Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement

 I am Patricia Kelly. I am a nurse, I am from Maryland, and live in Washington DC, and I came on this trip, I have been feeling very sad and demoralized about the state of the world: all the anger and violence that exists in society and the changes in our country. I came to learn more about the core values of Islam, the teachings of Islam regarding violence, regarding women, and I was very impressed with the people in the Rumi Forum, and felt very very fortunate to have the opportunity to come to Turkey. The country’s level of development was something as I expected. The cultural monuments that I was able to see were incredible. It was such a learning experience for me and such a joy to see them. But of course the people that I have met, the people in the Gulen movement, I found overwhelming. It has heartened me very much to think that there are so many kind, caring, warm people so committed to principle, to work to make the world a better place. I had the laugh and the delight when I learnt that the plan for promoting world peace was to grow good people. It is so marvelous, a long term plan. It is very audacious in a way or a sign of great faith to believe that you can make world peace happen and make the world a better place. It is such a delight to be understanding that there is such a movement in the world. In addition, I have so enjoyed the conversations with my fellow trip participants, and again the warmth and kindness of all the people that I have met.