Sunday Times 2
Gulen awarded 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Prize
View(s):Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has been presented with a prestigious peace award in recognition of his “life-long dedication to promoting peace and human rights” at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s alma mater.
A portrait of Fethullah Gulen was unveiled at the Atlanta ceremony
The Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College honoured Gülen with its 2015 Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award recently for promoting ideas shared by the world’s leading peace and civil rights activists. Past recipients of this award include Nobel laureates Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Michael Gorbachev, as well as Rosa Parks.
Representatives of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, which has presented the award since 2001, say the award is designed to promote the importance of positive social transformation by honoring “those who demonstrate extraordinary global leadership toward reconciling differences.”
Alp Aslandogan, the president of the Alliance for Shared Values — an umbrella body for US-based organisations affiliated with the Gülen movement — accepted the award on behalf of Gülen. In a message, Gülen said:
“I can only accept this award on behalf of the participants of the Hizmet movement who devoted themselves to serving fellow humans without expecting anything in return. Educators who served thousands of miles away from their homes near arctic circle in sub-freezing temperatures; those who continued to keep their schools open in northern Iraq despite the threat of ISIS occupation; those in Nigeria and Afghanistan who provide educational opportunities to girls; doctors, nurses and humanitarian relief workers who served in Somalia and Sudan under dire conditions; and entrepreneurs who compete in donating to charitable causes despite facing economic hardship themselves. These devotees of love who come from different nations, religions, and ethnic backgrounds are the ones whose work is recognized with this award.
“They are the ones who seek happiness in the happiness of others. What unites them and the pioneers of human rights in Asia, in Africa, in the United States, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and all around the world is their commitment to humanity. To hold every human as dignified and to be committed to the dignity of every human is a sign of respect for their Creator.”
In Sri Lanka, the Gülen movement’s charity work is carried out by the Intercultural Dialogue Foundation. A non-profit organisation, the group also known as Hizmet serves as a voice for dialogue among different nations, cultures, ethnic groups and religions in Sri Lanka. For more information, visit www.idflanka.org.