A lively Around the Fountain program took place at Multicultural Mosaic Foundation on
September 19, 2015. There were about fifteen participants, and they discussed the Fountain
Magazine article The Gulen Movement: A Shared Bridge between the U.S. and Islam by
Peter J. Mehl. Dr. Mehl is a Professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Central
Arkansas, and shared his views on the Gülen Movement’s intercultural and educational
endeavors in his article. The participants enjoyed Turkish tea, cake, and various snacks during
the program.
The excerpt “Life is a shared bridge of ‘passing over’ and ‘coming back.’ It is a passing
over to other cultures and faiths, not to disown one’s own heritage, but to come back to
incorporate new wisdoms and insight into one’s own worldview. The Gülen Movement is one
such bridge,” summarizes the main idea of the article that the participants of the discussion
pondered on. Participants also reflected on their experiences with the Movement, and drew
parallels between the social relations in the United States and Turkey. Some of the participants
had visited Turkey multiple times and expressed how the two visits differed and how the
representation of minorities in Turkey presented problems in interfaith relations. Others
expressed the need to act on shared interfaith/intercultural vision to make a difference in society
and how the Movement accomplished this, while emphasizing there is still a lot of space for
improvement. The Movement’s potential for building social capital, integration of migrants to
the U.S. culture and various processes that enabled or makes integration difficult were also
discussed. The humanitarian assistance programs the Movement engaged with locally Colorado
and worldwide were also mentioned along with how Muslim groups work to help the homeless
in Colorado. Various perspectives on interfaith and interracial relations were also mentioned
during the discussion.
