The Chicago-based Niagara Foundation, an organization established with the support of the local Turkish community that seeks to promote peace in society and intercultural dialogue, presented its 5th Peace and Dialogue Awards on Wednesday.

A couple of weeks ago, during our regular intellectual discussion with prominent scholars of their own fields, we ended up talking about suicide bombings and violence in the name of God. The group had no doubt that all faith systems unequivocally forbid terrorist activities, but also they were curious about the long standing ideologies of some so-called radical religious clergy.

For more than a decade, one of the world's most influential and controversial Muslim leaders has been convalescing on 26 acres in the Pocono Mountains.

Ahmet Kurucan, in his article in Today’s Zaman, exposes Mr. Fethullah Gulen’s frustration from being misunderstood by his adversaries. As a theologian who has known Gulen for decades, Ahmet Kurucan is very successful in reflecting Mr. Gulen’s thoughts and agony caused by this frustration.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has commended the work of nongovernmental organizations such as the Gülen Institute which endeavor to bring people together irrespective of their backgrounds and make them feel that they are working to achieve the same goals.

The event, sponsored by the American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA) and the Mid-Atlantic Federation of Turkic American Associations (MAFTAA) was held at the Langley High School in Virginia. Contestants from North Carolina, Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia and Delaware competed in different categories including singing, poetry recital and folk dance.

No matter the reason or aim, terrorism can never be approved of. Terrorism, which threatens a value as sacred as human life and which eliminates societal security, is an action so degenerate that it cannot be approved of by any religion, understanding or viewpoint.

The Cape of Good Hope lived up to its name as nearby Cape Town played host to a conference on the potential contributions of the Gulen movement’s ideas and practices to reconciliation in South Africa.