Gulen Movement & Gulen Institute - Remarks by Kofi Annan

(Video Duration: 31 secs.)

Gulen Movement and Gulen Institute's activities were praised by Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations between 1997 and 2006. On April 12 2010, Annan addressed to a distinguished audience at Gulen Institute's Luncheon Forum.

Upon a question about civil society organizations and their contributions to the social understanding, Mr. Annan said that “In my opinion, it is important to have institutions like Gulen Institute that gather people from different backgrounds and remind us the fact that we are the people traveling on the same boat.”

Mr. Annan talked about the existence of small groups acting in the name of religion but not representing the religions and he stated that all religions, including Islam, Christianity and Judaism, teach about social morality. “Islam teaches us about a merciful God. Then how come some people kill some others in the name of God and claim that they support the religion. Those people want to use the religion on their own interest,” said Mr. Annan.

Mr. Annan mentioned that he is working on the serious problems of the world such as human rights, education and solidarity. He also stated that Gulen Institute has similar areas to work on.