Inspired by Fethullah Gulen, Bay Area Turkish Muslims Host an Important Interfaith Gathering in San Francisco


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Last night I had the privilege of joining a group of over 200 people attending a dinner hosted by Bay Area Cultural Connections, a Turkish group dedicated to  "promote cross-cultural awareness and inter-religious tolerance through multicultural and interfaith programs."  The gathering brought together Muslims, Christians, and Jews, men and women of faith and education, formally to discuss "respect for the sacred" in each others cultures and informally to simply meet and get to know "the other". 

This was the most significant event of its kind that I have ever attended, if only because the room was full of moderate people who have found their voice and can show mutual respect for each other’s beliefs and traditions through social interaction.  Some men wore jacket and tie, others were in collared open shirts.  Some Islamic women wore hijab, others were in Western attire.  Many of the people I met were from Silicon Valley and engaged in technology businesses.

Five speakers (both clergy and business people) representing Muslim, Christian, and Jewish viewpoints addressed the guests and commented on topics ranging from the need to acknowledge our common heritage to advocacy of interfaith dialogue and the deliberate nature of diversity in our world.

The efforts of the BACC take root from the teachings of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamic scholar who currently lives in Philadelphia and has helped to establish 500 Islamic schools and universities in 90 countries that are open to interfaith dialogue. Gulen is also profiled in Wikipedia.

I applaud the organizers of this event at the BACC and hope that many more such gatherings take place in the U.S.  I met some interesting people and hope to keep in touch with them. Bravo!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 at 7:32 am and is filed under Foreign Policy, Interfaith Education, Islam, Israel, Jewish Arab Education, Leadership Profiles, Religious Pluralism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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8 Responses to “Inspired by Fethullah Gulen, Bay Area Turkish Muslims Host an Important Interfaith Gathering in San Francisco”

  1. kemal Says:
    October 26th, 2006 at 1:55 am

    it is a very good event.
    i believe people can understand each other very well by talking.

  2. Sulaiman Al-Kumayi, MA. Says:
    July 10th, 2007 at 8:02 pm

    I have known on Fethullah Gulen and I am very respect to him. He has inspired me to preach the religion that is love and peace and to lead tolerance, dialogue. For me, Gulen’s movement is very importand to introduce largely in entire world, so that is no one kills other in the name of God.
    I always prayer to Allah for Fethullah Gulen, may Allah bless and love him.
    Semarang, July 11 2007
    Sulaiman Al-Kumayi, MA.

  3. mehmet Says:
    September 9th, 2007 at 2:58 pm

    I jumped into this website from Google while i was searching for F Gulen. I think you should update the links in this article because they are not working right now, and also for the visitors http://www.fgulen.org is a very good source for everything. Sincerely,

  4. Pascal Levensohn Says:
    September 9th, 2007 at 3:07 pm

    Thanks very much– I am fixing the links.
    Pascal

  5. Chris Says:
    October 20th, 2009 at 3:50 am

    There is also an institute named as Gulen Institute, check out their website http://www.guleninsitute.org

  6. Moza Says:
    October 21st, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    Article about Mr. Gulen in New York Times.

    You can get more information about Mr. Gulen and Gulen Movement from below links at http://www.guleninstitute.org.

  7. Fethullah Gulen Says:
    June 29th, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    Fethullah Gülen is an authoritative mainstream Turkish Muslim scholar, thinker, author, poet, opinion leader and educational activist who supports interfaith and intercultural dialogue, science, democracy and spirituality and opposes violence and turning religion into a political ideology. Fethullah Gülen promotes cooperation of civilizations toward a peaceful world, as opposed to a clash:

    “Be so tolerant that your bosom becomes wide like the ocean. Become inspired with faith and love of human beings. Let there be no troubled souls to whom you do not offer a hand and about whom you remain unconcerned.” (Fethullah Gülen, Criteria or Lights of the Way. London: Truestar.)

    Please visit the following links to get more information about Fethullah Gulen.
    Fethullah Gulen
    Fethullah Gulen Blog

  8. Fethullah Gulen Says:
    June 29th, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    Gulen movement participants have founded a number of institutions across the world which promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue activities. During the 1990s he began to advocate interreligious tolerance and dialogue. He personally met with leaders of other religions, including Pope John Paul II, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, and Israeli Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron.

    Please visit the following links to get more information about Fethullah Gulen.
    Gulen Movement
    Fethullah Gulen

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