I have often been suspicious of the Gülen movement, although as I reflect, I realize I may have been misread the movement. While this post will be lengthy, the topic remains relevant and intellectually interesting to those interested in Islam and reform, and so I hope to address why I was suspicious, and why I have slowly been changing my mind.
“Reserve in your heart a seat for all”, a memorable quote by Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish civic activist and the Peace Island Institute’s Honorary President, could have been the slogan for the evening. The Peace Island Institute (PII) branch for Upstate New York in Rochester was celebrating its 11th Annual Friendship Dinner with Award Ceremony at the Double Tree Hilton in Henrietta
The first event is a Turkish Bazaar, which will take place at the Turkish Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts, 540 Meadow Street Extension, Agawam. All profits from this event will be distributed to the “Raise an Orphan” in Haiti charity in conjunction with Embrace Relief, non-profit organization that brings together teams of volunteers to collaborate on humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts.
White House has hosted international students who has been in Washington for over two weeks as part of the International Language and Culture Festival as the festivities had come to an end with a mini performance at the White House for US officials.
The Turkish Cultural Center Queens held its 12th annual friendship dinner and award ceremony at Flushing Town Hall last week. In the words of Turkish Cultural Center representatives, the dinner and awards ceremony brings together community leaders, elected officials, non-governmental organizations, clergy, academicians and others “to foster mutual understanding, respect and love.”
Both the Turkish Cultural Center and City Hall were turned into a Turkish festival, complete with music, food, and dancing. The entire local Turkish community, as well as other cultures, took part in the celebration. Organizers say it’s important to make sure everyone feels welcome.
State Representative Andy Fleischmann (D-West Hartford) was proud to receive the “Statesman of the Year Award” for his contributions to education and environmental causes at the 5th Annual Friendship Dinner and Awards Ceremonies held in Hartford on March 26th.
Lawrence E. Carter, the dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, stated that a campaign of slander has bene launched against religious scholar Fethullah Gülen and Hizmet Movement but Turkish people are not stupid to believe such defamations.
American-born Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef, 64, the imam of Masjid Waarith ud Deen in Irvington, New Jersey, has said, “What the American Muslims see in the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) may be fire, but it is not illumination.”