The second symposium of "Islam in Our Present World: Fethullah Gulen in Thought and Practice," first held in the United States in 2005, began in Oklahoma.

Several famous international scientists will join the two-day international gathering. The symposium is being organized with the help of Oklahama University, the Interreligious Dialogue Center and Oklahama City University.

There will be six sessions in the second symposium. The Turkish-origin non-governmental movement led by Fethullah Gulen will be widely discussed by the international scientists.

Topics of discussion at the symposium include "Methodist Christianity, Gulen Sufism, perfection, free will, tolerance and democracy," by Ted Dotts in Covenant Health System.

"Secularism in America and Turkey and reciprocation of Fethullah Gulen," by Tom Boyd, Oklahama University.

"Gulen in Dialogue: Gulen's opinions under the context of Humanity," by Jill B. Carroll, Rice University.

"Teaching tolerance through Turkish arts: Gulen and traditional Turkish arts," by Theresa Vaughan, Central Oklahama University.

There will also be discussions about religion-state relations, civil dialogue and conflict, morality, gender roles and rights, democracy and religion.

A transcript of the symposium will be published later. Other topics to be introduced in the symposium are:

"Wisdom of Fethullah Gulen and Reality of Parker Palmer: Enlightened Education as a key to global transformation," by Barbara Boyd in Oklahoma University; "Urgency of Educational Reform in America: Lectures taught by Fethullah Gulen," by Sherly L. Santos in Texas Tech University; "Fethullah Gulen, Turkey and the European Union," by Paul Weller in Britain Derby University; "The Gulen movement and Turkish integration in Germany," by Jill Irvine in Oklahama University; "Fethullah Gulen and classical Western virtue theories," by Darian De Bolt in Cenrtal Oklahama University; "Fethullah Gulen's application to philosophy and holy texts for tolerance," by Mark Webb in Texas Tech University; "Solution to social, ethnic and religious conflicts in modern world and democracies," by Naci Bostanci in Gazi University.

Islam Experts says one Understands Islam by Reading Mevlana

At a dinner organized by the university administration for the beginning of the symposium, Islamic expert Akbar Ahmed at the American University complained about the ignorance of American people on Islam.

Love and affection were mentioned in Mevlana's poems, Ahmed said, and claimed that American people believed the hearsay since they never had the opportunity to read writers such as Rumi.

Moreover, there were several people assuming that Muslims worshiped the sun and the moon, he added. Islam was reminiscent of "Islamo-fascism" and "jihad" for these people. Fundamentalism was already a term that belonged to Middle Age and European Christianity, he said. (By Emrah Ulker, Oklahoma)

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