Gezi Park protests, in a statement late on Tuesday.
‘Portraying Hizmet against settlement process groundless’
In an interview with the Zaman daily last week, GYV vice president Cemal Uşak categorically denied the aspersions that have been cast on the Hizmet movement on social media for a couple of years and in conventional media for the last three months that claim that the Hizmet movement has been against the settlement process.
Islamic scholar Gülen urges followers to remain calm in face of insults
Fethullah Gülen, the inspiration behind the Hizmet movement, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to insult and target with a smear campaign, threatening to pursue criminal proceeding against it, has urged his followers to remain calm and avoid making inflammatory remarks about those who appeal to insults.
“Peace and Sustainable Development: A Two-Way Relationship” Panel
Mr. Huseyin Hurmali, Vice-President of the JWF emphasized and explained how civil initiatives inspired by scholar Fethullah Gulen have been contributing to both durable peace and sustainable development in about 160 countries around the world. Schools, universities and other educational institutions have been providing high quality science and mathematics education and also contributing to peace through becoming entities of “social mediation” in the regions of conflict.
The Gülen Movement and Turkish Soft Power*
The Gülen approach to education aptly demonstrates the group’s global strategy—Gülen movement schools are open to both Turkish migrants and citizens of host countries, and they avoid advancing a religious agenda. These schools aim to help Turkish migrants succeed in their host societies without losing sight of their Turkish roots, and at the same time they promote social unity by serving the needs of migrants and local students alike. The success of Gülen movement schools stems both from the success of the students (and the satisfaction of the parents) and from the prestige and goodwill they enjoy among local and political authorities for promoting integration and acting as a social mediator.
Diverging points between AKP and Hizmet movement: Kurdish question
The fundamental difference Popp observed is that while the government has been trying to persuade the PKK to lay down its guns, the Gulen movement goes one step further and works to remove the social and cultural problems that caused the Kurdish problem.
