Gülen Chair's Iftar in Jakarta Garners Interest
The Fethullah Gülen Chair at the Jakarta Islamic State University held an iftar (fast-breaking dinner) on Sept. 6 in the Indonesian capital, hosting 120 people including government officials, foreign diplomats and representatives of various religions.
Ahead of the dinner, several passages from the Quran were recited, and the attendees broke their fast with the call to evening prayer. During the dinner, Turkish cuisine was offered accompanied by a variety of Turkish music. A video screened during the event condemned terrorist attacks targeting innocent people and refuted the association of Muslims with terrorism. Examples of services performed by the Gülen movement, promoting humanity, peace, security and solidarity around the world, were shown.
After the welcome speech by Gülen Chair Director Ali Ünsal, Jakarta Islamic State University Rector Professor Komaruddin Hidayat addressed the attendees. Hidayat noted that after getting to know the Gülen movement, he realized that he fully agreed with it and he wanted to see a chair at the university where Fethullah Gülen's ideas could be taught. He pointed out that the message of the video screened was the truth. "Today, this event has shown that we did the right thing in establishing the Gülen Chair," he said.
Diplomats from about 30 countries attended the iftar. US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume conveyed his thanks to Fethullah Gülen and said that he was glad to attend the event. Referring to US President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo, Hume indicated that they wanted to maintain good relations with the Muslim world. Hidayat Nur Wahid, the Indonesian parliament speaker, too, expressed his pleasure in attending the iftar. The attendees also showed great interest in the exhibition by calligrapher Aydin Seçkiner, who had come from Turkey specifically for the event.
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