FETHULLAH GULEN - A TRUE DEDICATION TO PEACE

THE GULEN MOVEMENT - PEACE AND DIALOG
Tolerance and dialogue are among the most basic and broad dynamics of the Gülen movement. These two concepts, first developed on a small scale, have turned into a search for a culture of reconciliation on a world scale. Today, the idea of different groups peacefully living together is a philosophical issue that modern states are trying to formulate. The international relations of past empires were founded on conflict and war. Different civilizations were separated by thick walls, which were supported by political, ideological, and religious identities.

The Gülen movement is a clear example of a search, a search that has reached international proportions. Gülen strengthens this search with religious, legal, and philosophical foundations. One of the basic aims of the global education activities is to form bridges that will lead to dialogue between religions and civilizations. The long-lasting wars of the past had to do with the problem of power balance that reigned in the international relations of the day. This was probably the case for all political empires and religious formations of the past. But today, humanity is not in a position to shoulder such a conflict on the global scale. According to Gülen, Muslims today should not shape their own cultural, social, and existential identities according to destructive values which are rooted in conflict and fight; these are not aligned with the universal value system of Islam, in which peace, dialogue, and tolerance are the basic principles. Today, humanity is not in a position to bear a conflict on the global scale.



Nov 17, 2011

Troubled Nigeria discusses Gülen’s ‘culture of coexistence’

The Abuja-based Ufuk Dialogue Foundation and The Fountain magazine representatives informed the local media about a conference at which Fethullah Gülen’s ideas and activities on establishing a culture of coexistence and mutual understanding will be discussed
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“Gülen-inspired schools have been operating in Nigeria for over 13 years now. This conference will put Mr. Gülen’s thought on the social and cultural map of this country,” Tamer Çopuroğlu, president of the newly founded Ufuk Dialogue Foundation, told Today’s Zaman.
According to Çopuroğlu, Nigeria, with over 200 ethnic groups and languages, is both a perfect laboratory for testing Gülen’s peace ideas and for putting them into practice, also because Nigeria is badly in need of peace, given recent interreligious conflict in the country.
“We have been contributing to the solidarity among Nigerians with our schools for over a decade now. Last Ramadan our schools provided free iftar dinners to over 3,000 people every day and during Eid al-Adha we distributed sacrificial meat to Muslims, Christians and animists in order to create an environment of peaceful coexistence,” Çopuroğlu said. There are already 17 Gülen-inspired primary and high schools in Nigeria as well as a Nigerian Turkish University and a hospital.
Hakan Yeşilova, editor-in-chief of The Fountain magazine, is particularly impressed with the readiness of the Nigerian authorities to cooperate with the conference. “Nigeria is a gateway to sub-Saharan Africa and we will be hosting several statesmen from neighboring countries. I have been editing a journal on Gülen’s ideas for years now. For me this is like a dream come true and it gives energy for future dreams,” he told Today’s Zaman. The Fountain is planning to organize similar conferences in countries like Pakistan and India, where multiculturalism is a fact of life and where establishing and nurturing a culture of coexistence is a basic necessity.
read more: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-263165-troubled-nigeria-discusses-gulens-culture-of-coexistence.html
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