Fethullah Gulen's contributions to peace were discussed at the conference, Preventing Violence and Achieving World Peace: The Contributions of the Gulen Movement, on October 29, 2009 at the University of Maryland, College Park held by the Rumi Forum of Maryland.
The conference is co-sponsored by Dept. of Anthropology ,The Rumi Club, Graduate Student Government at the University of Maryland, College Park. Several distinguished speakers including former ambassador, US State Department official Peter Kovach, academicians talked about the contributions of the Gulen Movement to the World Peace.
Ori Soltes, Ph.D.
The conference opened with a keynote speech by Dr. Ori Z. Soltes from Georgetown University, titled, Socrates, Violence, Education, the Gulen Movement, and Peace. This talk compared Socrates' aims to those of the Gulen Movement. Dr. Soltes noted that like Gulen, Socrates emphasized importance of ethics and the process of dialogue for bringing morality into all facets of life. Gulen emphasizes that education is the ultimate means through which we can deduce Divine will and thus improve the world. He noted that unlike Socrates, the Gulen Movement has been able to put Gulen's ideas into action through its varied educational programs, media, cable, and internet programming. Moreover, the Gulen Movement seeks peace through constant effort and struggle, and this is a fullness of peace that not merely tolerates, but embraces diversity, and it cannot be described as merely the absence of war.
In his remarks, Robert Kovach from the US Department of State appreciated the efforts of Pacifica Institute in Los Angeles, and Rumi Forum in the greater Washington area as well. "The Gulen Movement is a, if not the, major bridge builder among different faith communities", Kovach noted.
