On the Gulen School in Sarajevo

On my recent visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina with the Institute of Interfaith Dialog we visited the Gulen inspired school in Sarajevo. The building above is the new school building that is scheduled to open in September.

According to our guide, the school itself began in the middle of the Balkan civil war (1992-1995) while Sarajevo was under siege. Seven men from Turkey, inspired by the teachings and Fetulah Gulen, entered Sarajevo through the tunnel (middle picture) under the airport that Bosnian Muslims dug to provide food, medical supplies, weapons and ammunition to the residents of Sarajevo while they were under bombardment and sniper attacks from the Serbian army.


According to our guide, the seven Turks did not enter the city with any weapons. Their only desire was to help the children that were beseiged, suffering, and orphaned by giving them a modern education. Pictured below on the left is one of the original seven men who started the school (unfortunately, I lost my record of his name), in the center is our guide, Ahmed, and on the right is David Goin, superintendant of the Public Schools in Edmond, Oklahoma.


Today, the Gulen school is the only school in the city that is fully integrated. Public schools keep children segregated by teaching the Muslim and Christian students at different hours of the day.

U.S. Court Issues Ruling Favorable to Fetulah Gulen

Todays Zaman is reporting that a U.S. Federal Court has ruled that the Bush administration improperly rejected Fetulah Gulen's application toward permanent residence in the United States. The court ordered the government to reverse the decision.

Fetulah Gulen is a prominent Turkish religious scholar who promotes a moderate Sufi form of Islam that works for world peace by emphasizing respectful dialogue between persons of different faiths. Gulen also inspired the creation of hundreds of schools that emphasize educational excellence. The schools are placing students in prestigious universities around the world.

Immigration made a serious mistake when it rejected Gulen's application for permanent residence. Hopefully, his application will be quickly approved by the Department of Justice and Homeland Security.

Gulen has been building bridges of understanding between Muslims and Christians and making internationally significant contributions to world peace. All Americans should be interested in affirming the growth of moderate Islam as opposed to the extremist forms that receive so much attention from the media.