Last Updated on Thursday, 22 June 2006 14:29 by Selcuk Gultasli Wednesday, 15 December 1999 05:00
Fethullah Gulen, one of the prominent Islamic scholars of Turkey, stated that interfaith dialogue was essential for peace and prosperity for the next millennium. Gulen, who is currently in the United States undergoing treatment for heart-and diabetes-related problems has sent two papers to the Parliament of the World's Religions that was convened in Cape Town, South Africa, on Dec. 1-8. The two papers, entitled "The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue: A Muslim Approach" and "At the Threshold of a New Millennium," were read in the parliament.
Gulen, in his paper "The Necessity of Interfaith Dialogue: A Muslim Perspective," stated that dialogue between Muslims and Christians was indispensable for a peaceful future.
"The goal of dialogue among wold religions is not simply to destroy scientific materialism and the materialistic world view that have caused such harm; rather, the very nature of religion demands this dialogue. Judaism, Buddhism, pursue the same goal. As a Muslim I accept all prophets and holy books sent to different peoples throughout history and regard belief in them as an essential principle of being Muslim.
A Muslim is a true follower of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and all other prophets, peace be upon them. Not believing in one prophet or holy book means that one is not a Muslim. Thus we acknowledge the oneness and basic unity of religion, which is a symphony of God's blessings and mercy, and the universality of belief in religion.
So religion is a system of belief that embraces all races and all beliefs, a road that brings everyone together in brotherhood," wrote Gulen in his paper.
Stressing the Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, along with Buddha, Zarathustra, Lao-Tzu and Confucius, all had preached the same values of love, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy and peace, Gulen underlined the significance of human rights for the next century.
In his paper "At the Threshold of a New Millennium," Gulen urged all religions to start an interfaith dialogue or to develop the ones that have already started.
Gulen is well known for his efforts to reconcile different religions and start a process of dialogue between different faiths.
In a bid to realize his blueprint to start a dialogue among monotheistic religions first, Gulen had proposed to establish a divinity school in ÞanlIurfa, in southeastern Turkey, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham for Muslims, Christians and Jews. The Parliament of the Word's Religions was founded in the U.S. city of Chicago in 1893 with the aim of promoting interfaith understanding. Some 5,000 scholars attended the meeting this year and concluded it with a declaration that their aim was not to unite religions but to make people aware of the beauty of each religion.
TURKISH DAILY NEWS
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