Wednesday, August 29, 2012

IDEAL HUMAN & IDEAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE 2012


The Fountain, a bimonthly magazine of scientific and spiritual thought, and University of the Punjab, are pleased to announce “Ideal Human & Ideal Society in the Thoughts M.Fethullah Gülen,” an international conference organized in cooperation with the Rumi ForumGovernment of Punjab, PakTurk International Cag Educational Foundation, Punjab Education Department, Journalists and Writers Foundation, and Higher Education Commission.
Every problem we face in our lives, be it at the individual level or affecting the wider society, has its roots in the human condition. Whether it is the downfall in finance in the US and Europe or lack of basic human needs in Africa, whether it is growing rates of divorce or difficulties in urban life, all challenges start from the deviations in individuals which are reflected proportionately in the family, neighborhood, and the entire nation. Thus, we believe, solutions have to be sought where the problems start.
This conference aims to explore the model of ideal human and ideal society that have found their definitions in the thoughts and practice of M. Fethullah Gülen, a prominent Turkish scholar and prolific author. A pioneer of positive action that contributes to social welfare and peace in Turkey and worldwide through education, Gülen has had great influence on young people with his reviving interpretations of faith and tradition according to the conditions of the modern era and with his global activities in promoting education as an instrument of intercultural and inter-religious interaction with a vision for the future that is an inspirational hope, where peace and justice are maintained in the world.
He has inspired an immense civil society movement, known as “Hizmet Movement” in Turkey that since the late 1960s has evolved and grown to encompass many facets of social life. This movement of voluntary people, who has put forth their combined effort to promote civilized and universal values at home and worldwide, is trying to act as a bridge in realizing unity in diversity, synergy, social innovation, interaction and dialogue between the members of different cultures and civilizations.
A number of questions come to mind regarding the relation of ideal human and ideal society in the thoughts of M. Fethullah Gülen:
- Who is the Turkish Muslim scholar M. Fethullah Gülen and where does he fit into a template of modern and post-modern Muslim and global change initiator? 
- What elements of his teaching appear to be most fundamental in animating the movement that has contributed to human and social welfare most dominantly in the fields of education, business, dialogue, media and charity organizations? 
- What can be extracted as case studies from Gülen’s and the Hizmet Movement’s conduct as philosophies of social action? If so, what they are and how do they relate to other philosophies espoused by similar movements?

Ideal Human and Ideal Society in the Thoughts of M. Fethullah Gülen” is proposed as a conference designed to encourage scholarly research into the questions articulated above, as well as many more. It is to be interdisciplinary in nature so that the work of the conference can begin to draw important connections between analyses of the movement from the perspectives of disciplines such as: cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, urban studies, literature, history, philosophy, law, psychology, economics, political science, theology, religious studies, and international relations, as well as many others.

Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Gülen’s perspectives on coexistence, humanity, pluralism and dialogue
• Themes like family, youth, conflict-resolution, positive action, and volunteerism
• Education, media and community efforts
• The Hizmet movement across the world and in Pakistan; prospects for Pakistani society
• The Hizmet movement, secularism and democracy
• The Hizmet movement success stories
• Sufism and spirituality in Gülen’s teachings
• Case studies on various disciplines

Venue:

University of the Punjab
Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan



Article Guidelines

The authors should submit an abstract (approximately 250 words) and a short biography to the conference coordinator by August 30, 2012. The editorial committee will review the abstracts and respond to the submitters. The authors should submit papers of a minimum of 3,000 and a maximum of 6,000 words to the conference coordinator by September 30, 2012. Electronic submission via e-mail is preferred. Authors who choose to submit hard copies are responsible for the timely delivery of their submissions by the same deadlines. The editorial board will evaluate and ask the authors to revise the papers (if needed) and resubmit final copies. The conference organizers reserve the right to remove from the proposed program papers not received by the published deadlines or that fail to respond to the comments of the editorial board. The accepted papers will be published on the conference webpage after the conference, as well as in the conference proceedings.

Please make sure the references are properly cited in the author-date format recommended by latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.

Upon request, the organizing committee will provide interested contributors with the printed version of several resources, such as books and articles, related to conference themes to facilitate essay writing.

Dates

September 15, 2012  -  Abstract submission deadline
October 12, 2012 - Article submission deadline
November 15, 2012  -  Registration deadline

Send submissions to          : info@idealsocietyconference.org
                                             : rumi.forum.pk@gmail.com

For inquiries                        : Conference Secretary (+92 51 221 2250)

Thursday, March 29, 2012

SEMA: THE WHIRLING DERVISHES - RUMI FORUM FUNCTION

On 26 February – 1 March 2007, Rumi Forum held Sema: The Whirling Dervishes shows in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, in collaboration with the Pakistan Ministry of Culture, PNCA, CDA and Konya Greater City Municipality by inviting an exclusive troupe of whirling dervishes from Turkey.

The chief guest of the 2100-people Islamabad audience for the whirling dervishes function was the erstwhile Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz.

The Whirling Dervishes function held at the Lahore Alhamra Art Centre was attended by 800 people; while the Whirling Dervishes program at the Karachi Art Council had an audience of 500.

 
 
Mr. Harun Köken presents a souvenir to Mr. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chairman, National Sufi Council as H.E. Mr. Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan, looks on as the Chief Guest.

 

 
Sema: The Whirling Dervishes function was presented to a fully-packed house at the Islamabad Convention Centre on February 26, 2007.


 
The whirling dervishes turn in enrapture during the Rumi Forum function, Sema: The Whirling Dervishes, on February 26, 2007 at the Islamabad Convention Centre.