Emre Çelik is an Australian based in Washington DC and President of the Rumi Forum. Following on my recent piece on travels in Africa. During my visit in Tanzania, I met with the former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi. He commended the Hizmet schools highly for their successes and contributions to…

The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment was a series of studies on delayed gratification in the late 1960s and early 1970s led by psychologist Walter Mischel, then a professor at Stanford University. In these studies, a child at the age of 4 was offered a choice between one small reward (sometimes a…

Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish Islamic scholar well known for his teachings promoting mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures. Mr.Gulen was among the top of the list of “The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals” according to the magazines Foreign Policy and Prospect in 2008. Fethullah Gülen has written nearly 50…

A basic assumption of many contemporary social science theories is that humans are “opportunistic” by definition and driven primarily by self-interest. This implies that a rational human being would exploit chances presented to him by immediate circumstances without any reference to moral principle or a general plan, if such exists.…

More than a decade after Fethullah Gulen moved to the US, three articles appeared in the western media in 2010 providing a closer look to the life of Gulen, and the movement he inspired. One was written by Suzy Hensen and published in The New Republic on November 10, 2010.…

Whether you adhere to a specific ethical or moral code or follow a traditional religion, the fundamental principles are similar, and can be summarized around the golden rule; that is, treating others as you would like them to treat you or in the negative form, not treating others in ways…

The world is gradually becoming a small village, and have been facing challenges like conflict, violence,terrorism, and war along with their terrible consequences of poverty, disease, despair, environmental destruction, and poor leadership. These challenges are present at all levels of human life—family,school, community, society, and globally. The solution to all…

A sneaky smear network against the Hizmet Movement, is run by people associated with the Fear Inc, a secretive and controversial extremist xenophobic sect. With several bloggers cooperating with a group of commentators, this sneaky smear network is substantially pervasive than most news networks. A lack of awareness about this…