Rumi Forum Presents 'Peace and Dialogue' Awards

The Rumi Forum, established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to enhance inter-religious and intercultural dialogue, delivered its traditional "peace and dialogue" awards at a ceremony held at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill earlier this week.

Republican Rep. Rush Holt, while receiving the Congressional Service Award, said giving religious messages under the roof of the US legislative building was not in contradiction with the principle of secularism. Holt also underlined the US did not exclude religion but permitted its citizens to experience their faith to the utmost level.

"The principle of freedom of religion and separation of religion and state, as it came to be known, was not to keep religion out of government, but was to allow Americans to practice religion to the fullest," Holt said.

Father Clete Kiley, the head of the Washington-based Faith & Politics Institute, while presenting Holt's award, voiced his feelings of admiration for Fethullah Gülen, the prominent Turkish intellectual and scholar who is honorary president of the Rumi Forum.

Sally Quinn of The Washington Post received the Media Excellence Award at the same ceremony.

"Twelve percent of Americans still believe [US President-elect Barack] Obama is Muslim. Fifty percent of Americans believe all Muslims are terrorists. We really cannot call ourselves well-informed or well-educated without understanding religion," Quinn said, highlighting the lack of understanding of Islam in the United States and around the world.

Democratic Rep. Gregory W. Meeks and Republican Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest received the Congressional Dialogue Service Award, while Dr. Akbar Ahmed of the American University in Washington was given an award named after Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi by Bruce Lustig, who is the senior rabbi of the Washington Hebrew Congregation.

Sulayman Nyang of Howard University in Washington received the Commitment to Interfaith Service Award, while the Peace Award went to Patricia Smith Melton, the founder and chairperson of the board of Peace X Peace, which is an international nonprofit organization that multiplies the power of women by the power of the Internet, connecting women across all cultures for mutual support and concerted action.

The Rumi Peace and Dialogue Award was given to Father Thomas Michel, S.J., coordinator for inter-religious dialogue at the Society of Jesus in Rome. (Ali H. Aslan, Washington)