Inspiring Words

2010 Annual Peace and Dialogue Awards

The Rumi Forum held its 4th Annual Peace and Dialogue Awards on October 26 at the National Press Club, Washington DC. Individuals and organizations dedicated to peace and dialogue were recognized for their contributions to the community by way of increasing social harmony and understanding between communities. This year's recipients were:

• The Honorable Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education;
• The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC Congresswoman,
• Unity Productions Foundation, Alex Kronemer & Michael Wolfe
• Didier Drogba, President, Didier Drogba Foundation

During the presentations, Senior Advisor Rev. Kenneth Bedell representing Hon. Arne Duncan said, "The Rumi Forum is an important partner in our shared work of creating a safe environment by promoting interfaith dialogue where we can all come to a better understanding of each other... Fethullah Gülen put it extremely well when he said: ‘In schools good manners should be considered just as important as other subjects. If they are not, how can children grow up with sound character? Education is different from teaching.' That's what we believe at the Department of Education. Good manners are different from teaching" Hon. Eleanor Norton said," Your mission of improving interfaith and intercultural dialogue makes me want to bring you to the Congress of the United States. I regard the award you've been kind enough to give me as one I can accept only as an inspiration to take back the spirit of Rumi to the House, where I serve,”

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Some Quotes from luncheon guest speakers

Douglas Jehl and Raju Narisetti

"In the last 10 years, about 170 newspapers have closed in the USA. And it’s out of 400 newspapers. So it’s a pretty significant problem and challenge for industry. The flipside of it is that there also has never been a better time to be in the news business, by that I mean there have never been more readers of news period than there are now. It just so happens that a large number of them consume news online, rather in true printer publications."

Jack Goldstone

"I would agree that there is a clash of civilizations in the world, but it is not a clash between Muslims and the west and between Chinese and the west or between Hindus and Muslims. Rather the real clash is between those who are committed to a view of human society that honors individual freedom and those who are committed to view of society that focuses on communal obligation and conformity to a communal ideal."

Maureen Fiedler, SL

"The basic thesis of the book is that women are emerging as leaders in the world of religion, just as they are in many other professions and walks of life across the board and it’s a trend that I think needs to be noted."

Mirsad “Miki” Jacevic

"As a Muslim living now in America I am often challenged how very rarely we hear good news about the great work of many many Muslim leaders not just in America but around the world to promote dialogue to promote tolerance and build this bridges."

Robert A. Pape

"Just as smoking triggers lung cancer, foreign occupation triggers both secular and religious attackers."

Joshua W. Walker

"What’s happening today in the US and in Turkey is the fact that both are democracies which is usually a good thing, but when it comes to democracies in which there are nationalist and populist forces, there gonna be problems. I think what we are seeing today is almost mere images of each other."

Donna F. Edwards

"As I look across the world the challenges that we face internationally actually are not that much different than the ones we face domestically in terms of people understanding each other, working across different lines and thinking about ways to do that involve non-violence, education and openness to dialogue."

Qamar-ul Huda

"Jihad literally means struggle, so it is an intellectual struggle, spiritual struggle, service struggle, struggle to purify yourself struggle to serve others, but the last struggle, which somehow moved to the very first step in modern times, is a struggle to defend yourself if you are under attack and only state officials can determine when it’s time to fight to defend its borders."

Mark Rozell

"... the election was very much a reaction against not only certain policies of the Obama administration but more so a reaction against the general condition of the country that many people perceive is on the wrong track right now and typically what happens in the US elections of course is that the party in power whether fair or not gets the blame."

John Hope Bryant

"I think [one thing] that stood out for me... is that you guys are crazy! ...I just thought that, right at the middle I mean not nowhere, but geographically nowhere in the sense there is no geographic preference to where you build the school. I just thought it was crazy... Crazy like Jesus Christ; crazy like Abraham; crazy like Mahatma Gandhi; crazy like Rumi; crazy like Martin Luther King; crazy like Nelson Mandela... to think outside of the box."

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Ori Soltes,

2010 RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards - Rumi Forum

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The Honorable Arne Duncan,

2010 RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards - Rumi Forum

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The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton,

2010 RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards - Rumi Forum

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Michael Wolfe,

2010 RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards - Rumi Forum

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Alex Kronemer,

 2010 RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards - Rumi Forum

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Katherine Marshall,

 2010 RUMI Peace and Dialogue Awards - Rumi Forum

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Chicago Conference: Supporters Gather Over Gulen Movement

Scholars from around the world gathered for a conference in Chicago to tolk about the Gulen movement and Fethullah Gulen.  Organizers say the meeting was necessary because fear and hatred continue to influence public opinion and there is a need to focus on people and groups that promote peace and understanding.

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Rumi Forum President guest lecturer recently at American University

Rumi Forum President, Emre Celik was a guest lecturer recently at American University where he presented a talk on Fethullah Gulen and the movement inspired around his ideas. The course was on Contemporary Islam.

In The Media

Rumi Forum bestows Peace and Dialogue Awards

Ali H. Aslan, Today's Zaman

The Rumi Forum, a think tank established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to foster intercultural dialogue, has presented its traditional Peace and Dialogue Awards.   The 2010 Rumi Peace and Dialogue Awards ceremony was held on Tuesday at the National Press Club's Ballroom in Washington, D.C. The think thank gave awards to extraordinary individuals and organizations who have contributed much of their time, energy, leadership and dedication to the causes of dialogue, understanding, peace and community service.

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An evening of friendship

Newark Post

The American Turkish Friendship Association and the Rumi Forum Thursday night held their second annual Friendship Dinner at the Embassy Suites in Newark.

The theme of the dinner was The Art of Living Together and a number of speakers echoed that theme.

Reciving awards at the event were State Rep. Michael Ramone, R-Newark and outgoing New Castle County Sheriff Michael Walsh. The media award went to Ralph Bush, general manager of the Upper Shore Division for ACM Chesapeake, publisher of the Newark Post.

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Are we to wait for our Fethullah Gulen?

Serhii LASHCHENKO, day.kiev.ua

I first heard about Fethullah Gulen during last year’s Ukraine-Turkey symposium on “Integration problems of scientific, educational and intellectual potential in the process of state creation.” He was among the first Islamic scientists to comment on the terrorist acts of September 11, and the tragic events in Beslan. In his interviews Gulen emphasized: “The murder of one innocent being is equal to the murder of the whole of humanity.” In the Turkish thinker’s opinion, religion in its essence is the furthest away from social, moral and spiritual violence.”

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"Gülen not only my hero, also a model for other religions"

Hatice Avcı, Sunday's Zaman

“He is not only my hero for what he has done for the Muslim societies but also [offers] a model for all other religions,” said Dirk Ficca, executive director of the Chicago-based Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, an international NGO aiming to cultivate better understanding between the world’s religious and spiritual communities by highlighting the similarities while also acknowledging the differences between them."

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Essay Competition

Rumi Forum and the Gulen Institute at the University of Houston have organized an International Essay Contest for all high school students in grades 9 through 12 enrolled in public or private schools.

Students from all over the United States and abroad are encouraged to participate in the Essay Contest to address the following topic:

The use of military means as a solution to today’s international and national political issues: Diplomacy or war, democracy or military coup?

Please feel free to reproduce these materials as needed. One special note is that our deadline for essay submission is Monday, January 31, 2011.

We kindly invite your students to participate in this event in which the winners will be awarded as follows:

1st place : 4,000 USD + Trip to D.C.

2nd place : 2,500 USD + Trip to D.C.

3rd place : 1,000 USD + Trip to D.C.

4th - 20th place : 300 USD + Trip to D.C.

21st - 30th place : Trip to D.C.

This event is a unique opportunity for the winners to meet U.S. Congress members; visit think tank institutions and tourist attractions during a 4-day trip to Washington, D.C. The Gulen Institute will sponsor winning students’ and their supervisors’ travel, accommodations and meal expenses.

In addition, all winners will receive a Certificate of Recognition.

For more information follow this link: http://www.guleninstitute.org/youthplatform or write to this email: youthplatform@guleninstitute.org

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New Book

European Muslims, Civility and Public Life

This edited collection deals with the challenges and opportunities faced by Muslims and the wider society in Europe following the Madrid train bombings of 2003 and the London Transport attacks of 2007. The contributors explore the challenges to the concept and practice of civility in public life within a European context, and demonstrates the contributions that can be made in this regard by the thought and practice of the global movement associated with the Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen. The importance and distinctiveness of teaching of Gülen and the practice of the movement is that it is rooted in a confident Turkish Islamic heritage while being fully engaged with modernity.

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Turkish Classes

Learn Turkish in Washington, DC! Experienced teachers are offering Turkish Language Classes at the Rumi Forum in Washington, DC. If you are looking for Turkish lessons in the DC Metropolitan Area, Rumi Forum is the right place to begin. There are three terms in a year

• Turkish language classes are open to everyone who is interested.
• The classes are arranged based on the number of students interested in at any level.
• Our teachers are using a Turkish Language Book Set written in Turkish.

For the intensive program: A four-hour class per week and eight classes in a month.

Intensive Turkish Classes:

Classes : February 7 ^th-April 1^st 2011 
(for 8 weeks/32 hours)

Cost: $300
Text Book: $30

For further queries and application form please email: turkish@rumiforum.org

Visit the 'Learn Turkish' blog

For more info

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Rumi Forum Internship Program

We are now accepting applications for our summer, fall  and winder 2010 internship program.

Eligibility: All undergraduate and master’s-level students and J.D. and Ph.D. candidates as well as recent graduates are eligible to apply.

Application Process: In order to apply for a Rumi Forum Internship, please submit the following:

· Cover Letter and Resume

· College or University Transcript

· 2-3 References (please provide both the phone and email contact information and please include a Professor or other individual familiar with your work)

Duration:
Winter: January to March.
Spring: March to May.
Fall: September to December.

*starting dates are flexible

Please send materials via email to

internships@rumiforum.org 

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