Book on Fethullah Gulen's teachings to be taught at Belarus universities

A group of academics from Belarus were in İstanbul on Tuesday for the presentation of the book “Social and Philosophical Aspects of the Teaching of Fethullah Gulen: The Look of Belarusian Intellectuals,” which will be used in the county's universities as a course book.
The academics, who are experts in the fields of philosophy, sociology, political science and philology, compiled the book, which is dedicated to the ideas and published works of respected Islamic scholar and intellectual Fethullah Gulen.

Anatoliy Rubanov, the dean of Belarusian State University's faculty of philosophy and social sciences, noted that the country has started to learn about Turkey in the last 20 years. Rubanov stated that Muslims and Christians live peacefully in Belarus, saying: “Muslims are always very tolerant and gentle. If somebody in Belarus says that Muslims are violent and aggressive, nobody believes him. Fethullah Gulen shows us the value of tolerance.”

Professor Svetlana Vinokurova, vice rector of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts, said that the name of the book has a special meaning for the academicians. “I do not know what “to look” means in Turkish, but, in the language of Belarus it means love and liking at first sight. When Belarus intellectuals looked at Fethullah Gulen, they liked his teachings. It is not possible to appreciate the teachings of Gulen immediately as he is a deep intellectual, philosopher and wise person,” added the vice rector. Vinokurova also noted that Gulen has established indestructible bridges between Turkey and Belarus, and she gives high praise to Fethullah Gulen for his contributions to world peace.

“When I first learned about the teachings of Gulen, I saw that the ideas of Gulen are notions that might draw the attention of every person. It was impossible for us to ignore his teachings. The most significant reason for compiling such a book was to acquaint others with the valuable ideas of Gulen and help people in our country learn about his teachings,” continued Vinokurova.

According to Professor Marina Tenyanko, the book is not compiled through the eyes of a journalist or some citizen, it is a synthesis of results obtained from scientific research. Saying that Gulen has demonstrated what can be achieved though tolerance, mutual respect and love, Tenyanko added: “Gulen's thoughts make mutual interactions [between people] inevitable. Interactions can result in peace or war. Thus, people should understand each other to maintain good interactions.”

Published on Today's Zaman, 10 October 2012, Wednesday

An untold African story: Gulen Movement activities

 

I had the privilege of traveling to Africa recently. It was somewhat a whirlwind tour of 4 countries - South Africa, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Kenya and Ethiopia. It was full of many surprises. I hope to share some of my thoughts and feelings over the course some words in this article.
The purpose of this journey was to discover and note the Hizmet activities (commonly referred to as the Gulen Movement in academic circles). For the uninitiated, Hizmet is a loosely connected group of individuals and NGOs inspired by the ideas and ideals of Fethullah Gulen - a Turkish Muslim scholar and thinker. The movement's activities span some 140 or so countries occupying an important place in the field of education, intercultural dialogue, health and relief activities. The main emphasis is a selfless approach to serving all others while personally gaining God's pleasure.

During my visit to Horizon International School in Johannesburg , which is privately funded, I met one of the teachers. He was a local young man who happened to also be a graduate of the same school to which he was now a teacher. His warm smile gleamed over his humble demeanor. He took me on a tour of the school. Many doors and windows were reinforced - unfortunately robbery was one of the common crimes in the area. Only the week before some new televisions were stolen. Like his peers this teacher was dedicated to his teaching, being a role model for each of his students - as were his teachers who only were teaching him a few years previously - now those same teachers were his colleagues. He had a great deal of respect for this school. It had taken him out of the slums of Soweto. Even more miraculous was his own personal family story.

He was kind enough to invite us to his home - now out of the slums. His mother was a pastor of a local 500 member Protestant church. What stood out in this household was the story of his missing siblings. He had fours brother. The two older were now in prison for murders, having received 40 year prison sentences . The two younger, (a sad irony) had been killed in gang fighting. He was the success story in the family. His mother, protective of her son, was the proudest mother in the neighborhood. And pleased to have her son associated with and teaching at this Hizmet school.

The essence of these schools is typified in the above story. Taking individuals and their associated families and being a catalyst for them to shine - to remove the despair of the communities they belong to and the gruesome social conditions they may find themselves in. The school communities that are formed do not only play a positive role in the lives of its students, but as part of the wider school family touch the lives of students’ families, their relatives and friends and the neighborhoods from which they come. Such Hizmet schools - and it’s becomes quite fitting and appropriate that the movement calls itself hizmet meaning ‘service’ - become beacons of hope as graduates play a role in giving something back through service. This can come in the form of volunteering time, financial support - or those that are so moved by the teaching vocation, come back to teach at the school.

The ripple effect these schools have is tremendous. They provide a safe haven, a kind of ‘peace island’ - a term coined by Gulen - for all those associated with the school. Those not directly associated with the school take comfort in knowing the school is a role model for other educational institutions. And just as important they show-case that no matter how adverse the conditions are that stories like the one above are possible and with time probable and expected. Given the conditions, the teachers of these hizmet schools have outdone themselves,. They should be proud of their achievements but yet resilient to the excesses of immodesty. Such success breeds success and in an area that can be barrain of ‘good news’ this school stands out and needs to be applauded.

And the moral to the story ? These schools are doing fantastics things in many remote places under very difficult circumstances servicing students and families that are also in great need. And this and other stories need to be both understood and told.

Kudos to them !
by Emre Celik
President of the Rumi Forum

Published on www.fethullahgulen.org, 05 October 2012, Friday

The Gulen Movement-Inspired Schools Effect: Muslims and Christians connect for peace

Fountain Magazine held a conference recently, titled "Peacebuilding Through Education", in New York in cooperation with the Peace Islands Institute. Some institutions were honored with the best practice award, as they have served the peacebuilding under difficult conditions. Among the honorees was The Filipino–Turkish Tolerance School (FTTS), Zamboanga, The Philippines. Below is an article about this school serve peacebuilding. The article also includes a story about some Kurdish youth in South Eastern Turkey.

Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School

By Suat Erguvan for Silent Heroes, Invisible Bridge

Most children of the picturesque city of Zamboanga in the Philippines' troubled south are groomed to be cautious in making friends believing in a different religion.

Zamboanga Peninsula, the sixth most populous region and the third geographically largest in the Philippines, is home to 70 percent Christians and 30 percent Buddhist and Muslim people.

The peninsula has been in the headlines for Moro Islamic Liberation Front's militancy against security agencies. The Muslim outfit brands its actions as 'freedom struggle' which has taken heavy toll on civilian lives over the past two decades.

The Christian and Muslim communities have adapted to live in a tense equilibrium, with fire fights and bomb blasts claiming precious lives on one hand, and soaring number of unconstitutional disappearances on the other.

Wherever the two enraged communities live side by side, traffic on the roads dividing them becomes litmus test for peace or unrest in the vicinity.

While compatriot tourists visit the country's southern peninsula exercising caution, some foreigners are seen calmly working in a Zamboanga school.

Since 1997, Turk educationists are sowing the seeds of tolerance and co-existence through the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance High School located in the heart strife-torn region.

With humble beginning of 89 students, the institution today has boarding and teaching facilities for over 1,000 students. The school gets equal attention of Christian and Muslims parents and their offsprings.

"It also has one of the best dormitories not only in Zamboanga, but in Mindanao. The Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School, considered one of the best in the region, has produced a number of students that topped in many international competitions and were even cited for their excellent educational skills," noted The Mindanao Examiner newspaper in one of its story in 2007.

Encouraged by the vision of a Turkish Muslim scholar, M. Fethullah Gülen, over 1,500 non-governmental Turkish educational institutions have spread to almost 115 countries worldwide.

The schools, also working in collaboration with local businessmen, strive to provide students with a learning environment to "make them acquire solid competencies in critical thinking, creative problem solving, consensus building, informed decision making and technical literacy."

Fr. Thomas Michel, Ph.D, Secretary General of Interfaith Dialogue Council in Rome, Italy, visited the Turkish tolerance schools in 1995, in Zamboanga.

"The Turkish and Filipino staff's proud claim was a stunning reality for me as Muslims and Christian students were getting education with true spirit of a culture of dialogue and tolerance," Fr. Michel shared these remarks with gatherings around the world.

He noted that children befriended their class fellows regardless of religious divides, thus their parents not only started communicating with each other but also eventually cooperate for children and community's future both.

During a visit to Turkey in September 2009, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroy expressed need for increase in the number of Turkish schools to help "strengthen mutual relations". She vowed to learn from Turkey's experience "in helping the people of different faiths in our nation to accept one another."

Last October, Philippines' Ambassador to Turkey Pedro Chan said his country wanted to open honorary consulates in Turkey's northern province of Samsun and northwestern province of Bursa.

The Philippines is not an exception in strengthening bilateral relations with Turkey after fruitful contribution of schools. Many African nations saw following the Turkish embassy years after the voluntary Turkish schools made their mark.

Recollecting his experiences in the Philippines, Ahmet Yamakoglu, former Principal of the Phillipines-Turkish Tolerance School, recalls a meeting of Kayseri philanthropist businessmen with Governor of Zamboanga Mrs Maria Clara Lobregat.

Ahmet quotes the governor as saying, "You have changed the misconceptions formed in our minds owing to the unfortunate clashes between the Muslims and Christians, and you made us love Muslims and Islam."

On occasion of the Philippines National Day, Ahmet recollects, "When our students were parading before her, she stood up and announced to the public: And now my new children are passing out before us!"

This success did not come in platter for the Turkish educationists. Long after submitting papers for opening schools in Manila, the Turks received no results owing to the deep-seated suspicions of the central government about Muslims.

Only in 2001, the final decision for opening the school was passed; however then slow-moving bureaucracy still had question marks about presence of Muslims educationists in the conflict zone. Until Mrs Maria assigned her parliamentarian son Celso Lobregat to facilitate her Turkish friends with the processes, hopes were dim.

Celso Lobregat told his politician colleagues, "We fought with Muslims for many years in the Mindanao region. There might have been no bloodshed in the south if we had them many years ago."

Thus, the Turkish NGO got permission in style to open more branches back then.

Before dying Mrs Maria bequeathed her wish to Celso Lobregat to be the beneficiary of the Turkish schools in the Philippines. Lobregat became the Governor of Zamboanga and Turkish school quietly spread their message of co-existence and tolerance.

Such experiences have borne fruit in Turkey as well where Kurdish militants are attacking civilian and security personnel indiscriminately, alleged at the behest of external factors.

Abdullah Aymaz, a Turkish educationist, recalls a touching incident involving two Kurdish-speaking students who went on rampage in school 15 days after enrolling and lodging in the school.

Realising sensitive nature of the region, the principal treated the students with affection.

One of the students, whose name has been kept anonymous, is quoted as saying: "We were told so many negative things about you that we hated you and we came to burn the school, but we couldn't."

In another incident, a student from Cizre - a Turkish town near the Syrian border - wrote to the principal, "Until recently, I used to see Turks as our sworn enemies but now I loved you all. If you had come here earlier, terrorism might not have been here." The youngster regretted about his uncle who has adopted Kurdish guerilla lifestyle in the mountains.

The bar of expectations from the Turkish schools' peacebuilding role is rising world over as many Muslim and non-Muslim geographies, too, long for tranquility and peaceful coexistence.


Published on Silent Heroes, 04 October 2012, Thursday

Related Acticles:
New York conference highlights Turkish schools' contribution to world peace
Fethullah Gulen's message to the conference entitled "Peacebuilding through Education"
Fethullah Gulen schools or Gulen-inspired schools?

Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/gulenmovement