In my opinion this sort of a movement (Gulen Movement) at this age and time is not just important; I think it is critical and essential to the world, especially in my opinion in portraying people of different faiths, particularly after September 11th there has been a general perception in the world in the media about fanatism fundamentalism being associated with people of the Islamic faith which is very unfortunate, because there are a lot of good peace-loving people; I think Fethullah Gulen has done a lot to bringing about tolerance and peace, exchange of ideas. I think it is just amazing; it is just an amazing set of ideals, and all the people we met seem to be living in this world of tolerance, loving and giving. It is quite interesting; I actually told Mehmet and the other assistant director of MID (Rumi Forum Maryland) who came to my office to meet me to invite me were very nice people, they were very kind and generous, they brought gifts; they were so nice; they took photos. I thought they were wonderful people, if I didn’t feel positive and wonderful about them, I would not even have decided to come to Turkey. The funny thing is now I feel like so close, it is almost scary, it is like such great friends, I feel if I have problem I can wake up in the morning and say “Help! Help! I need help”; I feel like it is more like a brotherhood sisterhood friendship, and it is very difficult, it is not, you don’t feel like that way with everybody so … I am gonna start crying now already…
Well, I think what struck me was the fact that people are all more similar than they are dissimilar. For example, obviously, what we saw the beautiful architectural sites, the historic sites, the palaces, the kind people, their generosity, all the politicians we met, each of them, ultimately they want to do good for their country, their people, they want to create peace and harmony. Many of them are obviously affiliated with the Gulen movement. Their whole being exudes with love and caring and concern for humanity which is quite unique and actually it is almost they are much nicer than most other people so you almost start to feel that “God I wish we could be more like these people”. If everybody followed this philosophy and this policy and this type of attitude of loving and caring and generous sharing, the world would be such a better place, may be they would be less sadness and less killing and less jealousy and hatred. It is just wonderful, it is wonderful. I just hope we continue, all of us from our group to feel this way that it lasts with us for a long time, not just now.
… I mean, I think these (Gulen-Inspired Schools) are excellent role model schools. These schools are how you would want to dream of the bringing up the next generation, the future leaders of this country or this world because these are people that have accepted other people, other faiths, other countries, other religions, other communities. They have seen it and practiced it in Turkey to a large extent and that is what the Gulen movement preaches, the love and tolerance and dialog between communities and people. I think that the future of our world that these students can build will be an amazing future as I just alluded to. I think they are absolutely science for more peaceful and pro-dialog world. In the future I think that these students are very proud of whom they are, very please with whom they are. I think that one of the teachers explained with the triangle effect, with the parents, the student and the teacher in some sort of a relationship constantly. It is so important for a child to grow up knowing that you have the loving support of your family, the loving support of your teacher, and your own colleagues are competing with you and your own selves s o you have this incredible force. They don’t have time, I think somebody was talking; they don’t have time to be doing mixture for Shaitan (Evil) behavior; they have to focus on being positive good future role models and leaders for our, hopefully for the world, not just for our country, not just for Turkey.
… I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had not done a lot of homework previously on Turkey, and I usually do a lot of homework before I come but I think I was just very busy and stuff but I was expecting to see exotic places and see some beautiful architecture. I definitely was not thinking of such an incredible kind, generous group of people, so much love. I think in America there is so much self absorption with one’s self and one’s life that everything even parents and children, you know, it is not like the other cultures where there is a lot of love and harmony and giving and sharing. I think it was so like touching, it is actually, you just sit there and feel like, oh my God, this so amazing. May be the West can learn so much from the Turkish people in terms of loving and caring and giving. I think for most of us including myself although I grew up in India as a child with in the Indian army, and there were people of Muslim faith and Sikhs and Hindus and Christians, and we all grew up together, but it was very westernized. Here to see people practicing their faith, people choosing to whether wear miniskirts or shorts or pants or jeans or scarves on their head, that was unique. Because I think I lived for over twenty years in America and sometimes you almost think when you see people with the scarf we think that oh they must be fundamentalists, oh they must be different than us, but when you get to meet and talk to the people in the end we all more similar than we are dissimilar, umm and it is great because you kind of really see it here, you see we practiced in Turkey.
…yeah, I think Turkey has the advantage, and especially may be with the Gulen movement, with the most of the country or a huge portion of the country embracing Fethullah Gulen’s ideology and philosophy that there is love and tolerance, it is not the rigid version, it is not the more strict version of Islam you generally think of. Even though it seems to be bringing people back into wanting to practice Islam which I think for a long time there was a secular almost a secular nation, and a lot of the people in power today big group of them are purely secular and proud of Turkey being a secular nation, it seems like there is a movement to bring it back, but to look at it more as training and helping you to have a life that is more organized and streamlined and structured as opposed to, so that you can train your mind and body for example into praying for five times, doing certain things because the average person needs a milestone, needs something to keep them in the straight and narrow line. I think that it is practiced and it is lived up to in Turkey very differently than you would generally visualize in the general media because in the media especially in the United States general western media you get the impression that you know the term Islam equals to fundamentalist, equals to someone who is off to kill or to harm or do bad for the world. They never talk about the fundamental Christians, which is I think many people in the world are unfortunately are fundamental of every religion or many religions, umm, but they always talk about fundamentalist and Islam routinely when the two words are used. I think there are very nice people; in the end what do people want? People want the same thing, they want to have a family; they want to put food on the table for their children and their families, have a nice peaceful happy life. So we are more similar than we are dissimilar irrespective of which part of the world you come from, and so I think in Turkey you see that harmony more or less, so that was a good good experience.
…well before I came on this trip I had really no idea who Fethullah Gulen was. I know nothing about Fethullah Gulen. Mehmet was so kind to give me a book on Love and Tolerance by Fethullah Gulen and I reviewed it before coming on the trip; I even carried it at the journey. They are universal principle that are you know valuable and valid in any time in any space in any country. I can’t say in any religion because it is got to bear, the core and the base of it all is obviously Islamic, umm, but the Gulen movement and what it embodies seem to be the way that the world needs to work towards, a world of more love and tolerance to each other, a world where we can actually get along, and the fact that he, I know the next question talks about condemning the Al-Qaida terrorist acts; all of that sort of leads you to believe that he is a visionary and someone who came out strongly against terrorism and said, terrorism is anti-Islam, terrorism is not what we preach; we preach love and tolerance in our faith. I think it is time we, it is great that Fethullah Gulen has cleaned up the system and portrayed Islamic people in a positive life because we really needed to do that, otherwise the world was going to get more and more polarized, and it can’t be good for anybody if two sets of people start hating and distrusting each other with intensity.
…yeah, I even mentioned this today earlier in the TV station interview and the newspaper interview in Zaman that Turkey may have a role to play in some sense as a role model, because it is strategically located between the East and the West. It practices the general, a lot of the people practice Islam, Islamic faith under Fethullah Gulen’s teachings in general under the sort of broad umbrella of Fethullah Gulen’s movement of love and tolerance. And I think that it can play a very vital role and have a global reach, because as people at least make the attempt to constantly learn from each other and grow, then people will realize that we are all, as I said before, children of one God, we are not very different from each other, the color of our skin may look different, who we are, which country we were born, your parents were may be different, your financial status may be different but in the end everybody wants love peace and harmony in this world so that their children, the next generation can continue to live in a peaceful and harmonious world, and we have such; and I think that Fethullah Gulen has really hit the nail on the head by bringing this movement, by spreading it and by taking such a firm stand against terrorism right after September 11th which was height, which no, almost nobody else in the senior level position; governments haven’t said much, people haven’t said much, and I think people were just afraid and nervous, and he took a proactive stand and ran advertisements in papers, and I think that was just a fantastic strategic move, and it put Turkey on the map, and it put him obviously on the map…
