Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Gulen inspired Schools and Peace education

Gulen inspired Schools and Peace education


The world is gradually becoming a small village, and have been facing challenges like conflict, violence, terrorism, and war along with their terrible consequences of poverty, disease, despair, environmental destruction, and poor leadership. These challenges are present at all levels of human life—family, school, community, society, and globally. The solution to all of challenges is within the education that people have been receiving so far. Incorporating Peace education in the education systems would to eventually help people to gain the ability to prevent conflict, and to resolve conflict peacefully when it does arise, whether on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national or international level.

Peace education has been defined as an learning environment to addresses cognitive, affective and behavioral learning and can occur both within schools, through curriculum development and teacher education, and outside of schools, through camps, sports and recreation programs, youth groups and clubs, and training for community leaders, parents. And, the Gulen inspired school worldwide become an exceptional model to actually implement the peace education. Gulen teachings emphasizes the significance of educating younger generations with the idea of peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding. The educational perspective of Gulen is to illumination of the mind to science and knowledge, and the lighting of the heart in faith and virtue. And, according to Fethullah Gulen, it can be accomplished though teachers who are committed to devoting their lives, time and knowledge to teach the younger generations in these educational institutions. There are currently more than 1000 Gulen inspired schools in more than 110 countries around the world. In the European countries, there are at least a dozen Gulen inspired schools, and more than 150 smaller educational and cultural centers. Having an exceptional track of success in the different section of the world, Gulen schools have been perceived to be elite schools around the globe. Most of these outstanding schools are private schools where students have been selected on the basis of academic performance. The students in the schools tend to score high in different national and international competitions. In Gulen’s thinking there is no greater religious concept than love, there is no greater religious action than love: “Love is the most essential element of every being, and it is the most radiant light, and it is the greatest power; able to resist and overcome all else”. True religion is therefore how we move from being merely human to in fact becoming humane. In this way, Gulen teaches, spiritual people are open to the flow of the divine.

We are going to conclude with a testimony from Emre Celik who recently traveled South Africa, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Kenya and Ethiopia to see Gulen inspired schools first hand. “The ripple effect these schools have is tremendous. They provide a safe haven, a kind of “peace island” for all those associated with the school” [1]

[1] Source: http://gulenmovement.com/news/155-an-untold-african-story-gulen-movement-activities
http://gulenmovement.com/news/175-gulen-inspired-schools-and-peace-education

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Friday, January 18, 2013

In what ways is Fethullah Gulen spiritual?

Fethullah Gulen
As a devout Muslim, Fethullah Gulen maintains the principles of orthodox Islamic spirituality taught by the Qur’an, and historically and ideally exemplified in the life of the Prophet Muhammad. This general sense of spiritual life includes observation of canonical daily prayers, consistent supplications to God, and frequent invocations of the divine names or “remembrance” (dhikr), as well as meditation. Gulen is well known to have observed all these basic spiritual practices in his deep sense of piety throughout his entire life. Since his early youth, he has adopted a spiritually-based daily life that starts an early wake up before the dawn to practice the traditional late night prayer called tahajjud and to recite various supplications. He dedicates a couple of hours to informal prayer called du‘a to ask God for goodness not only for himself, his relatives and friends, but also for all fellow believers and all humanity. Indeed, prayer and supplication comprise the very spirit of his daily discourse.

Gulen is also considered a follower of Sufism, the traditional mysticism of Islam. Sufism is not only a spiritual tradition, but also a humanistic and humanitarian one. Gulen wrote his masterpiece of four volumes on the key concepts of Sufism, which is entitled The Emerald Hills of the Heart. In this work, Gulen examines the traditional Sufi understanding of spirituality, morality, and metaphysics, with a constant emphasis on the human perfection to be realized by dedication to the eternal values of the Divine, especially mercy, compassion, love, and generosity, all expressed by the divine name of Rahman. This latter attribute of God has an outstanding significance in the spiritual system of Sufism, as it signifies the character of the ideal human being. Traditionally called al-insan al-kamil, this ideal individual is to be the greatest manifestation of the name of Rahman, namely the greatest representative of “The Most Merciful and Generous One” in the universe. Here is the necessary intersection of service to God and service to humankind and all creation. As Gulen reiterates in his article on al-insan al-kamil, the true spirituality requires the embracement of all creation, especially the human existence, as well as the dedication to the betterment of society, for the sake of the Creator, who is first of all the Lord of mercy and generosity.

Source: http://www.hizmetesorulanlar.org/in_what_ways_is_gulen_spiritual.html
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Monday, January 14, 2013

Little Known Facts about the EU: A new responsibility for the Gulen Movement

Hon. Paul Lych
While researching on the Internet with regard to violent extremism, I came across with an outstanding conference seminar of Hon. Paul Lych, Consul General of the UK, in the Gulen Institute, which is a well – known institute in Houston, TX promoting the ideas of Gulen movement. As a part of Gulen Movement the institute is based on the idea to develop interfaith and intercultural dialogue among communities and cultures. Currently, there is no doubt that the movement has gone beyond the borders of Turkey and transformed from a local movement to a global social movement over the course of the last two decades.

In his speech, basically, Lych talked about violent extremism in the UK and also aptly emphasized that the UK has significant amount of experience on violent extremism of various religions or religious groups. He said that at that time there were almost 2 million Muslims and half of them was born in the homeland according to 2001 Census. Lych also added that Muslims had 1,000 years history in the Britain mainland where the first mosque was built in 1889.

The above mentioned facts reveals that Muslims have been inseparable components of the Western World. If we consider the fact that half of the Muslim population are native British citizens, they are not supposed to return their parent's hometowns in future. Sooner or later, Western countries have understood the necessity to understand minority communities living in their homelands. At this point, Lych addressed the importance of developing religious programs to help Muslim communities to better understand the faith of Islam. The worst thing that can happen for a person is to be the enemy of the community that he or she has grown up. Unfortunately, this was the case in London bombings in 2005 or in Norway shootings last year. All the attackers have grown in their respective countries and have somehow developed violent extremist ideas and relations before the attacks.

Therefore, nowadays, according to Lych the UK government is supporting programs and intitutes, and developing partnerships with leading Islamic organizations to deliver the faith of Islam in a proper way in the late 2000s. That is the point where Gulen movement's responsibility starts. Because this is a clear goodwill on the side of the Western world; however, it is a clear responsibility on the side of Gulen movement in the context of Islam. It is more than a mission, because the goals are defined by the movement in a mission; however, since it is a responsibility, as to Lych's speech, it is time for Gulen Movement to fulfill the gap, take the responsibility and create collaborations with the UK or other demanding countries to deliver the faith of Islam to Islamic communities of Western countries.

Source: http://www.gulenmovement.com/op-ed/171-little-known-facts-about-the-eu-a-new-responsibility-for-the-gulen-movement

“Combating Extremism in the UK-Government and Communities Working Together”
Hon. Paul Lynch - Consul General of the United Kingdom
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Monday, January 7, 2013

Scholars to discuss tolerance at Hizmet Movement conference

Fethullah Gulen
The China Post news staff -- Scholars from Taiwan, Turkey, the United States and Japan meet in Taipei this weekend for a conference on the Hizmet Movement, a faith-inspired social movement that calls for tolerance. The Hizmet Movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish native Fethullah Gulen, began in the late 1960s as an initiative to build dormitories for university students. Today, followers build schools, charities and platforms for interfaith and intercultural communication.

The movement differentiates itself from extremist Islamic beliefs with its emphasis on peaceful intercultural dialogue and respect, said Osman Cubuk, Vice Chairman of the Taipei-based Formosa Institute.

Formosa Institute organizes seminars, conferences, panels and luncheons and interfaith dialogue dinners to promote diversity and multiculturalism in Taiwan. The institute is co-organizing this weekend's conference with National Taiwan University's College of Social Sciences.

The "International Conference on the Hizmet Movement and the Thought and Teachings of Fethullah Gulen: Contributions to Multiculturalism and Global Peace" takes place Dec. 8-9 at National Taiwan University's College of Social Sciences.

Scholars from Taiwan, Turkey, the United States and Japan are to discuss issues such as Gulen's contributions to democracy, modern Islamic theology, science, education and charity as well as the structure, development and finance of the movement.

Source: The China Post
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Turkish schools abroad: a global phenomenon

Dr. Seyfettin Gursel
Two weeks ago, I was in northern Iraq, the region controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with my colleagues from Zaman. We had a very informative exchange of views with KRG personalities about the collaboration between Ankara and Arbil on the exploration of natural resources (see my article "Kurdish oil: a strategic shift," Dec. 14, 2012).
 
During our stay we had also the opportunity to visit Fethullah Gulen-inspired Turkish schools to meet some of the managers as well as teachers.
 
This was my third visit to these schools. Years ago I visited those of South Africa, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A very similar story is found in each case. A handful of volunteers arrive in difficult times and succeed in tearing out required authorizations in an atmosphere of suspicion. They move on to build their first school with the support of donations coming from the faithful of some Anatolian city. After the first school proves its high performance in educating students and once the local authorities are reassured that there is no obscure political or ideological aim behind the institution, the way is opened wide for enlarging the school's presence.
 
In Iraq the saga began in 1994 with 74 students in Arbil at a time when an armed confrontation between Kurds and then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein raged on, isolating the country's north. The second school opened in Sulaimaniya, but beyond that the number remained limited to four till 2004. After the fall of Saddam, an explosion occurred. According to Talip Büyük, general director of the Fezalar Education Company, there are now 30 Turkish schools in Iraq, 18 of which were established in northern Iraq and 12 in the territories controlled by Baghdad. As many as 12,000 students are enrolled in these schools. Naturally, the question comes to mind: How many of these schools are there worldwide? I asked the question to Celal Uşak, a board member of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV). Uşak estimates that there are about 1,000 in approximately 150 countries, employing 10,000 teachers from Turkey. No doubt that we are facing an astonishing global phenomenon whose long-term implications are difficult to predict from where we stand.
 
This phenomenon has been puzzling me for a long time. How do these schools work? What are the keys items behind their success? What are the mission and limits of this global phenomenon? I cannot claim to be able to fully answer these questions, only to give some personal perspectives. The educational system is quite similar to foreign schools established in Turkey during Ottoman times. Mathematics and scientific courses are in English, taught by Turkish teachers, while social courses are in the countries' native languages, handled by local teachers. English and Turkish language education is very important. For example, in Iraqi schools there are 16 hours of English and 12 hours of Turkish per week. We met by coincidence in an Arbil mall a Kurdish student, Berhevan, who actually teaches English in the Mosul school. We were impressed by Berhevan's fluent Turkish.
 
The performance of the graduates in university entry exams is undisputable. Last year Selahaddin Eyyubi, one such school in Sulaimaniya, had seven of their students in the top 10 KRG baccalaureate students. I asked Ali Çavdar, a math teacher and the vice president of the committee responsible for educational matters, to account for this success. The key word is "a dynamic educational process" for staff, Çavdar said, some kind of learning-by-doing program for the educators themselves. Workshops are regularly organized for the teachers, aiming to improve their skills. Mr. Çavdar told me that a laboratory workshop was going on right now in which university professors of physics, chemistry and biology from Turkey were showing experiments to the young Turkish teachers. He told me also that the experienced teachers regularly show the beginners teaching methods.
 
The entry into schools requires high performance on entry exams for students even though there are school fees. Last year, in the Arbil school, 5,000 students applied for 400 places. I have to note that the fees are quite affordable for the middle class. Turkish teachers receive salaries similar to the salaries of local teachers, which makes the Turkish schools very attractive vis-à-vis their competitors when comparisons are made on price to quality. Once the startup cost is financed from Turkey, the schools are able to produce sufficient income to finance new ones.
 
Obviously, the fundamental factor behind the success of Turkish schools is the spirit of the mission of the people who belong to the faith-based social movement which supports the schools. What is this mission? I am not able to answer this question, but nothing I have seen indicates it is Islamization.

Source: Today's Zaman December 21, 2012

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hizmet movement could be powerful argument for education: scholar

Conference on Hizmet [Gulen] Movement in Taiwan
Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) The Hizmet movement, a social movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, could be a powerful argument for the theory that people need only good education to bring out the goodness in them, a U.S. scholar said Saturday.

Mark Owen Webb, chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Texas Tech University, said schoolchildren in southeastern Turkey told him during a visit he made in 2008 that they would have become extremist had it not been for the schools built by supporters of the movement and their teachers.

The Hizmet (Turkish world for "service") movement began as a faith-inspired initiative in the 1970s to improve education in Turkey and grew into a civic movement around the world that encourages interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

The movement has inspired the building of schools and other educational institutes in some 140 countries, and the establishment of charities and hospitals, as well as media such as Zaman newspaper, Turkey's largest circulating daily.

Scholars from Taiwan and abroad gathered at a two-day international conference in Taiwan that kicked off Saturday to discuss the teachings and practices of Gulen, a scholar, educator and author who has millions of followers worldwide.

Parents of the children believe the spirit of Hizmet "makes schools that produce well-trained citizens of strong moral character," Webb said.

He said schools affiliated with the Hizmet movement emphasize science, math and language education. Religious subjects are not taught, but teachers are expected to model good moral character, he added.

The schools are financed by sponsors and businessmen and offer the same curricula as public schools, he said.

If the changes in southeast Turkey can be attributed, even in part, to the Hizmet movement, it is a powerful argument for the educational theory that people have the resources to live together in peace and need only the support of good education to realize their basic goodness, Webb said.

It also provides an example of one way to reform damaged societies, he said.

Gulen, 71, is known for making the remark "a terrorist cannot be a Muslim, nor can a true Muslim be a terrorist," after the Sept. 11 Muslim terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001.

Meanwhile, Lin Mei-rong, a professor at Taiwan's Tzu Chi University, said people often think that the religious field is conservative.

She said, however, that both the Hizmet movement and the Buddhist Tzu Chi movement initiated by Buddhist nun Cheng Yen, which stresses charity, medicine, education and culture, are innovative religious movements that correspond to calls for change.

Ahmet Gurhanli, chairman of the Taipei-based Formosa Institute, which organized the conference, said his institute has been organizing lectures and academic conferences to promote mutual understanding and social harmony.

He said the Hizmet movement is "often misunderstood" and expressed belief that the movement "could be a good cure for Islamic phobia."

Published on Focus Taiwan, December 11, 2012

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Friday, December 7, 2012

Hizmet movement wins hearts with education, charity: scholar

Conference on Hizmet Movement in Taiwan
Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) A social movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen differentiates itself from extremist Islamic views by winning hearts with education and charity, a Taiwanese scholar said Monday.

Some think that Muslims are belligerent toward those with different religious views, but Gulen believes in influencing people with one's heart instead of force, Lin Chin-ming, assistant professor in Asian Studies at Tamkang University, told CNA.

Fethullah Gulen, a scholar, educator and author, has millions of followers worldwide. He is known for making the remark: "A terrorist cannot be a Muslim, nor can a true Muslim be a terrorist," after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists in the U.S. in 2001.

The Hizmet (the Turkish word for "service") movement, inspired by Gulen, began in the late 1960s as an initiative to build dormitories for university students and later expanded into the fields of education, charity and cultural interactions.

Its supporters build schools, charity organizations and encourage interfaith and intercultural dialogue around the world, according to the Taipei-based Formosa Institute, which follows the teachings of Gulen.

Wang Ding-shu, a Russian studies professor at National Chengchi University who has been studying Turkey, said the Hizmet movement is more progressive and more in line with the world trend compared with more conservative Islamic thought.

He touted the movement's advocacy of tolerance, love and dialogue as a "correct direction" and said he believes the movement will be well-accepted in Taiwan.

Osman Cubuk, vice chairman of the institute, said the Hizmet movement aims to facilitate mutual understanding and respect between different cultures and stresses the importance of education.

"Our purpose is not to promote Islamic culture but to resolve our common problems, including clashes between civilizations, war, poverty and environmental pollution," Cubuk said, adding that cultural interaction is needed to address those problems.

He said his institute hopes to cooperate with more groups in Taiwan to address these common problems.

Scholars from Taiwan and abroad are expected to attend an international conference on the movement in Taipei Dec. 8-9.


Published on Focus Taiwan, December 6, 2012
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Monday, December 3, 2012

Taipei conference to explore Islamic social movement

Fethullah Gulen
Taipei, Dec. 3 (CNA) An international conference to be held in Taipei next weekend aims to explore the impact of an Islamic scholar's thoughts and approaches to education, dialogue, peace and charity work, organizers said Monday.

The conference, slated to take place Dec. 8-9, will focus on the impact of the Hizmet (the Turkish word for "service") Movement, a civic movement initiated by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen in the late 1960s to address problems of educational system in the world.

Scholars from Taiwan and abroad will also discuss the movement's contribution to democracy, religious peace and interfaith and intercultural dialogue, and compare the thoughts of Gulen with Chinese Confucian thinking.

Gulen, a scholar, educator and author, has millions of followers, mostly Turkish, around the world, said the Formosa Institute, which is co-organizing the conference with the Taiwan Association of Islamic Studies.

The Hizmet (Gulen) Movement involved a few university students and small-business owners when it was first initiated. Its first project was to build dormitories for students studying away from their hometowns and to fund their tuition and living expenses, the institute said.

From 1983, volunteers of the movement began building schools in Turkey and other countries and so far, over 1,000 schools have been built in some 140 countries, said the institute, which follows the teachings of Gulen.

The movement expanded into the ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1994, and from 1997, began advocating inter-religious and intercultural dialogue, as well as humanitarian aid, it said.

Charities such as "Helping Hands" and "Kimse Yok Mu" (Is Anybody There) were established to bring aid to needy people around the world, it said.

Kimse Yok Mu, for example, has raised funds and has built some 20 schools for victims of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, flooding in Bangladesh and earthquakes in Pakistan, Peru and Haiti, it added.

Gulen's thoughts also inspired the founding of Zaman newspaper, the largest circulating daily in Turkey, the weekly magazine Aksiyon and Turkey's Cihan News Agency, which is active in more than 50 countries, the institute said.

The conference, held under the banner "Hizmet Movement and the Thoughts and Teachings of Fethullah Gulen: Contributions to Multiculturalism and Global Peace," will take


Published on Focus Taiwan, December 3, 2012
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Conference on Hizmet Movement to be held in Taipei

Hizmet Movement and the Thought and Teachings of Fethullah Gulen: Contributions to Multiculturalism and Global Peace


Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) An international conference on the Hizmet Movement, a civic movement inspired by the Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, will be held in Taipei to promote its teachings and practices in Taiwan, organizers said Thursday.

The conference, held under the banner "Hizmet Movement and the Thought and Teachings of Fethullah Gulen: Contributions to Multiculturalism and Global Peace," is slated to take place Dec. 8-9 at National Taiwan University's College of Social Sciences.

Scholars from Taiwan, Turkey, the United States and Japan will discuss issues ranging from faith-inspired social movements and the structure, development and finance of the movement to Gulen's contributions to democracy, modern Islamic theology, science, education and charity, said the Taipei-based Formosa Institute, which is co-organizing the event with the Taiwan Association of Islamic Studies.

They will also discuss the philosophy of Hizmet (the Turkish word for "service"), compare Gulen's philosophy with Confucian thinking, and discuss the movement's stance on gender issues, the institute said.

Similar conferences have been held in countries including the U.S. and Britain, said the institute, an organization inspired by the teachings of Gulen and other intellectual and spiritual leaders.

Fethullah Gulen, a scholar, educator and author who advocates a moderate brand of Islam, has millions of followers around the world. He is known for making the remark "a terrorist cannot be a Muslim, nor can a true Muslim be a terrorist," after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001.

In July 2008, the 71-year-old Islamic scholar, who now lives in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, was voted by readers of the U.S.' Foreign Policy magazine and Britain's Prospect magazine as the world's top public intellectual in a poll.

Fethullah Gulen has inspired the founding of hundreds of schools, hospitals and businesses around the world, including schools in 140 countries.

His teachings advocate tolerance, peace and intercultural and interfaith dialogue, as well as mutual understanding among different religious and ethnic groups.

Work done by Gulen followers focus on issues ranging from democracy, multiculturalism and globalization to civil society and intercultural dialogue, the institute said.

Published on Focus Taiwan on November 29, 2012
(By Christie Chen)

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Fethullah Gulen – a humanist par excellence

Fethullah Gulen

This was consensus among speakers at an international conference on “Ideal human and ideal society in the thoughts of M Fethullah Gulen,” arranged at the Punjab University Law College Auditorium on Wednesday.

Fethullah Gulen is a key figure in Turkey and abroad. He is known as the founder of the Hizmet movement.

Senior faculty members and researchers from universities of Pakistan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Northern Ireland and USA spoke at the conference and presented their papers.

They included Linkages Director (External) Dr Maria Maldonado, Member of Turkish Parliament Dr Muhammad Cetin, Turkey’s Kaynak Holdings Chairman Nasi Tosun, The Fountain magazine editor Hakan Yesilova, Rumi Forum Pakistan Chairman Haron Koken, Lahore chapter Director Mesut Kacamz and Gallop Survey of Pakistan Chairman Dr Ijaz Shafi Gillani.

PU Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Liaquat Ali said in his inaugural address that all-out efforts had been made for the successful organisation of the conference and it was hoped that the moot would achieve its goals.

Presiding over the first session of the conference, Islamia University Bahawalpur Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Mukhtar said he was personally impressed by the thoughts of Fethullah Gulen whose clear message was globalisation.

“We should try to find out how we can transform our society into an ideal one in the light of Gulen’s thoughts,” he added.

Other speakers said Fethullah Gulen respected all religions and stressed in his teachings that a state that was neutral to religion was an ideal state. They said that Hizmet movement, which started in the late 1960’s, was a social movement and did not challenge or represent any government.

They said Hizmat Movement acted upon core Islamic principles and Gulen emphasised character building of individuals by making them part of the collective. The movement’s democratic component was collective decision making and implementing Islam’s Shoora principle. Fethullah Gulen believed in freedom of faith for all and provision of human rights to all.

In his message for the conference, Mr Gulen said raising a generation of ideal humans was not only a civic duty we had to shoulder; it was an indispensable one-way road for those of us who hold high hopes for the common future of humanity.

In the first session, Prof Dr Abida Ejaz, Dr Ihsan Yilmaz, Dr Alper Dede and Dr Johnston McMaster presented their research papers on different topics covering the theme of “Secularism, Democracy and Faith-based Activism”.

In the second session that was chaired by University of Management and Technology Rector Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad, Dr Maria Isabel Maldonado, Dr Aalia Sohail Khan, Ijaz Shafi Gillani, Dr Seema Arif and Dr Salih Yucel presented research papers on topics covering the theme of “Gulen’s philosophy on life, meaning and language.”

In the third session, chaired by University of Education Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Faizul Hasan, Dr Radhi al-Mabuk, Dr Ali Unsal, Dr Hafeezur Rehman, Dr Raazia Hassan Naqvi and Ibrar Mohmand, Dr Nabi Bux Jumani and Abdul Jabbar Bhatti presented research papers on topics covering the title of “Hizmet perspectives on education”.

Isra University Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Asadullah Qazi presided over the concluding session in which Dr Abdul Basit Mujahid, Dr Umbreen Javed, Muhammad Nawab and Muhammad Osman and Dr Bassem K Khafagy presented papers on “Case studies on Hizmet”.

Published on Dawn.com, November 21, 2012

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